Study Claims Cancer-Causing Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables Are as Dangerous as SMOKING
A study shows that exposure to pesticides used in agriculture can be as damaging to the body as smoking.
Researchers found that chemicals used in the US to grow fruits and vegetables are linked to higher rates of several types of cancer, including Hopkins lymphoma, leukemia and bladder cancer, than smoking.
Strawberries, spinach, and kale are generally considered to be the healthiest foods you can eat. However, they are among the most pesticide-laden produce.
Researchers recommend that people wash fruits and vegetables before eating them to limit the amount of pesticides they ingest.
EWG research found that more than 90 percent of samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines and grapes contained at least two pesticides.
Pesticides are a crucial aspect of modern agriculture, protecting produce from insects and ensuring that enough of the crop survives during the harvest season.
But this also means that the chemicals remain on the products and end up in people’s homes and in the water.
In addition to the pesticides that end up on the fruits and vegetables that millions of people buy every day in supermarkets, they can also contaminate nearby water and soil through irrigation runoff and spraying of produce, contaminating drinking water and other crops.
Research shows that as many as 80 percent of Americans have detectable levels of pesticides in their blood.
For the new study, researchers examined the health effects of 69 different pesticides, using data from the US Geological Survey.
The researchers say that because more than one pesticide is often used at the same time, the culprit is likely to be the use of multiple pesticides in a ‘cocktail’ at the same time.
They compared these with the health effects of smoking on various forms of cancer in the body. Smoking is normally associated with lung cancer, but can also lead to cancers of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, stomach and other organs, as well as asthma, heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease.
According to the American researchers, their study is the first in-depth look at the cancer risk associated with pesticides, in the context of the cancer risk that is no longer in dispute: smoking.
Dr. Isain Zapata, a professor at the Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Colorado and a co-author of the report, said: “It’s hard to explain the magnitude of a problem without providing some context, so we included smoking data. We were surprised to see estimates in similar ranges.”
Their findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society.
Common pesticides such as glyphosate have been linked to developmental delays, blood cancer, organ damage, respiratory problems, ovarian and prostate cancer, and reproductive problems.
The full research methods and results have not yet been published. This article will be updated as these details become available.
The association between cancer rates and pesticide use was greatest in the Midwest, where corn production is the primary source of income for large segments of the population.
The Environmental Working Group is investigating the use of pesticides in fruits and vegetables and has reported that about 90 percent of the samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines and grapes tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides.
The EWG also reported that 13 to 23 pesticides were found in at least one sample of each food. Kale, Swiss chard and mustard greens had the most pesticides.
Dr. Zapata said, “Every time I go to the grocery store to buy food, I think about the farmer who helped produce that product.
“These people often put themselves in harm’s way for my convenience and that plays a role in my appreciation for that product. It’s definitely affected how I feel when that forgotten tomato in the fridge goes bad and I have to throw it in the trash.”
Some of the most common pesticides that repel fungi and insects have been linked to cancer, developmental delays, fertility problems and hormone problems.
One of the best known is glyphosate, commonly known by the brand name Roundup. A growing body of research, including a large study from the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, has pointed to cancer risks associated with Roundup.
The study found that use of the herbicide increases the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with 41 percent.
Another study published last year found that American doctors glyphosate content in 268 farmer’s urine and signs of stress on cells. Higher levels of glyphosate were associated with more extensive stress on cells, also called oxidative stress, which can damage DNA and potentially cause cancer.
The CDC report found that out of 2,310 urine samples, which are supposed to be representative of the US population, 80 percent was mixed with glyphosate. About a third of those samples came from children between the ages of six and eighteen.
However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that “there is no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans.”
Roundup’s makers, Monsanto and owner Bayer AG, have repeatedly assured the public that their product is safe and poses no risk to human health.
Earlier this year, 49-year-old Pennsylvania groundskeeper John McKivison won a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Bayer after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2020. He and his lawyers successfully argued that it was the result of 20 years of Roundup use.
McKinsey successfully argued that Monsanto and parent company Bayer were “negligent” and “failed to warn of the dangers” of their product.
Other commonly used pesticides, such as chlorpyrifos, atrazine, paraquat and carbaryl, have been linked to low IQ and developmental delays in children, reproductive problems and birth defects, organ damage, Parkinson’s disease and cancers, including blood, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers.
Some of the safest fruits and vegetables are those where you remove the skin before eating them, such as avocados, corn, and pineapple.
