If pesticides lower kids’ IQs, is it worth buying organics?
Three new studies draw a link between prebirth exposures to a class of pesticides widely used on crops and lower intelligence scores in kids.
The pesticide group is organophosphates, which kill insects by disrupting their brains and nervous systems. It was first developed in World War II in a more potent forms as a nerve poison.
The tests do not prove conclusively that there is an effect (you can assign some kids to be exposed to some pesticides and others not) but Brenda Eskenazi, co-author of one of the studies and director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley, says a body of evidence if starting to build.
From HealthDay News in U.S. News and World Report:
“Two of the studies, conducted by researchers at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Columbia University, examined kids in New York City, while Eskenazi’s study looked at 329 kids and their mothers in the Salinas Valley area of central California. All of the studies found links between exposure to the pesticides in pregnant mothers and lower IQ scores in their kids by age 7.”
“In the Salinas Valley study, researchers looked at signs of pesticide exposure in urine taken from the mothers during pregnancy and later from their children.”
“The researchers found that every 10-fold increase in organophosphates detected during a mother’s pregnancy corresponded to a 5.5-point drop in overall IQ scores in her children by age 7.”
“In fact, the 20 percent of the children whose mothers appeared to have been exposed to the least pesticides had about a 7-point higher IQ level, on average, than those in the 20 percent born to mothers with the highest exposure, the researchers reported.”
Eskenazi said that difference is equivalent to about six months of brain development in a typical child.
So how can parents lower their family’s exposure to pesticides if they are worried?
The article suggests reducing exposure during pregnancy by not using the pesticide in their homes. Also buy buying organics and if that is not possible using a brush to scrub the fruit or vegetables.
I always wash my fruit and vegetables even if they say pre-washed but I do not usually scrub anything. I guess I should start.
I would love to buy everything organic but it’s just too expensive. I always try to remember the top 12 foods that you are supposed to buy organic. (Some it doesn’t matter as much as others.) I need to print out a list and keep it in my wallet.
Here is a round-up of the Top 12 fruits and veggies you SHOULD buy organic.
Does a link to pesticides possibly lowering your child’s IQ make you more interested in buying organic? What cost differential are you willing to pay for organic foods? Where you do find the best prices on organics? Do you rinse fruits and vegetables? Do you actually scrub those with peels?
– Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, ajc.com Momania. I have increased my Twitter activity. I am sending out great stories for moms each day focusing on health, fitness, sex, entertainment, food, travel and obviously parenting! So follow me on Twitter at @AJCMOMania!)
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68 comments Add your comment
motherjanegoose
April 25th, 2011
11:25 am
@shaggy: truce….I heard this recently from a seat mate on an airplane:
When college graduates come to me with their diploma, I ask, “what else have you got?”
Many went through college on their parent’s dime and they have never had their own job.
I want to hire someone who knows what it means to work and interact/negotiate with lots of different
people.
I LOVED that tip and am now sharing it with parents of children who typically lounge by the pool all summer, while home from college. At the very least, my kids know how to work.
I love working in the flower beds in my yard and never did that as a kid. I have awesome roses, daylillies, and hostas ( sp for both?) right now. I typically abhor anything that reminds me of my childhood and it is really a shame but the truth. Same way I am about camping …too many bad memories.
Enemas 4 Less
April 25th, 2011
11:27 am
What? I’d like to see some examples of my so called mean rhetoric in comparison to others who have insulted me.
I’ve take a lot of abuse here, but I’m fine with that as I am thick skinned and realize those who resort to insults are of a different character than I.
Now show me ALL the instances where I have been mean.
JJ
April 25th, 2011
11:30 am
MJG – No I don’t have a bin. I used to throw it out in the back corner of my yard, and turn it every so often. Then the dogs discovered my “stash” and decided to poop all over it. I really didn’t want to mess with all that, so I started back in January with pots on the deck with dirt leftover from the previous year’s flowers, etc.
When I started my pots this year, I took them all down to the back yard, spread out an old sheet, and emptied all the pots onto the sheet, and then added a HUGE bag of potting soil and mixed it all up. (I like Miracle Grow). Mixed that all together, and started my pots…….I still have one big pot with compost material in it, and I will continue to use it and mix kitchen refuse, and spread it out all summer…..I need a few more bags of potting soil when I get ready to start the veggie plants. I’ll buy them at the Farmer’s Market this weekend!!!! I really want to try and grow lettuce this year, and maybe broccoli and cauliflower.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
April 25th, 2011
11:40 am
Happened to be at my desk
motherjanegoose
April 25th, 2011
11:41 am
@ JJ…I may have shared this funny story before…
when my daughter was in 1st grade…she came home, from school, with her little green bean plant.
Two beans were growing on it and she insisted we cook them for dinner.
Her brother, “Oh yum…we each get a half of green bean!” There were 4 of us.
MomsRule
April 25th, 2011
11:43 am
Cute story MJG!
Warrior Woman
April 25th, 2011
11:45 am
Given that the studies focused on PRENATAL exposure, I’m wondering if people think the cost/benefit trade-off for organics is different during pregnancy and very early childhood than later in life?
JOD
April 25th, 2011
11:56 am
@Saint Simon – No manure, just compost and organic foliar feeding/pesticides.
@Warrior Woman – Good point. Ironic that pregnant women try to eat healthier, usually more fruits and veggies, and that would (accordingly to these studies) increase their pesticide load…
Enemas 4 Less
April 25th, 2011
11:58 am
Wait? Why am I the only one to be called out regarding insults?
DD
April 25th, 2011
12:05 pm
“When college graduates come to me with their diploma, I ask, “what else have you got?”
Many went through college on their parent’s dime and they have never had their own job.
I want to hire someone who knows what it means to work and interact/negotiate with lots of different
people.”
Employers also want to hire folks who are not in debt up to their eyeballs! There are scores of smart, hard working students from families whose parents want to pay for their child’s college. My parents required that I work to pay for extras as a f’/t college student, but did not want me to start off my “life” deavily in debt. I can tell you I am much more successful that many people I know who are still paying off college and lots of other debt.
I also bet you would see an interesting correlation between those in college debt. Most all that I know having financial problems in other areas too.
catlady
April 25th, 2011
12:12 pm
I am a big fan of “grow your own.” I have been doing so for about 34 years.
motherjanegoose
April 25th, 2011
12:41 pm
DD…our son will be in debt up to his eyeballs after he finishes Pharmacy School, in two years. If we are in a position to help him, we will. We helped him for undergrad. He has scholarships from work now. We are focusing on our daughter, as she will be a college sophomore in the fall. When they are both finished, we will re-assess and see if we can help them with a house or car. He has been with the same employer for 8 years this fall and unless they go belly up, he should have a job.
Which is what we continue to tell him. They have been around for over 100 years.
catlady, I am still planning to visit you this summer. Hope your weekend was great!
JOD
April 25th, 2011
12:57 pm
@catlady – Do you have any experience with fruit trees? I would be very interested to hear if you have any tips!
Ann
April 25th, 2011
3:45 pm
@ Jeff – Your comment about your grocery budget increasing 200% with organic is misleading to readers and a huge exaggeration. I have been buying a lot of produce organic for 12 years, and it is often only 10, 15 or 25% more. Sometimes, with more rare items, it can be higher. I have never seen anything remotely approaching a 200% difference. Compare prices at a place like Trader Joe’s or the DeKalb Farmer’s Market and you will see the real difference. Sometimes, prices at Kroger or Publix aren’t too bad. Prices are better when you buy in-season produce.
@ JOD – Keep in mind that when you peel an apple or carrot, you lose a lot of the nutrients. It’s best to scrub carrots with a brush rather than peel or scrape them with a knife to retain the nutrients.
I agree with those who say that a lot of it is about your priorities and the value you place on it. Keep in mind that organic produce is not just about avoiding pesticides, it is about getting more bang for your buck nutritionally. Buying any in-season, local produce, whether it is organic or not, has way more nutritional value than produce in the stores that are often picked green, artificially ripened with chemicals, and refrigerated for several weeks. I had fresh eggs this week from a local farmer. They are bright orange with a lot more nutrition. Regarding priorities, health is important to us. We dropped cable tv and drive an old car, and we buy organic products. It is about choices. Some farmer’s markets participate in the WIC program, as well, for those with low income.
Local farmer’s markets are great and several markets are all organic or naturally grown vendors. At Roswell’s market, there is one farmer with a large stand who discounts prices during the last half hour. I bought a huge bag of organic produce on one visit that would feed a family for over a week for less than $10. You can’t beat that with non-organic at a regular store.
I also grow vegetables organically in raised beds. It is very cheap to do so and so much fun to go out and pick something just before cooking.
Regarding organic meats, non-organic cows are now mainly fed corn. Cows naturally eat grass, not corn products. They are now fed corn so that they can get fat in a shorter amount of town, but it is not their natural diet. And, now salmon farmers are trying to shift salmon to eating corn. This corn is typically genetically modified and “Round Up” Ready. Read the book the “Omniivore’s Dilemma” to see how corn is now a part of almost everything we eat. When you eat cows, you are eating corn. When you eat chickens, you are eating corn. There’s corn products in almost every processed food in the grocery store.
For those wanting to avoid pesticides on your lawn, there are now several lawn companies specializing in organic lawn care. We started using one, and I was surprised to find that the difference in cost was not very much compared to non-organic companies. And, our lawn is looking better than before.
Wild game
April 25th, 2011
3:55 pm
Ann – I actually buy wild game from some our georgia hunters. I pay 55 dollars to have a deer processed and have pretty organic meat.
We are putting in synthetic grass this year that has is made with a soybean backing and recycled materials. Yay for not having to keep up the lawn and saving on our water bills!
catlady
April 25th, 2011
7:05 pm
Not much on fruit trees. I know from all the apple farmers around here that apples we get from N. Ga are sprayed with really awful stuff over 30 times per season!?
Purple Drank
April 25th, 2011
9:58 pm
Saint Simons
April 25th, 2011
9:26 am
Certain races just seem to have lower IQs, just as certain races are more physically gifted in professional sports like basketball and football. I don’t think pesticides have anything to do with it. And before you say it, No, I’m not racist and I’m not judging, just look at statistics.. they don’t lie!
To the owner of this blog. How can you let the above stay on this blog for so long? Do I need to contact your editor?
bessbear
April 26th, 2011
1:52 pm
Ann is so right-on with prices. It really depends where you shop. Dekalb Farmers Market is the best place and I find prices to be nearly the same for the organics they sell in comparison to the non-organic fruits/veggies at Kroger or Publix. Examples: I buy organic apples at Dekalb Farmers Market for either $1.29 or $1.49/lb year round. With the exception of peak sale times where apples can sometimes be $0.99 at Kroger, the prices are the same. Organic bananas (which for some reason they haven’t had for the past couple months) were always priced at $0.69/lb – again the same as I see at Publix for the non-organic.
It’s worth the drive.