EcoNuz

There have been a lot of recent coverage on reports, like here, here, here, here and many more, that state that organic produce is no better for you than conventionally farmed produce.  The recent report by the UK Food Standards Agency came out that stated organic produce has no *nutritional* benefit above and beyond other crops.  Coverage of this report was blown out of proportion, and the interpretation by main stream media was that there is no reason to buy organic.  I can personally believe that there’s no nutritional benefit because the widespread use of fertilizer should be adding nutrients to plants (in addition to other things).

There are still other health reasons to buy organic, which are not related to nutritional content.  Many reports on pesticides used in the US focus on cancer only.  If you read the results carefully, they state that there is no proof that they cause cancer, not that they do not cause cancer.  These studies do not tell the full story for a few reasons:

• It is unethical to try to give humans cancer in trials
• It is *extremely* difficult to prove a direct link to any disease
• It is hard to cause cancer immediately, as cell defects take time to grow into something harmful
• Many harmful effects are a result of bioaccumulation
  • There are no long term exposure studies
  • Studies focus on *acute* toxicity, or only high doses all at once
• Cancer is not the only problem caused by pesticides

One of the ongoing problems due in part to pesticides is male infertility.  Many pesticides are responsible for endocrine disruption because they mimic estrogen in the body.  One major highly publicized example in the past was high instances of sterility among fruit plantation workers in the Phillipines, caused by the pesticide Nemagon, which was manufactured by Dow Chemical Company.  The most serious incident related to direct impact from pesticides was on December 3rd, 1984 in Bhopal, India, where more than 2,200 people died and more than 500,000 people were exposed to toxic gases.

Advocates for the pesticide industry would like everyone to believe that events like this could never happen again, but the fact is that the sale of many harmful pesticides were only banned for sale in the US.  Banned pesticides can still be manufactured in the US, or by US companies, if they are sold to other countries with fewer restrictions.  While traditional farming is not the pesticide industry, they are the largest customer and cannot be dissociated from previous disasters.

Every generation of pesticides is supposedly safe for everyone, until long term effects are discovered from use, not in the lab.  The most recent generation has not been found to directly cause cancer, but they still cause infertility and birth defects . . . . but hey, it’s not cancer, right?

(Update: I have intentionally omitted environmental impact.  That post would be long enough on its own)

We got some comments on the Green Does Not Always Mean Healthy post that were worth calling out.  Apparently GreenPoint rated new homes have higher levels of formaldehyde than the notorious FEMA trailers.  New construction can be the worst because offgassing declines over time, and air circulation eventually clears it out.  The products to either avoid, or pay special attention to the materials used, are pressed wood products.

Thanks, Nat, Becky and Linda!

The prime example of how green doesn’t always mean healthy is that of energy efficiency in building.  In the 1970’s, when energy prices spiked, building practices in the United States changed drastically.  More insulation was used, and more attention was paid to the thermal envelope so that heating and air conditioning energy was not wasted by allowing air to leak out of the building.  While it did save energy, preventing the air from flowing out of the building also prevented airborn toxins, dust and particles from being let out.

The rate at which air was replaced indoors dropped drastically, and as a result indoor air quality got worse, resulting in a rise in asthma and respiratory problems.  In order to stay healthy, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems need to fully replace the air after a given period of time.  Recommended rates may vary, but for residential buildings, replacing the air once an hour should be sufficient.  As replacement rates go up, so does energy usage, so the more efficient systems have heat exchangers allow the hot/cold air to transfer from the outgoing air to the incoming air.  To remain healthy and efficient, HVAC systems need to balance air transfer with energy usage.

Other common examples in building are insulation itself, and flooring.  Formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that can be found in a lot of building materials, including fiberglass insulation, and as a binding agent in wood flooring.  Insulation without formaldehyde can be used, and there are wood products with different binding agents.  When building green, you just need to be sure that what you are buying is also healthy.