Pesticides Blog Posts

Roundup Weed Killer & Birth Defects

by Kristen

July 08, 2011

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A recent article published by the Huffington Post has caught our attention -the focus of which is the controversial chemical, glyphosate, an active ingredient used in Roundup and other popular herbicides.

Earlier this month, Earth Open Source, a non-profit organization, compiled and evaluated existing data and research surrounding the safety of glyphosate. Glyphosate was introduced in 1976 by Monsanto, an American agricultural biotechnology company, and is the most widely used herbicide in the United States. Earth Open Source’s latest report suggests that industry regulators have known for quite some time that glyphosate causes birth defects in the embryos of laboratory animals. And, while the effects of glyphosate on humans remains uncertain, two separate studies found that glyphosate caused the death of human umbilical, embryonic and placental cells. Read more...

Eco-challenge #7: Green Gobble

by dina

November 24, 2009

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Last week, my friend Katy wrote about "greening" your Thanksgiving on MightyNest's Non-Toxic Nest blog. Well, I'm taking her up on the challenge!

Eco-challenge #7: Serve 100% organic and/or locally grown Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, that means the bird, the sides AND the desserts. I can't vouch for anything that others bring though...that stuff is fair game.

For those of you who know me personally, just the fact I'm making a Thanksgiving dinner will crack you up. Let alone thinking of me trying to motivate the hubby and in-laws (old school grocery store owners) to go organic. I can hear the jokes now. I'm going to take the heat on this one for years to come. Unless...I could sneak out to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods under the radar and do all the shopping by myself. Hmmmm...not a bad idea. "Honey - you just sit back, put your feet up and I'll take care of all the shopping for Thanksgiving." Ha - he'll know I'm up to something. Read more...

Eco-challenge #6 Results: How 'bout them apples?!

by dina

November 23, 2009

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The organic apple part of this week's challenge was alot easier than the peanut butter portion. I tasted a few different kinds of apples and settled on some nice galas that taste every bit as good as my regular non-organic apples…and they’re not that much more expensive. Easy peasy. Done.

In fact, as I type I’m munching on my new and improved favorite snack – organic apples and Maranatha almond butter. Wasn’t so hot on the almond butter at first. Mainly because I think I was expecting it to taste like peanut butter and – well – shockingly it tasted more like – umm - almonds. Funny how that works. But it's growing on me now. Great on apples and even better on a hot english muffin. YUM! (Ever heard of Wolferman’s? Not organic but man are they ever good!) Read more...

Eco-challenge #6: Kicking off the official eating season!

by dina

November 17, 2009

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You’d think after all the coffee drama last week, MightyNest would take it easy on me. But noooooo…

MightyNest Eco-challenge #6 – Swap my favorite daily snack – peanut butter and apples - for organic versions

First my coffee and now my peanut butter? What - are they trying to make me a healthier person or something?? :) You see....I crave peanut butter and apples all the time. In fact, while pregnant I would often sit in my office on conference calls with the door shut eating peanut butter right out of the jar loong after the apples were gone. (for some of you, this explains why I was so quiet during those months. And you thought I was just listening intently…hahahaha)

So - why pick on peanut butter and apples? Read more...

The Environmental Working Group's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

by Katy Farber

October 16, 2009

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Good news from the hardworking folks at the Environmental Working Group. They've just released their updated Shopper's Guide featuring the "dirty dozen" (produce to avoid because of the high pesticide amount used) and the "clean 15" list.

This guide is really valuable for parents trying to limit their families' pesticide intake. And we all have good reason to do this. According to the EWG:

"The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of some pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides."

This information is especially important for expectant and nursing moms, and for families with young children. You can significantly decrease your families' exposure to pesticides by using this guide.

"EWG's computer analysis has found that consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80 percent by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating only the cleanest." 80 percent! Read more...