Yes, There Are Such Things As 'Natural' Pesticides

Posting Date: 10/15/1999

Did you know that 99.99 percent of the pesticides in food are natural? So, really, only .01 percent are from spraying.

This is why I?ve told you not to worry about manmade pesticides. These products have helped us to have one of the most abundant and safe food supplies in the world. With six billion people on earth, many of whom depend on our exports of food, that is important.

The fruits and vegetables we eat contain natural pesticides to protect themselves from bugs, according to plant expert Bruce Ames, a professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California at Berkeley. We all eat about a gram and a half of these pesticides every day, which is about 10,000 times more than what we ingest from agricultural residues.

In an interview in Smithsonian Magazine, Ames says that every time we eat cabbage we ingest 49 different pesticides and metabolites. The same goes for a long list of other produce ranging from anise to lettuce.

Ames says, and I quote: "Every plant has 40 to 50 pesticides it makes to kill off predators and fungi. They couldn?t survive if they weren?t filled with chemicals. They don?t have teeth and claws, and they can?t run away. So throughout evolution they?ve been making newer and nastier pesticides. They?re better chemists than Dow and Monsanto."

I agree with Ames that the body?s defenses can easily handle the small amount of manmade pesticide residue that may exist on some food. If you?re really worried about doing what?s best for your health, here?s some advice ? don?t smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and stop worrying so much.

Email this page  Printer Friendly Bookmark this page