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Most of us have unhealthy levels of pesticides inside our bodies, from yards (or own and others) and the food we eat, as well as air and water. There’s no way to avoid being exposed to them.

When the Pesticide Action Network looked for levels of 23 different pesticides in data on over 2,500 people, they found that the average person had at least 13 of them in their blood and urine. Margaret Reeves of PAN says, “A growing body of research suggests that even at very low levels, the combination of these chemicals can be harmful to our health.”

Children between the ages of 6 and 11 are exposed to the nerve-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos at four times the acceptable level. Chlorpyrifos kills insects by disrupting their nervous system.
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This is the time of year when people are fertilizing their lawns and putting pesticides on them. A new study shows that these chemicals may cause bladder cancer in some dogs?and maybe in people too. Researcher Larry Glickman says, “While we hope to determine which of the many chemicals in lawn treatments are responsible, we also hope the similarity between human and dog genomes will allow us to find the genetic predisposition toward this form of cancer found in both Scotties and certain people.
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The government wants to allow chemical companies to test pesticides on people. However, the Natural Resources Defense Council calls this an “appalling suggestion.”

Maggie Fox writes in Reuters that for the last 6 years, the EPA has allowed no human testing, but chemical manufacturers want to overturn the EPA ban because they say the new standards for pesticides are based on the worst possible effects they could have on lab animals and the best way to prove their products are safe is to start testing them on people. Some companies have started paying volunteers to eat or drink pesticides and other chemicals.
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Farmers are losing the war against agricultural pests asinsects become immune to chemical sprays. Professor IanCrute of Rothamsted Research in the U.K. says, “Just ashuman health is under threat from antibiotic resistance, socrop health is under threat from insecticide resistance. Thebugs are gaining on us — and our defenses are increasinglyfragile. We need new science-based tools for insect controland without them, our ability to feed ourselves is injeopardy.”
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