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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Joe Corsiglia, President Trump, Henry Heimuller, VP Pence, Pat Robertson, Debi Corsiglia’s dog, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Standard Disclaimer.
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Pesticides
The amount of pesticides which are used in Americans homes and gardens is 1 billion pounds each year. And 5.6 billion pounds are used world- wide. 1.8 billion people are involved in many different agriculture practices which use pesticides.It has been estimated that as many as 25 million agricultural workers worldwide experience unintentional pesticide poisonings each year. In a large prospective study of pesticide users in the United States, the Agricultural Health Study, it was estimated that 16% of the group had at least one pesticide poisoning or an unusually high pesticide exposure episode in their lifetime. In developing countries there are little to no education or protection about the hazards of pesticide contamination or poisoning.
With the amount of pesticides which are used in the United States, along with the drift and residual it is estimated that 50 million Americans are drinking water which is contaminated with pesticides because of the poison soaking into the ground, or direct or over spray which has inundated the ground water.
In the US the EPA regulates the pesticide industry claiming that with proper usage the pesticide is safe for people and the environment. I disagree with the EPA’s decisions. It does not take a genius to assume that if you are exposed to a chemical which kills grass, weeds, berry briars insects on contact it just might not be safe for humans. It has been proven that exposure to pesticides is a serious health risk. Recently, the Agricultural Health Study has produced some evidence of increased incidence of cancer of the prostate, lung, colon, pancreas, bladder, leukemia, and multiple myeloma with increasing lifetime exposure to certain pesticides.
It is certain that even limited amounts of exposure could cause cancer and sometimes takes 10-20 years to show up. It is certainly necessary to stop the usage of these products; the health of all species should be paramount in this situation. People can live with apples with worms or blemishes.
While the current data on pesticides is not complete because of limited research it is conclusive enough to show evidence that pesticide usage is not a path to good health. On the other side of the coin research which is being done is understanding the effects on human cells pesticides play in the development of many cancers and maybe with accelerated research changes to the pesticide recipe may stop the biological changes in human cells. Or even help understand the cell changes that occur in humans and may in the future help stop or treat effectively many different cancers.
Round UP is the most common pesticide used in households across America, Round UP has been identified in other countries and through their studies have found that Round U.P has cancer causing properties and thousands of people have been exposed to this product directly and in directly. Do we know or understand the amount of exposure that is required to have the cancer causing affects. I would assume that each individual is different and the types of cancer possibility is also an individual risk depending on each person cell make up. No matter what the amount is or the type of caner this product should be taken off the market immediately.
The bottom line in my opinion is that pesticides are not worth the risk to any ones health for perfect looking fruit. I believe pesticides are a significant health risk and should not be manufactured or sold.
Tammy
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