Modern-Day Miracle in Salinas, California

Modern-Day Miracle in Salinas, California

I kept doing what I believed in, and my faith was redeemed

It is a hot, early summer day. A windmill is as still as the day. I am standing in front of the McKinnon Elementary School. As I look out over the agricultural fields surrounding the school, I realize I am witnessing a modern-day miracle. I am smiling through tears of joy and redemption. This is a story of faith and belief. I know it is a little thing in this great big world. But it is my little thing. Also, it meets my definition of a miracle. I did something on faith, and it manifested.

But first, let me tell you about the toxic nightmare that once surrounded this school. I have been reviewing updated California pesticide monitoring reports, the kind of which I used for my new book, Raising Healthy Kids: Protecting Your Children from Hidden Chemical Toxins. I am looking at the hidden chemical toxins found on a typical head of conventionally grown lettuce.

That is because Salinas, home to the Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck, is a town literally carved from farm fields. This agricultural region is called America’s “salad bowl.”

The Toxic Legacy of Conventional Agriculture

Lettuce and strawberry fields have surrounded the local schools for decades, with devastating pesticides such as diazinon, chlorpyrifos, and captan applied to the crops, placing both farm workers and consumers at peril.

One of the most common pesticides detected in conventionally grown lettuce is a pyrethroid called permethrin, which is used to control home and garden pests. Toxicol In Vitro reports, “Epidemiological studies have associated the exposure to permethrin… with increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma.” Permethrin induces “breaks and fusions” that damage DNA and cause abnormally structured chromosomes. “This study presents evidence of damage in cancer genes caused by these insecticides.”

Drs. John Meeker and Dana Barr, both of whom have worked closely with the Chemical Toxin Working Group, for which I am the chief officer, report in Human Reproduction their own extensive research on these dietary poisons and evidence of reduced semen quality and increased sperm DNA damage. These findings do not stem from particularly exceptional exposures either. You may simply love munching on iceberg lettuce and receive a high dose, but it’s still within a normal range of exposure.

Myclobutanil, also often detected, worsens nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Myclobutanil attacks the body’s defenses. Toxicities include adverse effects on the liver and kidneys and on the development of male reproductive organs. Since the liver is the first-line organ in the defense against environmental pollutants, we definitely want a healthy liver. Some researchers say that myclobutanil may play an important role in human liver disease.

Propamocarb exposure has been linked in animal studies to neurological changes and behavioral impairments, which include alterations in genes associated with autism spectrum disorders. The general scientific consensus is that exposure to various pesticides, particularly prenatally or during early development, elevates the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.

Fenamidone, a fungicide, is one of the most common hidden chemical toxins found on lettuce, according to my research for my new book. Fenamidone, measured at parts per billion, adversely affected zebrafish embryo development, leading to increased hatching time and deformities, including lung edema, yolk sac edema, tail deformities, and spinal curvature, according to researchers in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

Doctors and other health professionals routinely tell women of childbearing age that consuming leafy greens during pregnancy is an important source of folic acid, which helps prevent congenital disabilities. But if a pregnant woman is consuming conventionally grown lettuce, she is exposing her developing child to neurotoxins associated with IQ loss, cancer, and infertility.

Rising Cancer Rates Among Young People

We should be doing better. Between 2010 and 2019, 14 different types of cancer increased among people under 50, according to data from the National Cancer Institute. These indicate a disturbing rise in early-onset cancer cases (diagnosed under age 50) of about one to two percent annually. A 30 percent increase between 2019 and 2030 is projected. While cancer is more common in older adults, cases of colorectal, breast, and metabolic-related cancers are increasing in Gen X and Millennials.

The Power of Consumer Choice

Now, let me return to the McKinnon school. Some folks tell me that my preference for organic foods is a waste of money. They cost too much and are not worth it, especially during these difficult times. There were no studies to speak of when I began my organic journey because, at the time, there wasn’t even a federal organic certification. But the studies have come over time and show clear-cut nutritional and health advantages. Organic diets lead to fewer cases of cancer, diabetes, and obesity, healthier sperm, and fewer complications during pregnancy. But none of the studies showed me the kids at the McKinnon School or the teachers. Now I was seeing a much larger vision of how my shopping choices mattered.

I was making a difference in the lives of kids in a way I had never imagined. And my ripple on the surface of this huge ocean of humanity had turned into a wave of change. Growing consumer demand for organically grown lettuce has made its pricing nearly identical to that of conventionally sourced products.

On a lonely road, in the middle of agricultural fields, where school children used to be surrounded by agricultural fields sprayed with neurotoxins, this time, fields of organic lettuce surrounded it. My choices do matter. They matter to me. They matter to us.

Raising Healthy Kids: Protecting Your Children from Hidden Chemical Toxins is available at Amazon.com.