A lot of friends with young kids ask me for recommendations on green products. You could say I’m very interested in the topic. Why? Well, music and green issues are a family tradition.
Grist Magazine has the scoop on the greenest bands and solo artists
After spending a couple decades as an orchestral musician, my mom got a degree in Environmental Policy, became a certified organic farmer, and sat on the Board of Pesticide Control for seven years in the State of Maine . My paternal grandparents were writing pamphlets on conservation in the 60s when environmentalism was a far-left fringe idea. The old saying ‘The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree’ applies here, I suppose. I have absorbed a lot of inspiration and information from my mom and paternal grandparents. This spun off into my own fact-finding mission on green issues.
I figured I’d launch a series of posts on great products and practices. I have a pinterest board devoted to green products, and I’ll elaborate on various topics here.
This first post in the series will focus on easy ways to reduce exposure to pesticides, especially for children
Let me start by telling you that writing this has inspired me to finally get around to buying a water filter.
Lawn Pesticides Are Brought into the House and Can Stick Around for Years!
First, the bad news.
Unfortunately, out of 80,000 chemicals on the market today, only about 200 of them have been tested for safety. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency can only require safety testing after there is proof that a substance poses a health risk under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.
A Short Summary of the Problem
From the University of Washington Northwest Bulletin:
“More recently, we have found that early exposures to environmental chemicals can result in subtle changes that affect functioning but are not evident until much later in a child’s development.”
The World Health Organization points out that pesticides are ‘hazardous by design’ and ‘designed to kill’. It’s no wonder they are linked to:
- Autoimmune diseases
- Cancers, including pediatric cancers
- Behavioral problems
- Decreased cognitive function
Even the American Academy of Pediatrics, not exactly a radical group, has made official recommendations to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides and lists these same risks listed above as reasons to avoid exposure.
Sources of Pesticide Exposure in Children
Strawberries: one of the dirty dozen
- The number one source is diet.
- Other sources include:
- Lawn and yard pesticides
- Pesticides sprayed in public green spaces and indoor spaces
- Household pesticides, including insect and rodent traps, fumigation, roach sprays, mildew and mold sprays, etc.
- Flea powder and other products used to control pet pests
- Insect Repellent
- Drinking water
Prenatal exposure is also a concern. It can’t hurt to protect yourself and your unborn child from toxins.
Now the Good News: Easy Ways to Reduce Exposure
• Change your family’s diet. Here’s the dirty dozen+ and the clean fifteen. Just scroll down to see the foods.
Avoiding the Dirty Dozen Can Reduce Your Pesticide Exposure by 85 to 90%
It’s been shown that people who switch to an organic diet knock down the levels of pesticide by-products in their urine by 85 to 90 percent (as for the asparagus smell, that will hold steady, I imagine). The easiest way to cut back on chemical intake is to avoid the dirty dozen and embrace the clean fifteen.
• Don’t use pesticides in your yard. If you’re a lawn person, there are organic alternatives. Chemically treated lawns are hostile environments for birds and other wildlife, so going organic or planting a variety of indigenous species don’t need sprays to thrive will bring birds, butterflies, bees, and other creatures and will provide a healthier and more interesting landscape for your kids to explore.
Taking shoes off at the door reduces pesticide exposure and cleaning! It also makes me crave sushi!
• Don’t wear shoes in the house. This may seem like weird advice until you read this:
“Children often play on floors where pesticide residues tend to collect in house dust. These residues are unlikely to degrade because they are not exposed to sunlight or rain.” –U of WA
Many green spaces and buildings in urban and suburban settings are sprayed, as well. Anywhere you walk that’s been sprayed means you’re tracking pesticides into your house that could stay there for years.
• If you need to use bug spray, check out ewg.org’s very thorough and specific insect repellent recommendations for all ages and varying situations (lyme tick protection, bug bite avoidance, sensitive skin, pregnancy)
• If you are thinking of or have to use pesticides at home (roundup, ant traps, etc.), The University of Washington Northwest Bulletin offers easy-to-follow guidelines for choosing and managing household pesticides.
• Clean your house, cars, outdoor toys, hands, and pets often. From the U of WA:
“We recommended that families frequently clean their houses, cars, and pets. In addition, because pesticide sprays might drift into areas where children play outside, we encouraged families to wash children’s hands and toys.”
Don’t stress, do. Writing this has inspired me to finally decide on and buy a water filter.
• Filter your water. I did hours and hours of research on water filters and then promised to return to it later. It’s a confusing product landscape to navigate! Luckily, the Environmental Working Group came out with a Water Filter Buying Guide this year.
Hopefully this post will come in handy when you are wondering how to protect yourself and your kids from some of the world’s dirty, rotten pollutants. My philosophy:
- Arm yourself with information
- Act on that information to the extent that you can financially and life-style-wise
- Then live your life and be happy.
If you take some simple steps, you won’t need to get down in the dumps about the overwhelming amount of information and gloom and doom news we hear every day about things like pesticides. After all, stress is no good for you, either. But organic strawberries are!
