When we think of the food on your table, we don’t usually think about the vast range of toxic and poisonous chemicals used in nearly all stages of the production process. We think mainly about the taste. This mentality needs to change. We must inform ourselves of the agrochemicals used in conventional agriculture and how they can affect our health.
The Environmental Protection Agency and multinational agrochemical firms such as Monsanto often assure us that the synthetic chemicals cocktails we use to produce food are safe for human consumption. Yet these synthetic crop care solutions have never before been tested for such widespread use. Typically, chemical effects are tested for single chemicals, not together. This has led to many lawsuits around the United States, particularly in California, as farm workers are beginning to suffer the consequences of prolonged exposure to these dangerous synthetic chemicals.
One of the most recent lawsuits includes 47 farm workers from California who were exposed to Vulcan, an agrochemical product containing chlorpyrifos. Exposure to this synthetic pesticide caused the farm workers to experience persistent nausea and vomiting. What’s worse, these farmers had never used Vulcan on their fields. The synthetic pesticide spread from other farms in the surrounding areas.
Why are these chemicals, that can cause vomiting and convulsions, still allowed for use in food production? Neem serves as a natural biopesticide and fertilizer that is also safe for the environment.
Eat like your life depends on it, because it does!
