EATING WITH CONSCIENCE
Make Sure Your Strawberries Are Organic
It’s the time of year many of us are buying berries, so it’s worth knowing what can come with non-organic strawberries. They consistently top the dirty dozen list for good reason. Of the 72 pesticides with established tolerances for the crop, 65 are linked to chronic health problems including cancer, 29 are acutely toxic to farmworkers, and 28 are toxic to bees, which strawberries depend on for pollination.
Between 1992 and 2010, California alone recorded 237 farmworker poisoning incidents tied to strawberry production, and pesticide illness is widely underreported, so that number is almost certainly low.
There’s no way to know which of those 72 pesticides were used to grow any given container of berries unless you know your farmer personally. Your local farmers market is a good place to start, though it’s worth asking them directly. The USDA organic label isn’t perfect, but you can at least know those 72 pesticides aren’t part of the picture.
Beyond Pesticides has a full breakdown of what’s actually on your strawberries at Eating with Conscience.
SOIL FERTILITY
Healthy Soil, Healthy Brain: What a New Global Study Found
by Eric W. Dolan, PsyPost – Psychology News:
“A recent study published in
Scientific Reports suggests a notable geographical link between global soil fertility and the average intelligence quotient of nations. The findings provide evidence that the nutritional quality of local soils might play an indirect role in shaping human cognitive development on a worldwide scale.
Human brain development relies heavily on adequate nutrition, particularly the intake of essential minerals and vitamins. Plants and animals absorb these nutrients from the earth, meaning human diets are deeply connected to the health of the ground beneath their feet. When soil lacks vital elements like iron, zinc, or iodine, the food grown in it tends to be nutritionally deficient. Deficiencies in these specific nutrients are known to negatively affect cognitive growth, especially in young children.
Zinc and iron are necessary for the central nervous system to build physical structures and produce the chemicals that allow brain cells to communicate. Severe or long-lasting dietary shortages can lead to persistent cognitive impairments and learning difficulties.”
The results should be interpreted as evidence that soil fertility is one potentially important environmental correlate of human intelligence rather than a dominant or exclusive determinant. Read more about this fascinating study.
