Food and Water
Given the pesticide residues and genetically modified ingredients in most products, your best choice in food is organic. Organic food contains no pesticides*, is better for the environment and promotes much better farming practices. We also link to companies that offer organic products. They are listed because of word of mouth referrals. GreenCAPE accepts no money or compensation of any kind from these companies and does not in any way endorse them or accept responsibility for their claims. If you find that any of the companies listed are making false or misleading claims, contact us immediately at GreenCAPE and they will be removed from this page.
We also link to various sources on water. Our groundwater here on Cape Cod is our only source for drinking water. The cleanup going on at Otis is just the beginning of the water problems we face if more is not done to protect our water supply.
EPA National Organic Standards page What organic means, sidebars on children's health, pets, public health issues,...
Pesticides ...on our food, even after washing; ...in our bodies, for years; ...& in our environment, traveling many miles on wind, water and dust or from your neighbor's lawn treatment or cranberry bog. Check this database to see what you're eating at WHAT'S ON MY FOOD? www.whatsonmyfood.org
Read this article from the March 2, 2006 Palm Beach Post about Carlito and the severe birth deformities caused by pesticides in the children of farmworkers. Then come back to this GreenCAPE page and read how AG Mart finally quit using the worst pesticides, but only after being cited AGAIN for violations. Eating organic isn't just about you and me, its about farm worker health as well.
Foodnews.org As this new edition of Environmental Working Group's online food database shows, government tests reveal that organic is indeed a healthier food source. You can also check the pesticides in your fruits and vegetables. There is a report and handy wallet guide, too.
Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Massachusetts Massachusetts branch of NOFA. Info about the group, land care standards, links to other state groups. Click on the Organic Food Guide for Massachusetts.
Organic Consumer's Association The OCA is a grassroots non-profit public interest organization which deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, corporate accountability, and environmental sustainability. We are the only organization in the US focused exclusively on representing the views and interests of the nation's estimated ten million organic consumers.
Ocean's Alive It was the best of fish, it was the worst of fish. And Ocean's Alive will tell you which is which, along with a discussion of Omega-3 fats and stuff on dioxins in fish, much more.
USGS NAWQA Pesticide National Synthesis Project National assessment of pesticides in the streams, rivers, and ground water of the United States. You can download a report on the New England area here and lots more. water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/
Water Quality and the Future of Cape Cod A position paper and call to action from the Cape Cod Business Roundtable. Discusses the effects of inadequate wastewater treatment on Cape Cod and the future of our water.
EPA Mass Military Reservation Cleanup page
USGS Report:Pesticides are Everywhere
The
Quality of Our Nation's Waters: nutrients and pesticides
pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1225/pdf/index.html
It is perhaps most striking to directly quote that established, staid, federal agency that is known for just being interested in the facts --the United States Geological Survey. The USGS completed a comprehensive survey and pesticide testing program in 20 major watersheds. They tested for some 86 pesticides out of the 700 active ingredients currently in use. This is comprehensive because most testing covers only about 5 or 6 pesticides.
"At least one pesticide was found in almost every water and fish sample collected from streams in in more than one-half of shallow wells sampled in agricultural and urban areas. Almost every sample from streams and about one-half of samples from wells with a detected pesticide contained two or more pesticides. Although pesticides frequently are found in water, their potential effects on humans and aquatic life are not fully understood."
"More than one-half of agricultural and urban streams had concentrations of at least one pesticide that exceeded a guideline for the protection of aquatic life."
"Many pesticides and their breakdown products do not have standards or guidelines and current standards or guidelines, and current standards and guidelines do not yet account for exposure to mixtures and seasonal pulses of high concentrations. In addition, potential effects on reproductive, nervous, and immune systems, as well as on chemically sensitive individuals are not well understood. For example, some of the most frequently detected pesticides are suspected endocrine disrupters that have potential to affect reproduction or development of aquatic organisms or wildlife by interfering with natural hormones."
Organic
and Local Farmers' Markets, from Edible Cape Cod magazine
www.ediblecapecod.com/pages/resources.htm#markets
AHT
Know Your Milk Campaign rBGH
http://www.healthytomorrow.org/2008/06/milk.html
Got Milk? -- Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH)
Canada and the EU have banned the use of rBGH because of significant health concerns. Recombinant BGH is used mostly in large factory scale dairy operations and is a factor in squeezing smaller dairy farmers off the land.
MILK, rBGH, AND CANCER This article details many potential health problems for people and cows caused by Bovine Growth Hormone, as well as Monsanto's heavy-handed tactics in covering up the story.
BREAST CANCER, rBGH AND MILK Discusses studies tying insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) to breast cancer and to prostate cancer. IGF-1 levels are now being artificially increased in much of the cows' milk being sold throughout the U.S.
Know Your Food -- Don't eat another bite until you've read:
1. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
2. In Defense of Food: An eater's manifesto by Michael Pollan
3. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Got Bees?
Our food supply is heavily dependent on pollination and the future of the honeybee is in jeopardy because of habitat destruction and pesticide poisoning. Learn more and become a beekeeper.
Visit the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center /www.xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/
Pesticides Indicted in Bee Deaths www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/05/18/bees_pesticides/
List of Plants to Grow on Cape Cod to help the honeybees (download as pdf document).
Learn Bee Keeping Right Here on Cape Cod www.barnstablebeekeepers.org/bee_school/
*Organic food contains no added chemical residue other than that present in all food; all food contains some pesticides or other chemical toxins. These are present in the air we breathe and the water we drink. The only way to avoid them entriely is to not breathe, eat or drink. Not on my list of options.