Want to reduce the risk of cancer? Eat organic food. This advice may not be earth-shattering to readers of Organic Gardener. But what is interesting is that the source of the advice is the President’s Cancer Panel, a mainstream body that reports directly to the US President.
The President’s Cancer Panel is the “mission control of mainstream scientific and medical thinking” says New York Times columnist Nicholas D Kristof, who describes the panel’s pro-organic stance in a new report as “astonishing”.
As well as avoiding pesticides in food, the report recommends that people filter their water, microwave food in ceramic or glass containers and choose toys and garden products that are low in toxins.
“In particular, the report warns about exposures to chemicals during pregnancy, when risk of damage seems to be greatest,” Kristof writes.
With 300 contaminants having been detected in umbilical cord blood, the report’s authors say that to a disturbing extent, babies are born “pre-polluted”.
The full report – Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk – can be read here.
