Food for Thought

Quick facts about the food Americans eat:

• A generation ago, three-quarters of the meals consumed in the U.S. were made at home. Today, three-quarters of meals are prepared outside the home, mainly at fast food restaurants. A fast-food kitchen is merely the final state in a vast system of mass production.
• Many of you have already consumed genetically modified (GM) foods. Between 50 million to 70 million acres of farmland are currently sown with GM seeds- mostly soya, corn, cotton, potatoes, tomatoes, and wheat. Four years ago, the acreage was zero. The FDA does not require food labels on GM foods.
• According to the Pesticide Action Network, more than 20,000 pesticides are registered for use in the U.S. About 75% of the chemicals (some 2.2 billion pounds annually) are used on more than 900,000 U.S. farms at an annual cost of $8.3 billion.
• News reports recently noted our exposure to man-made chemicals through our food is suspected of being a major factor in the increase risk to cancer, nervous system disorders and endocrine system disorders.
• Groundwater contamination caused by pesticides has spread pollutants to our world’s rivers, lakes, and oceans- often killing wildlife and aquatic plants.
• Some experts believe that certain agricultural chemicals can be toxic to fetuses.
• 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides, and 30% of all insecticides are considered carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• In 1987, the National Academy of Sciences reported that an estimated 20,000 cases of cancer a year can be linked to U.S. pesticide use.

For more information, visit The Turnip Truck.