Why are we so sick?
by Shoshanna Harrari

"I feel funny..."

If I asked you what you ate for breakfast today, there could be many answers. But whether it was oatmeal or orange juice, cornflakes or strawberries and cream, it's a sure bet that tagging along with your meal - and without your consent or knowledge - you are also being treated to a "chemical cocktail" of small doses of pure poison. The National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. estimates that approximately 1.4 million cancer deaths occur due to the consumption of pesticide residues in foods. As a rule, these pesticides are used more in Israel than in the U.S.

Hundreds of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides are sprayed on to food as it is grown. As a result, factory foods and farm produce are saturated with toxins, and no amount of washing, scrubbing, or cooking can get them out. These substances also bio-accumulate in the tissues of animals that eat sprayed grains and hay.

Sometimes, after eating a meal, sensitive people will experience reactions such as headaches, nausea, sudden rashes, diarrhea, etc. For most of us, there is a more cumulative effect, and unless you are over 60 years old, you have been ingesting this "deadly trio" every day of your life.

The most obvious long tem effect is a general weakening of the immune system, already overworked, trying to fight off the constant barrage of environmental pollutants form the air and water. This opens up new avenues for infection and tumors, while aggravating painful and debilitating diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the University of Quebec in Montreal have found that exposure to commonly used pesticides reduced immune system responses in laboratory animals by 50 to 80 percent. "These chemicals are believed to disarm white blood cells called microphages which alert the immune system to invasion."

Picture yourself…

You have been invited to a fancy dinner party. Romantic setting, joyful occasion. You are asked to sit down and a friendly waitress serves you a delicious looking dinner on beautiful china. The wine sparkles, delicious aromas fill the air. Just as you are about to take your first bit, along comes a waiter with a small bowl of powdered pesticides, and with a silver spoon held high, he asks you if you would care for a sprinkle. Horrified?

But every day, in every way, from the marketplace to the supermarket, from restaurant to hospital cafeteria, your food is saturated with poisons. But there are no notices, no warning labels. After all, who would buy it if they really knew? A recent Harris poll in the U.S. found that 84 percent of those surveyed would choose organic food if they had the option. In fact, some U.S. supermarkets have sections selling organic produce and dairy products.

Even if farmers would adhere to the recommended guidelines for toxic pesticide us (which they don't), and even if there were effective enforcement agencies to guarantee such things (which there aren't), people are human and profit is a temptation. Just think of the "strawberry scandal" a few years ago, when pesticides meant only for non edible crops such as cotton, found their way into the first offering of spring strawberries, just in time for the holidays . Perhaps you read about it in the newspapers. All the same, they were not removed from the market. Some growers have their own personal strawberry beds and won't even eat from their own commercial fields. The saying "Let the buyer beware" takes on a new meaning!

This is only one item that we know about. What about all the others? Why risk your health? Why knowingly be a party to your own demise? And then there are the farmers themselves. A U.N. report estimates that the total world pesticide poisoning of farm workers could be as high as two million a year.

There is an alternative and you can take advantage of it today. All over this country - and in Europe and America - there are small, ever growing numbers of organic farmers. Some are independent, some are part of larger kibbutzim and moshavim. They practice the agricultural methods of biblical ecology and modern innovation, using natural fertilizers and time tested methods of encouraging insect and plant disease. The end product is good for you - to build your health, not to rob you of it.

Sweet watermelon, pink grapefruit, lemons, cherries, avocados, squashes, onions, potatoes, eggs, bread, tofu, spices, honey, pickles and more are just some of the organically grown foods available. The list is longer than you think. And the producers will bring them to your door, if you like. No more shlepping!

With more and more people demanding poison-free produce, increasing numbers of farmers will begin to see the financial advantages of marketing this way, and will also opt to be part of this old/new direction. Farmers know that the constant poisoning of the fruits and vegetables is harming the infrastructure of their soil, contributing to its infertility and sickness. Changing their agricultural methods will prove to be a double blessing - a first step towards the renewal of the health of the people who eat the food they grow, and the restoration of the land…and the choice is yours.