• The agricultural industry invests annually and works continuously to research, develop and test new pesticides and fertilizers that are more effective but have less impact on the environment.
• According to the American Council on Science and Health, human exposure to chemicals consists overwhelmingly of exposure to chemicals of natural, not man-made, origin.
• A cup of coffee is estimated to contain more than 2,000 natural chemical components, few of which have been adequately studied and many of which have never even been identified, according to the American Council on Science and Health.
• The primary reason for washing produce before eating it is to get rid of dirt and bacteria from handling the produce. Most chemical residues from crop protection products that could be found on your fruits and vegetables are completely gone by the time the produce gets to your market.
• Each year, 15 million children worldwide die from starvation. That’s about the equivalent of the combined population of the central U.S. including CO, KS, NE, OK, ND, SD, NM, MT and WY.
• “At the moment, there is just no evidence that the food supply represents a hazard that would require any change in the regulatory programs currently administered by federal agencies and the states.”—Dr. Sanford A. Miller, former director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
• In 1950, American farmers produce 36.9 bushels of corn per acre. Today, American farmers produce about 118.5 bushels per acre.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state regulatory agencies enforce one of the most stringent regulatory systems in the world to ensure the safety of our produce.
• “Our food is not only the safest but also the most abundant in the world. Science and good sense will eventually prevail, but not until the pesticide terrorists have had another lick or two.”—Dr. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General.
• Pesticides must pass up to 120 EPA required health, environmental, safety and other tests before they can be used.
• Americans enjoy the safest, most wholesome food supply in the world.
• Agriculture is the nation’s largest employer, with more than 21 million people working in some phase — from growing food and fiber to selling it at the supermarket.
• The Food and Drug Administration estimates that up to 81 million illnesses a year are caused by food-born micro organisms that occur naturally.
• We consume about 45 micrograms (or 45 one-millionths) of man-made pesticide residues per day. We consume 500 micrograms (equivalent to one cent in $10,000) of natural carcinogens in a cup of coffee.
• The cost of naturally occurring food-born microorganisms in medical expenses, lost wages, productivity and destruction of tainted food could be as high as $10 billion per year.
• There is a lethal dose of caffeine in approximately 100 cups of coffee, and a lethal dose of ethanol in a fifth of hard liquor. Compared to these risk, risks associated with crop protection products are negligible.
• The result of tests must be interpreted with caution. A mouse is not a little man.
Reprint permission given by AgAir Update, P.O. Box 850, Perry, GA 31069 - an international agricultural aviation publication.
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