• “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
• Americans enjoy the safest, most wholesome food supply in the world.
• 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 U.S. produces more than 211 billion pounds of the world’s food grain. That’s 10 percent of the world’s production.
• 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 risks, risks associated with crop protection products are negligible.
• The result of tests must be interpreted with caution. A mouse is not a little man.
• Did you know that growing a day’s food for one adult takes about 1,700 gallons of water?
• Mother Nature is the largest pesticide manufacturer on the globe. She produces natural poisons that are more prevalent and often hundreds or thousands of times more potent than synthetic pesticides.
• Only one in 20,000 chemicals actually survives the eight- to 10-year development, testing and EPA-registration process.
• Farmers comprise less than 2 percent of the population in this country, yet that 2 percent feeds the other 98 percent.
• “I tell my children to feed [my grandchildren] whatever they buy. They need not be afraid of any pesticide residue on food that’s bought in the marketplace in the U.S. because it’s regulated. I eat it all the time.”-Dr. C. Everett Koop, Former U.S. Surgeon General
• One acre of wheat can produce 2,819 one-pound-loaves of bread.
• “Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It is lent to you by your children.”-Kenyan proverb
• The average American eats 237 eggs and 26.8 pounds of cheese each year.
• According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no scientific evidence that ingestion of pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables causes cancer in human beings.
• There are numerous uses for pesticides, which frequently are overlooked. Hospitals and doctor’s offices are kept germ-free with pesticides. Pesticides also keep restaurant and school kitchens free of insects and rodents.
• Residue levels are measured in 1 part per trillion.
- One part per million = 1 square inch in a baseball diamond
- One part per billion = 1 second in 32 years
- One part per trillion = 1 square foot in the state of Indiana
• A 150 pound adult could eat 875 pounds of broccoli or 3,000 heads of lettuce every day for the rest of his or her life and still not consume the amount of residues found to cause health problems in laboratory mice.
• A 40 pound child could eat 340 oranges a day for the rest of his or her life and still not consume the amount of residues found to cause health problems in laboratory mice.
• A 20 pound child could eat 870 apples a day for the rest of his or her life and still not consume the amount of residues found to cause health problems in laboratory mice.
• “By focusing on hypothetical risk, like that from pesticides, not only do people find their anxiety levels elevated, they often neglect all the other things that they could be doing more readily, more legitimately, and with greater effect, such as paying attention to smoking, alcohol, exercise, balanced diet and so on.”-Dr. C. Everett Koop, Former U.S. Surgeon General
Reprint permission given by AgAir Update, P.O. Box 850, Perry, GA 31069 - an international agricultural aviation publication.
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