Is Your Food Exposing You To This Pesticide?

Sherman: In the 1970's, I began doing worker compensation cases involving people working in foundries and I began to see a high incidence of lung disease. When the occupational medicine department at my university told me the information was anecdotal and there were not enough cases to be statistically significant, I sent the information to former Senator Phil Hart (D-Mich) who was working with the consumer advocate Ralph Nader at the time. Soon, the information I had uncovered was on the front page of the New York Times and I began to be flooded with information and requests from people who had knowledge of other apparent environment toxicity cases. I became specialized in toxicology and continue to cover environmental hazards presented by radiation, chemicals and pesticides like Dursban.

 

Rosenberg: Since Dursban's ban, there have been calls for a Lorsban ban because of its effects on farm workers. In India, Dow's offices were raided by Indian authorities for allegedly bribing officials to allow chlorpyrifos to be sold in the country. (Dow bought the Union Carbide plant in India where the 1984 Bhopal gas leak occurred.) And In 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service sought chlorpyrifos restrictions because of dangerous levels seen in Pacific salmon and steelhead. Yet, like DDT, there have been calls to bring Dursban back into wider use--especially when bedbug infestations hit major cities.

 

Sherman: Well, with many of these harmful chemicals, you need to follow the money. In some. cases companies making harmful chemicals are even making drugs to treat their effects, like anti-cancer drugs. But consumers are not off the hook either, because we fail to ask questions, pay attention and read the fine print! END

An earlier version of this interview appeared on Alternet.org

 

Janette Sherman, MD specializes in internal medicine and toxicology with an emphasis on chemicals and nuclear radiation that cause illness, including cancer and birth defects.

 

Martha Rosenberg's first book, Born with a Junk Food Deficiency, was recently featured on C-SPAN2's Book TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hZNG7P0Nns&feature=relmfu

 

Full hour click here

 

 

 

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