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An Illegal Fungicide Found in Conventional Orange Juice – Another Reason to Buy Organic

Stories about the toxicity of our food supply just keep rolling in.

As I wrote about recently, numerous samples of conventional apple juice were found to have unsafe and illegal levels of arsenic. And now orange juice is having its own set of problems.

Coca-Cola, which makes Minute Maid and Simply Orange, reported to the FDA on December 28th that some Brazilian growers of oranges that are used in the company’s juices and those of its competitors had sprayed their trees with carbendazim, a toxic fungicide.

As a result, the FDA temporarily halted all shipments of imported orange juice while it conducts field tests. Products already on supermarket shelves that have “low levels” of carbendazim (80 parts per billion) may still be sold.

According to CitrusBR, an export trade association, Brazil produces approximately 1/6th of all orange juice consumed in the U.S.

While it is legal in Brazil, carbendazim is not approved for use on oranges in the U.S., as per the Environmental Protection Agency.

Studies have shown that high levels of carbendazim cause fertility problems in laboratory animals. Carbendazim has been banned on fruit trees in Australia and is banned in Europe.

MY TAKE

A few things.

1) While it was very noble of Coca-Cola to self-report these findings, why didn’t the FDA catch any of this?

Well, as it turns out, the agency doesn’t test for carbendazim because it has never been deemed a risk to human health, according to Bloomberg.

2) This is just another reason why people need to be buying organic.

Are even low levels” of carbendazim allowed on organic oranges? No.

Under USDA organic regulations, no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fungicides are permitted.

3) I am just not buying into these claims that low levels of toxic chemicals are not harmful to human health.

The issue is that humans, quite often babies and young children, are repeatedly and continuously exposed to these low levels. And these low levels accumulate in the body and become high levels.

Hence, that is where there the real problem lies.

4) As consumers, we have to take responsibility for our health because it is clear that our government is incapable of doing it for us.

And the safest, most nutritious food that we can be buying for our families is organic.

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Please forward this post to anyone that is still buying conventional orange juice.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

The Most Important Area of Your Health That You May be Ignoring

* Intellipure machines are 40x more efficient than the standard HEPA air machines.

* The patented DFS kill zone technology is proven to remove 99.99% of all harmful viruses, fungi, molds, bacteria and particles as small as .007 micron in size.

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For those of us who truly care about health, we eat organic food, we drink ultra-purified water, we exercise, we meditate, we do yoga, we have a positive attitude, we use clean personal care products and the list goes on and on and on.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

My Latest Concoction – Organic Black Sesame Seed Milk

Earlier this year, I wrote a post talking about the tremendous health benefits of black sesame seeds.

I love putting them on quinoa, millet, and on my salads, and they add a whole new dimension to whatever food that I am eating.

Since Brazil nut milk and cashew milk are two drinks that I make quite often, I started asking myself “What if I made a milk out of organic black sesame seeds?”

My immediate thought was that the taste would be too harsh or too strong, and that I would need to use a lot of honey or organic palm sugar to even it out.

Over the past week or so, I have been experimenting with black sesame seed milk and much to my surprise, I have been thrilled with the results.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Pure Rooms – Setting a New Standard for Healthy Traveling

For those of us who are extremely committed to health and wellness, the reality is that maintaining this lifestyle is very difficult when traveling.

At home, we have much greater control over our environment, but we lose that control when we go on the road, regardless of how aesthetically pleasing the living conditions may be.

Fortunately, the world is starting to change, and there are now businesses entirely focused on meeting the needs of the wellness-minded traveler.

One such company that I recently discovered is Pure Wellness, whose main offering is a Pure Room — a hotel room unlike anything I have seen before.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink