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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.

—-

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

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Top 10 Green Vegetables by Nutrient Density

When you go into the produce section of Whole Foods, you’ll notice signs that say “ANDI Score” with a number associated with that respective food.

Created by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, ANDI stands for “Aggregate Nutrient Density Index” and ranks a food’s nutrient density on a scale from 1 to 1000.

The ANDI scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities, and by dividing the nutrient level of a food by its caloric content (N/C).

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Why Organic Almonds? Because of the Super-Toxic Fumigant Propylene Oxide

As more and more people are moving toward a plant-based diet and migrating away from animal products, organic cannot be forgotten in this equation.

Unfortunately, I see far too many people who think that as long as it is plant-based, that is sufficient. It’s not.

Case in point: almonds.

In the early 2000s, there were a few outbreaks of salmonella traced to raw almonds from California, a state where nearly 100% of America’s almonds are grown. As a result, the USDA implemented a rule that required all almonds grown in California to be pasteurized. This holds true for both organic and non-organic varieties.

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 #1 Health Question You’re NOT Being Asked – What is Your Glyphosate Mitigation Strategy?

After being in the wellness world for more than 14 years and having eaten close to 100% organic since 2001, it has become painfully clear that almost everyone is ignoring one critical issue when it comes to their health – glyphosate.

Not paying attention to it could have very serious ramifications to your physical and emotional well-being, starting with your gut health.

And eating an all-organic diet is just not enough.

WHAT IS GLYPHOSATE AND WHY IS IT SO PROBLEMATIC?

Glyphosate is the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s toxic chemical Roundup , and it is the most widely sprayed herbicide in the world.

Approximately, 281 million pounds of it are used each year on U.S. farms, and this number does not include the amount sprayed on public parks, schools, homes and gardens.

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