Strawberries - Should We Still Eat This Super Berry?


by Heather Pilatic, PhD, Pesticide Action Network North America

Strawberries are a quintessential summer treat. As with tomatoes, the only time this fruit actually tastes the way it's supposed to is while in season, and that season is nearly upon us.

Strawberries aren't just delicious, they have super-hero nutritional qualities. An apple a day has been claimed to keep the doctor away, but new research from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California shows that eating a few cups of this berry could keep away not just one doctor but many of them - the neurologist, endocrinologist, and maybe even the oncologist! As MarilLyn Linton writes in The Toronto Sun, strawberries "protect against a plethora of diseases - from cancer to Alzheimer's and diabetes...some nerve system disorders...(and they) also activate the brain's natural 'housekeeper' mechanism which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to memory decline and loss." Strawberries are the latest super food!

But, while you may be quick to pick up a pint of strawberries during their seasonal window when the price is right, do you know where they come from or how they've been grown? The answer to this question reveals how strawberries also have the potential to be super-villains.

More than 80 percent of the nation's strawberries are grown in California and, unless we take action, many of these farms will soon begin using a fumigant (a pesticide injected as a gas to sterilize the soil) known as methyl iodide.The science on methyl iodide is strong and clear: scientists have overwhelmingly concluded that the public and environmental health risks associated with this chemical are extraordinary, even for a fumigant (fumigant pesticides are among the most toxic and difficult to control). Methyl iodide is a known carcinogen, neurotoxin, and mutagen… According to the chair of the Scientific Review Committee, Dr. John Froines, “there is no safe level of use for methyl iodide.”

Scientists use this chemical in the lab to induce cancer in cells and take serious precautions — using a ventilation hood and protective gear when handling small amounts. Yet, in California, methyl iodide is injected into the soil as a gas at rates of up to 100 lbs per acre. In addition to the threat posed to farmworkers and communities living next to strawberry fields, methyl iodide will likely contaminate groundwater.

Strawberries grown with methyl iodide will still be nutritional powerhouses, but if your berry leaves a wake of workers with more cancer, contaminated groundwater and serious risk of neurodevelopmental harm for kids who were exposed in the womb -- can that still be called "healthy"?

Strawberries are naturally delicious and incredibly nutritious. How often do we find a food that's so tasty and so amazingly good for us? Does this mean we stop eating them? No, just look for organic strawberries at your farmers market instead!

Source: www.healthychild.org/blog...
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Previous Comments

D commented on 24-Aug-2011 11:24 PM5 out of 5 stars
How can we keep this poison away from the strawberries & our environment? I have an idea: contact our lawmakers and bring this to their attention. Better yet, if I only know who their mothers are, I'd call them to let them know about it. Maybe they can
bring this to their lawmaker's attention. Otherwise, poisoned strawberries is what's for dessert!
Nell commented on 24-Aug-2011 11:41 PM5 out of 5 stars
I'm convinced that I have to grow just about everything I eat. LOL How can you even trust the "organic" farmers market to be true to their word about not using deadly toxins on the soil and produce?
Brenda commented on 25-Aug-2011 01:40 AM5 out of 5 stars
What appall me more than anything is the large number of Americans that could just care less about what they consume. When will they become more responsible for taking better care of themselves. These same people are the ones that shove pharmaceutical
drugs down their throats when they do become ill. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES...do not eat anything with pesticides or chemicals....
Ruth Carlsonb commented on 25-Aug-2011 03:19 AM5 out of 5 stars
Some of us have the luxury of choosing organic, but what about those that don't have a choice? And how about the contaminated groundwater, etc.? We need to SAY NO to ANY usage of methyl iodide on foods!
Anonymous commented on 25-Aug-2011 03:51 AM5 out of 5 stars
Organic is the way to go.
Ellen commented on 25-Aug-2011 04:10 AM5 out of 5 stars
I live in a townhouse with a small backyard, and I grow my own Organic strawberries on a two x four foot plot. Plenty of safe delicious berries.
Anonymous commented on 25-Aug-2011 04:43 AM5 out of 5 stars
Well, they have been using bromide as a fumigant (another halide) and it was just as toxic, so much so, that it is being replaced with the halide, iodine. Inorganic iodine is safe and an important nutrient but organic (methylated0 iodine is toxic. Bromide
is toxic either way.
De commented on 25-Aug-2011 09:48 AM5 out of 5 stars
We tried growing our own strawberries once, the ones the dogs didn't eat were scrawney and aweful tasting./ what's the key to yummy strawberries/
Anonymous commented on 29-Aug-2011 02:41 PM5 out of 5 stars
Unless you are able to grow your own food, EATING IS ABOUT THE SAME AS PLAYING "RUSSIAN ROULETTE." Who can anyone trust these days? It's disgusting!! Thank YOU. Joe
Nik commented on 02-Sep-2011 11:10 PM5 out of 5 stars
It just makes me so mad that this is even legal!
lya commented on 03-Sep-2011 02:11 PM5 out of 5 stars
Yes people, its all about money because the farmer needs to make a living. But if all of the people were prepared to pay more for their produce, the farmers wouldn't need to use chemicals to produce strawberries or anything else. You, the consumers are
the ones dictating how they grow their produce. If only the governments of the world would get on board and pay farmers to Not Use Chemicals.
Kathy commented on 09-Sep-2011 07:54 PM5 out of 5 stars
Is there anyway we can wash it off before eating the strawberries? Organic strawberries are hideously expensive!
Anonymous commented on 17-Apr-2012 09:48 AM5 out of 5 stars
Strawberries are a soft fruit which means that the chemicals are absorbed deeply into the fruit. Washing isn't enough. Eat more whole foods all around, avoid animal products and your organic strawberries won't seem like such a financial burden.
Michel commented on 17-Apr-2012 09:52 AM5 out of 5 stars
The key to healthy strawberries is a healthy and living soil. Make your own compost!
Ernie Zelinski commented on 17-Apr-2012 10:40 AM5 out of 5 stars
Washing the strawberries will not do the trick. Even "organic" does not guarantee that there are no pesticides or other harmful chemicals. There is much less of a chance that "organic" labeled produce has toxic chemicals. The Canadian Health Department
found that something like 30 percent of "organic" labeled apples still had pesticides whereas about 70 percent of ordinary apples had pesticides.
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