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Integrated Pest Management

Pesticide exposure and IQ

10 years ago

While waiting at the doctors yesterday I read in an issue of Parenting magazine, (2013) an article that said studies indicate that children, under age 5, exposed to pesticides had lower IQ's then peers not exposed. I have found, but not yet read, numerous other articles on line.

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Comments (5)

ronalawn82
10 years ago
kimmsr, I dread the phrase studies indicate.
Experimental Methods have changed a lot since my day; it seems like everything has. I have little time for a survey that does not narrate its objective, methods and materials and conclusions.
Two days ago I heard on radio, about the connections between doctors' surveys and benefits like money, speaking engagements etc. A day or two earlier there was a comment about the 'commercialization' of a children's disorder (AHDH, I believe). The promotion of medication appears to have been the objective.
I was listening to the TV one morning and there was an ad for a drug against diabetes. It seemed that the litany of side effects and cautions took up about 90 percent of the time.
I am quite convinced that:
1. There is no safe chemical; only safe ways of using chemicals.
2. All chemicals have side effects.
  These two guidelines have given me confidence to use chemicals at work and in the house without fear; and to question my doctor very pointedly about his prescriptions for me.
Kimmsr
Original Author
10 years ago
For many years I have seen the result of studies done on migrant farm workers children by the University of Florida and the University of California that showed a correlation between their exposure to pesticides and many health problems as well as lower IQs. Like lead from paint particles the primary point of exposure children under age 5 will be most exposed to pesticides would be in their homes, the one place they should be well nurtured.
Perhaps before totally discounting this you should do some research to find out more.

Here is a link that might be useful: pesticides and IQ
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My thoughts on pesticide and herbicide use were greatly influenced by a news report I heard on NPR years ago. I was driving so I couldn't write down any of the hard numbers or details so you'll just have to trust my memory. It was the results of a study comparing chemicals in the tissue of regular city dwellers against people that were born and raised on organic communes. I remember them saying that it took many years to compile enough samples to have a thousand of each category and that they were looking at samples taken throughout a persons life, from infancy to adulthood. There was no difference. The organic-food-only people had the same level of chemicals in their tissues. The explanation they gave was that our digestive system is very good at removing bad things from the food we eat and the fluids we drink but that our skin and lungs are very bad at it. So, drinking a glass of water with Chlorine and Fluoride in it had little effect on our health but taking a shower with the same water, where those chemicals are absorbed through our lungs does show up on these tests. Our man made environment exposes us to far more damage than the food we eat. Passing judgement on, and controlling the food people eat is the easy opinion to have even though it is not the truth nor will it solve the problem. I find that a lot of people screaming about chemical free fruit are the same people that scream about the high price of food. What burns me up is when you hear a food expert tell wanna-be chefs to look for the perfect unblemished fruit at the market - the desire for perfect and unblemished is part of the problem.
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Pesticide exposure and IQ
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The following was stated: "The natural ability to withstand spider mites in cotton is grossly inefficient to begin with...a fraction of loss of grossly inefficient control is negligible to worry about to begin with." H.Kuska comment. No documented was provided. My understanding is that it depends on the variety. For example: "The rate of increase of two spotted spider mites was lower on the okra leaf cultivar Siokra, than on the normal leaf cultivar, Deltapine 90, indicating that Siokra is more resistant." The above is from: Title: Spider Mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) Affect Yield and Fiber Quality of Cotton Author: WILSON, L. J. Published in: Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 86, Number 2, April 1993 , pp. 566-585(20) http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/esa/jee/1993/00000086/00000002/art00054 ----------------------------------------- What information does the article provide regarding "a fraction of loss of grossly inefficient control is negligible to worry about"? The article does not give actual numbers, but one can get an estimate from the graphs. When the % tannin is about 0.45, the number of mites is about 400. When the % tannin is about 1.0, the number of mites is about 175. The regular C12 cotton at seedling stage has about 1 % tannin, and the BT-C12 cotton has 0.5 % tannin. ----------------------------------------------------- My point is using this article is to demonstrate that my statement regarding the statement: "Because the genetic material is insect-specific, it poses no threat to the health of the crop or any other species." which was: H.Kuska comment: That sounds like an ideal solution but is it realistic? Nature has only so many biochemical routes available to it." can be documented with an example. This is the explanation that the authors propose for the effect of the Bt insertion. "Carbon and nitrogen metabolism are the most basic and major metabolic processes in plants. They are respectively related to the synthesis of carbohydrates and proteins. Gossypol and tannin are products of carbon metabolism in cotton plants; Bt protein expression is in the form of synthetic Bt protein, a nitrogen metabolic process (Yang et al. 2005). The insertion of the Bt gene usually enhances nitrogen metabolism in Bt cotton to promote the Bt protein expression. And selection for enhanced nitrogen metabolism will continue to be a priority in Bt cotton breeding program. It was reported that Bt cotton cultivars had higher intensity of leaf nitrogen metabolism than their wild parents, especially during squaring and boll-setting period (Chen et al. 2004). Enhanced nitrogen metabolism is bound to impact carbon metabolism, thus weakening the synthesis of condensed tannins in the cotton plant (Zhang and Guo 2000; Gao et al. 2008). In the present study, gossypol and tannin contents in Bt cotton leaves were substantially lower than in non-Bt cotton leaves. Similar results were observed by Olsen et al. (1998) who reported that total phenolic and tannins in Bt cotton were significantly reduced compared to conventional cotton. Also, Hagenbucher et al. (2013b) reported that Bt cotton contains reduced levels of induced terpenoids because of effective suppression of Bt-sensitive lepidopteran and suggested that lack of herbivore-induced secondary metabolites in Bt cotton was beneficial to non-target herbivores. Our results show that the occurrence of spider mites was more serious on Bt than non-Bt cotton, and the fitness of the mites to Bt cotton was higher than to non-Bt cotton. Thus, it is believed that the decreased generation time and the increased number of eggs laid by cotton spider mite were attributed to reductions in gossypol and tannin contents arising from gene insertion in Bt cotton."
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My minor in college was chemistry, so I posted a thread in Organic Rose entitled, "Woodash for blackspots and mildew, for acidic soil only". I'll re-post the info. I wrote on woodash as a natural pesticide: Woodash can also be used as insecticides ... see this excerpt from eHow: "Wood ash is a safe alternative to insecticide use in the garden. Wood ash repels insects, slugs and snails by drawing water from their bodies until they are dehydrated. Sprinkling ashes around the base of plants will control surface feeding insects." Wood ash has high pH above 11, caustic to my skin when I took wood ash from the neighbor's fire place. Its causticity kills insects on contact. Here's another excerpt from link below: "Abstract: Laboratory assays demonstrated that wood ash is toxic to adult and larval stages of the Colorado potato beetle. Insect mortality reached 100% among larvae and beetles continuously exposed to wood ash for periods of up to 10 days ... " http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12230-012-9234-7 **** From Straw: Wood ash is a better alternative than chemical insecticides, considering the following news: "Use of Common Pesticide, Imidacloprid, Linked to Bee Colony Collapse. Apr. 5, 2012 Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)." Imidacloprid is manufactured by Bayer Corp. Here's the info. from Wikipedia "Recent research suggests that widespread agricultural use of imidacloprid and other pesticides may be contributing to honey bee colony collapse disorder, the decline of honey bee colonies in Europe and North America observed since 2006.[8][9][10] As a result, several countries have restricted use of imidacloprid and other neonicotinoids.[8] In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority stated that neonicotinoids pose an unacceptably high risk to bees." Here is a link that might be useful: Science Daily news on Imidacloprid and Bee Collapse
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urgent message for those in nyc - the city is spraying pesticides
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Comments (1)
Have you got some follow up information to report? I'm very interested. Marie
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User
10 years ago
For many years I have seen the result of studies done on migrant farm workers children by the University of Florida and the University of California that showed a correlation between their exposure to pesticides

As their time in the fields goes up, so does the pesticide exposure ... and the time spent in school goes down. You can't separate the two, nor can you get rid of the damage that poor prenatal and early childhood nutrition and health care inflicts. And the culturally barren life they lead.

IQ is an artificial construct that depends on a certain level of familiarity with the culture the test was written for. My tested IQ is well into Mensa territory, but when I took a picture-based test meant to screen pre-schoolers, I tested as barely educable. Why? It was for Japanese preschoolers and I had no idea what was going on. Most of the class did even worse than I did.

To the child of migrant workers, the cultural assumptions of those tests are as foreign to them as Japan was to me.
ronalawn82
10 years ago
kimmsr, I did not mean to indicate that I would "totally discount" this study; only that I know that I would have to give it a lot of scrutiny.
"University studies" used to be unimpeachable sources for me ... until I stumbled across sites like THESE.
Long ago and far away, I had to study 'Silent Spring' by Ms. Rachel Carson. Later, I was impressed by the dogged intuition (there is no other word) of Dr. Frances Kelsey (she is my nominee for "Mother of the Nation") in her single-handed battle against the approval of thalidomide.
The work of these two women highlight the mine strewn path we must carefully and cautiously tread whenever we think of using chemicals.
And purely to demonstrate the effectiveness of adhering to the two maxims in my previous post, I tested and used agricultural chemicals for 20 years in commercial agriculture.
I have two medical conditions.
Osteoarthritis which is pretty prevalent in my father's side of the family.
High cholesterol which also afflicts every close blood relation of mine.
On this latter, it almost amuses me to reflect that my 'high' cholesterol level now, was 'normal' five years ago.
That is why I refuse to take any cholesterol-lowering medication.

This post was edited by ronalawn82 on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 7:56
Kimmsr
Original Author
10 years ago
There is a lot of really good information available on the internet and there is a lot of very bad misinformation on the internet, each of us needs to look at what is there and determine what is good and discount the rest. However, even sites like Organic Consumers Association can be good sources of information, unless one is totally biased against them.

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