Did you know that multiple herbicides, pesticides, and poisons currently in use in the United States are banned in most of the developed world due to KNOWN neurotoxicity.

“The U.S. EPA continues to allow use of 85 pesticides for outdoor agricultural applications that are banned or in the process of being completely phased out elsewhere, including 72 in the E.U., 17 in Brazil and 11 in China.” ¹

I am writing this today as I am sitting in a geriatric medicine class on Parkinson’s Disease. The amazing and horrifying fact that I am learning is that there is a clear relationship between exposure to the following chemicals and the development of this devastating neurodegenerative disorder: Rotenone, Paraquat, and trichloroethylene. All three are regulated in other countries. Yet we continue to allow the use of these chemicals in the US basically because the companies that make them have blocked through various means the removal of these chemicals off the market. Paraquat is a good example of this phenomena.² There is a current lawsuit that seeks to overturn the EPA decision to allow this product to continue on the market. ³

This topic is a recurring issue in the US as companies whose products are not tested thoroughly continue to persist despite developing evidence against their use (watch Erin Brockovich). The reason behind this is typically money. How many of the products that we are exposed to have unknown toxicity and may be behind the amazing rise of neurodegenerative disorders recently, like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. This is just a scary thought about our modern life.

What to do about this? Avoid using these types of products. Use natural means to grow your food. Buy organic, grow your own, or visit a local farmer’s market where you can actually talk to the growers about how they deal with pests and weeds. In terms of unknown exposure, the advice is not that different than anything else we’ve discussed: eat naturally, exercise to improve your immune system, wear protective gear when working with chemicals, and work on spending time in the outdoors. Make rational decisions about a natural life, as opposed to short cuts with chemicals that can possibly shorten your life.

I think I’m going to go out to the garden and be thankful for it.

References:

1. https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/united-states-uses-85-pesticides-outlawed-in-other-countries-2019-06-06/#:~:text=Pesticides%20approved%20in%20the%20United,%2C%20streptomycin%2C%20terbufos%20and%20tribufos. ↩︎
2. https://abcnews.go.com/US/burns-crisp-farmers-allege-link-popular-herbicide-parkinsons/story?id=102449723#:~:text=Although%20Syngenta%20and%20Chevron%20told,the%20herbicide%20could%20%22cause%20severe ↩︎
3. https://earthjustice.org/article/this-weed-killer-is-linked-to-parkinsons-why-isnt-it-banned-yet ↩︎