Food

Healthy food is a building block of a healthy body. Unfortunately, today’s food can play host to a wide array of chemicals that can impair our health. Some chemicals are put in our food intentionally, like preservatives, additives and colorings. Others end up in our food as residues from using pesticides, antibiotics or chemicals in packaging. Healthy food is especially important for children because, pound for pound, children eat more food. For example, the average infant's daily consumption of six ounces of formula or breast milk per kilogram of body weight is equivalent to an adult male drinking 50 eight-ounce glasses of milk a day.¹ Likewise, proportionate to its body weight, the average one-year-old eats two to seven times more grapes, bananas, pears, carrots and broccoli than an adult.²

¹Bearer CF. "Environmental Health Hazards: How Children Are Different From Adults." Future of Children Summer/Fall 1995;5(2):11-26.
² National Research Council. Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993.

Take action

Food and Farm Toolkit A Guide for Community Organizers
(PDF format). From Oxfam America, a tool kit to support healthy food in your community.

Food and Food Purchasing: A Role for Health Care
Health Care Without Harm

Healthy Food, Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Communities
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Healthy Hospital Food Initiative
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Resources

Eat Well Guide
GRACE
Online database for finding healthy meat, poultry and dairy near you.

Food and Farm Connections
Land Stewardship Project
Buy food from Minnesota’s local farmers

Organics Directory
Organic Consumers Association

Potential Public Health Impacts Of The Use Of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin in Dairy Production
Consumers Union

Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce
Environmental Working Group
A wallet guide to produce based on the results of more than 100,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 1992 and 2001

Smart Fish Calculator
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Online tool for calculating how much fish is safe to consume based on their body weight.

Smart Fish Guide
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
PDF

Smart Meat and Dairy Guide
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
PDF

Smart Produce Guide
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
PDF

Quick tips for food

1. One of the most important things you can do for your child’s health is provide a balanced, varied diet and lay the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy eating habits. Regardless of possible chemical contaminants, a diet high in fresh produce and whole grains and low in fats and sugars builds a healthy body that is more able to fight off the ill effects of environmental toxins.

2. Buy certified organically grown food whenever possible to avoid exposure to pesticides. If you cannot afford to buy all organic, try to at least purchase the organic options of what your child eats most. In addition, some conventionally grown foods typically have fewer pesticides. Use the following table to help you find which fruits and vegetables are safer.

Highest pesticide residues buy these organically grown		Lowest pesticide residues safer non-organic options
Fruits	Vegetables	Fruits	Vegetables
Apples Cherries Grapes, imported Nectarines Peaches Pears Red Raspberries Strawberries	Bell Peppers Carrots Celery Green beans Hot peppers Potatoes Spinach	Apple juice Bananas Kiwi Fruit Mangoes Orange juice Papaya Peaches, canned Pineapples Plums Tangerines	Asparagus Avocado Broccoli Cabbage Cauliflower Corn, sweet Onions Peas, sweet

3. Thoroughly wash hands, food and cooking utensils and use proper refrigeration and heating practices to avoid bacterial food-borne illnesses.

Check out:

Basics for Handling Food Safely – US Department of Agriculture

Alternatives to Antibacterials and Disinfectants: Safer Ways to Keep Germs at Bay – Children’s Health Environmental Coalition.

4. Eat low fat, organic and antibiotic-free meat and dairy products. Cancer causing chemicals like dioxins and PCBs accumulate in fatty foods, so eat lower fat dairy and meats, and cut away any fat that can be trimmed before cooking. Purchase dairy and meat that has been raised antibiotic-free. Large factory farms routinely use antibiotics as feed additives for livestock and poultry, not to treat disease, but to compensate for crowded, stressful, unsanitary conditions. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that 70% of all antibiotics in the U.S. are used as feed additives for pigs, poultry and cattle. Antibiotic overuse in food animals worsens antibiotic resistance, and can contribute to food contaminated with drug-resistant, disease-causing bacteria, as well as possible air, water and soil contamination.

5. Be aware of fish consumption guidelines. Mercury, PCBs and other contaminants are common in some fish. These toxins can damage the developing brains of fetuses and young children. You can reduce exposure to these toxins by eating fish lower in mercury and learning how to cut the fat away from fish that contain PCBs and other fat-loving toxins. (Mercury is found in the muscle.) Serve children “chunk light” tuna, which has lower mercury and limit to a half a can per week.

6. Buy dairy products from animals raised without the use of recombinant synthetic bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST). The health effects of rBGH have not been widely tested for long-term health consequences. What we do know is that milk from rBGH treated cows may contain the residues of up to 80 different drugs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admits that the use of rBGH in cows may lead to increased amounts of pus and bacteria in milk and has released studies showing that milk from rBGH-treated cows could have more saturated fat and less protein than regular milk. (Organic Consumer’s Association’s consumer warning on rBGH dairy.)

7. Avoid micro-waving food in plastic. Until more research is done on the effects of long-term exposure to chemicals that leach from plastics into food, you may want to take general precautions and avoid plastics that have been linked to health problems. Even the plastics industry recommends that plastic wrap not touch food when heating it. Plastics are classified into 7 categories. Look for the recycling symbol and use only those numbered 1, 2, 4, or 5 for food storage.

8. Choose minimally processed and packaged foods. A typical highly processed "food product" may contain little natural food and be high in fat, salt, sugar, preservatives, artificial flavors and food colorings.

9. Prepare your own meals from scratch. It might take a little more time, but you’ll likely save money and resources, because you’re not paying someone else to prepare, package, transport and advertise your meals. Home cooking is healthier and more nutritious because you start with fresh ingredients. Get creative and involve the whole family in the process and you’ll also be helping teach your children healthy eating habits for life.