Most of us have never been told that peanuts are treated with controversial pesticides. Most of the peanuts consumed in the U.S. are now one of the most pesticide-contaminated snacks we eat. The USDA Pesticide Data Program found 8 pesticides on peanut butter. Piperonyl butoxide was found 26.9% of the time.
We tend to only hear about the peanut allergy when it comes to peanuts in the news, but a deeper look into how we grow peanuts today unearths a lot of questions.
Since when did so many kids suddenly have a peanut allergy? The number of people with peanut allergy has quadrupled in the last thirteen years. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich hasn’t always been a loaded weapon on a lunchroom table.
From 1997-2002, the incidence of peanut allergy doubled. In the last thirteen year, it has quadrupled. In the last fifteen years, there has been a 50% increase in the number of children with food allergies. About 1 in 13 U.S. children have food allergies — a 50 percent increase from the late 1990s, according to a recent CDC survey.
But that’s not where it stops.
Children with food allergy are two to four times more likely to have other related conditions such as asthma and other allergies, compared with children without food allergies.
In part, this is why this generation of children has earned the title of “Generation Rx.” They can’t go anywhere without an asthma inhaler or EpiPen, a life saving injection of epinephrine should an allergic reaction occur. In 2012, EpiPen sales were on track to bring in $640 million this year, a 76 percent increase over last year.
And when President Obama shared on CBS News last year that his daughter has a peanut allergy and asthma, peanut allergies got even more serious, and the online world got fired up, as the President was signing a bipartisan bill that offers a financial incentive to states if schools stockpile epinephrine. Epinephrine, also known by the brand name, EpiPen, is considered the first-line treatment for people with severe allergies.
Online comments flooded in:
As a mother of two kids with severe peanut allergy, I think this is a GREAT idea! We are a military family and have had three addresses in the last few months. Each time my son had to be enrolled in school we need a form signed by our doctor for each the Benedryl and Epipen. Our doc no longer faxes these forms so there IS a waiting period while it goes through the mail!!! I can rest easy that our school has a few on hand until the paperwork gets signed and mailed to me and I can supply our own Rx epipens!!!
Epi-pens do expire but they likely are good for 2-3 years. They are ridiculously expensive. A 250ml bottle of generic epinephrine costs about $3, but an epi-pen containing 0.20ml of the same strength epinephrine costs about $300, probably due to the patent on the auto-injector.
25% of anaphylactic reactions happen in those with no known/diagnosed allergy. This can include food allergies and bee sting allergies. The risks of not administering epinephrine in an emergent situation far outweigh any risks of giving it. For example, anaphylaxis is often confused with severe asthma attacks but epinephrine was the first line treatment for severe asthma attacks for years.
Here’s an idea…lets have the PARENTS of the kid who has allergies send the EpiPens into school vs having the schools pay to stockpile them, when most will not be used and expire anyway. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize kids didn’t have all these “allergies” before chemicals were put into our food.
Others called this a “band aid” solution to a real problem: the skyrocketing rates of allergies in our children and how to get to the bottom of what is causing them. Some will talk about peanut oil used in vaccines and others will float the hygiene hypothesis, saying that we are no longer exposed to healthy bacteria because we no longer live on farms. The peanut allergy epidemic began fifteen years ago. We weren’t living on a farm when this took off. If we are going to talk about our overly Purell-ed environment, then we also need to talk about the fact that we are no longer exposed to healthy bacteria because how our food is now processed, treated with chlorine, preservatives, antibiotic, growth hormones and synthietc chemicals before it even hits our dinner plates.
It begs the question: Are we allergic to food? Or to what’s been done to it? Are we allergic to peanuts or what’s been done to them?
And why all of a sudden do we have so many children with such severe food allergies that it requires the President to essentially write a prescription for kids around the country?
Well, a closer look at the mighty peanut might shed some light.
It’s interesting to note that the peanut is actually a bean. Its shape is similar to a soybean, and it is not a nut at all. It is part of the legume family but different to the soybean and other beans which grow in pods on vines. The peanut has its pod in the ground.
In other words, it’s buried in the soil. It has a soft skin that protects it (not a hard shell like a walnut). Put anything in that soil and you can imagine how it gets absorbed into the peanut. Put genetically engineered seeds in that soil and you get soil that is saturated with a controversial chemical, glyphosate, linked to everything from cancer to infertility.
Peanut crops are often rotated with cotton crops, and now that cotton has been genetically engineered to withstand increasing doses of crop chemicals, it’s anyone’s guess as to just how polluted that soil has become.
But it’s not a guess to the farmers.
According to farmers, “Peanuts are raised in the part of our country where peanuts are a rotation crop with cotton. Most of the cotton is glyphosate tolerant and receives numerous glyphosate applications per year. Glyphosate severely damages the beneficial microorganisms in the soil. This leads to an increase in the population of opportunistic or bad organisms in the soil. The bad organisms cause an increase in the number of diseases that will adversely effect the peanut crop. This leads to an increased use of insecticides and fungicides on the peanut crop. It is common to see a conventional peanut crop sprayed with some type of pesticide every 8-10 days during the growing season.”
“Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body,” the study says. The EPA is conducting a standard registration review of glyphosate and has set a deadline of 2015 for determining if glyphosate use should be limited. The study is among many comments submitted to the agency.
Peanuts tend to be grown in warm climates and as a result things can get pretty humid. Fungus can grow, and this results in increased use of fungicides being applied to non-organic peanut crops.
The fungus itself is not what we need to worry about (though the increasing levels of fungicides raises concern), but there is a poison that is released from the fungus known as “aflatoxin”. This cancer causing agent can attack the liver and is a deadly toxin. Scientists have expressed concern over low-level, long-term exposures to aflatoxin. According to Cornell University, studies have shown a correlation with liver cancer risk.
Because the peanut is also a big target for little pests, peanuts are also one of the crops most heavily routinely saturated with pesticides.
Most of the peanuts consumed in the U.S. are now one of the most pesticide-contaminated snacks we eat. The USDA Pesticide Data Program found 8 pesticides on peanut butter. Piperonyl butoxide was found 26.9% of the time.
According to the National Pesticide Information Center, piperonyl butoxide is considered a possible human carcinogen based on limited evidence of cancer in laboratory animals. Piperonyl Butoxide (PBO), a highly toxic substance that causes a range of short- and long-term effects, includ- ing cancer and adverse impacts on liver function and the nervous system, is one of the most commonly used synergists in pesticide products. Synergists are chemicals added to pesticide formulations to enhance the toxicity of the active ingredients.
As it turns out, peanuts and these pesticides aren’t the only ingredients in peanut butter. Conventional peanut butters can contain hydrogenated oils, sugar, salt and other ingredients such as soy protein, corn syrup and stabilizers. Many of these ingredients can be genetically engineered to either produce their own insecticidal toxins or to withstand increasing doses of weed killer. In other words, you’re getting a whole suite of products along with that peanut.
Aflatoxins can be present in either conventional or organic making refrigeration of peanut butter so important, as it slows down the growth of aflatoxins. As you might imagine, all peanut butters must be tested for aflatoxins.
So what’s an eater to do?
Buy organic peanut butter if you eat peanut butter and refrigerate it. Why organic? You will be avoiding that added load of fertilizer, fungicides and pesticides that are applied to conventional peanuts, as well as any high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils (possibly full of GMOs or genetically engineered ingredients and genetically engineered soy, which when introduced in the late 1990s resulted in a 50% increase in the number of people with soy allergies).
On top of that, there are no animal testing models for the allergenicity of genetically engineered ingredients, so we are just banking on the promises of the chemical companies that have introduced and patented these ingredients. The FDA has not conducted any independent, long-term, human health studies. They don’t have the resources or access since genetically engineered ingredients are protected as intellectual property under U.S. Patent law.
As a result, grocery store chains like Wegman’s state:
“Testing for GE ingredients is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do. For example, there is no test available that can reliably determine the source of ingredients that have been highly processed, which is the case for corn syrup, soybean, canola, and corn oil. These are four of the most common ingredients made from GE crops.”
That’s enough to make any parent of a child with food allergies stop in her tracks.
If you head into the grocery store, you can see an expanding line of organic peanut butters. And if you are not peanut allergic, according to a 2002 Harvard School of Public Health study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, consuming one tablespoon of peanut butter five or more times a week can reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by 20%.
The mighty, unpolluted peanut is also a good source of fiber, vitamin E, potassium, folate, zinc and magnesium and contains resveratrol (also found in red wine), flavonoids, and antioxidants, all of whose health benefits are increasingly being proven to help you prevent a wide variety of diseases. Just remember to go organic to avoid that load of chemicals. Arrowhead Mills Organic Peanut Butter claims to be completely aflatoxin-free.
And lastly, it’s also really important for parents of children with peanut allergy to know that the peanut can be cross-reactive with soy. According to the Mayo Clinic and the Asthma and Allergy Resource Center, a person with a peanut allergy can have an allergic reaction after eating a food that contains soy (link to additional information here).
So what’s an American to do?
The Mayo Clinic is a trusted resource for food-allergic information and highlights the following:
The most common food allergy symptoms include:
In some people, a food allergy can trigger a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. This can cause life-threatening symptoms, including:
Emergency treatment is critical for anaphylaxis.
출처 : https://robynobrien.com/food-allergies-the-hidden-truth-about-peanuts/
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땅콩에 생기는 곰팡이제거에 피페로 닐 부톡 시드 (살충제) 사용...
첫댓글 와.. 땅콩 알러지가 결국.. 땅콩 자체문제가 아니라...!!!
살충제 때문이었군요...!! 덜덜덜..
땅콩알러지도 죽은 사람들도 꽤 많은데.. ㅡ.ㅡ;;
맘놓고 먹을게 없네요 진짜
한국은 아주 유해한 가공식품의 천국같은 느낌이....각종 유해물질의 식품첨가물 허용을 왜 해주는 걸까?
하기야 일본산 산업폐기물도 대량으로 들여오게 허용하는 나라이니 말 다한거지...그 산업폐기물중에 후쿠시마 방사능 폐기물이 얼마나 많을까? 검사는 제대로 할까? 어떤 방송도 이런 엄청난 것을 다루지 않는 골때리는 나라,,
과연 나라라고 할수나 있을까?
가공식품에 들어가는 첨가물이나 유전자 변형식품은 먹고 죽어도 뭐라 안하고 왜 몸에 좋고 인체 무해한 약품 들여오는데는 벌벌 떨며 금지처분할까... ?정말 미친건 헬조선 식약청 아닐까요?
만일 유전자조작 곡물로 가공된 식품을 오랫동안 먹어도 그거먹는다고 바로 죽나요? 절대 안죽죠,,또 그걸로 건강이 서서히 나빠져서 어떤 질병에 걸리는 원인이 됐다손 쳐도 그 어떤 병원이나 의사가GMO나 화학첨가물 때문이라고 할까요? 자기밥줄 끊길 확률이 클 수도 있는데...그러니 어찌보면 완전범죄에 가깝다고 할 수 있지 않을까요? xx자본세력은 참 머리가 좋아...
땅콩 농사지어서 보관 해보면 살충제가 필요없는데 얼마나 오래 보관을 하느라고 살충제를 치는지 이해가 안가네요.
다만 농약안하고 지어보면 정말이지 뗏갈이 안나요..썩은게 많고 안썩어도 거뭇거뭇 해서 남주기도 뭐하고 그래도 보관하긴 참 편합니다..
네.. 소중한 의견 감사합니다.
이제 땅콩도 마음놓고 못 먹겠네요.
그래서 가을에 사놓은 피땅콩이 아직까지 멀쩡한가보네요 --;;
@고동소리 꼭 그런건 아니니 우리나라건 안심하셔도 될듯합니다.시골에서 농사짓는분들 땅콩밭에 굼벵이약은 섞어주고 심긴합니다만
그건 자기네가 먹을것에도 흙에 섞어주는 약입니다..안그럼 소출이 줄어요..싹을 다먹어 버리니....
여튼 비료도 안주고 농약도 안하고 농사지은 제땅콩도 아직껏 멀쩡 합니다..그래서 보관이 쉽다고 한겁니다..
당연 제초재도 안했는데 이듬해 종자로 쓰기까지 벌레가 꼬이지 않더군요..
@호두 호두님!
답변 감사합니다. 제가 늦게 봤네요~ 죄송!
안심하고 남아있는 땅콩 먹어야겠네요. ^^
식품에 유통기간을 늘리는 첨가물이 발견되면 판매 중지입니다. 불법이죠.
그런데 거의 모든 식품에 유통 기간을 늘리는 첨가물을 씁니다. 첨가물이 식품에 닿는 순간 화학합성하여 다른 성분으로 변화하죠. 즉 유전자 변이입니다.
당연히 검사하면 그 첨가물은 나오지 않습니다.
제초제를 비행기로 뿌리는 지엠오에 제초제 성분이 극소량만 나오는 이유도 단순하지요. 식물 체세포와 화학합성을 하죠. 즉 유전자 변이... 당연히 일정량 이상의 제초제는 검출되지 않습니다.
눈 가리고 아웅이죠.
함창우님 덕분에 많이 배우고 있습니다~ 고맙습니다~ ~^^
와!놀라운 사실이네요
결국은 땅콩의 문제가 아니었다니 ㅜㅜ
늘 감사합니다~
땅콩기름의 효능 검색해 보세요~
많은 작물에 농약뿌립니다 기사가 나오는덴 이유가 있겠죠~