No good in bed? Your sperm is all dead - pesticide residues in FOOD.
http://rt.com/usa/245453-pesticides-fruit-vegetables-sperm/
Pesticides on fruits and vegetables could account for 49 percent loss in sperm
Published time: March 31, 2015 04:18
A major study of men’s sperm found that those who ate regular quantities of fruit and vegetables that had pesticide residue on them had half the sperm count of men who ate less, a new study showed.
READ MORE: Pesticides blamed for clinical depression in farmers
The Harvard University study, the first of its kind on the issue, analyzed sperm samples from 155 men who attended a fertility clinic during 2007-2012, Reuters reported. The men involved were attending a fertility clinic because they and their partners were unable to conceive, and were asked about the food they ate, including how often they ate fruit and vegetables like apples, avocados or cantaloupe.
Researchers then examined data from the US Department of Agriculture to measure whether the produce in these men’s diets contained a high, moderate or low amount of pesticide residue. They found that foods like peppers, spinach, strawberries, apples and pears rate high for pesticide residue, whereas peas, beans, grapefruits and onions rated lower to moderate.
Pesticides result in lower sperm counts: Men who ate fruits and vegetables with higher levels of pesticide residues… http://t.co/542KnVZDEQ
— Cambridge MA Buzz (@cambridgemabuzz) March 31, 2015 Men who ate the highest amount of fruit and vegetables with high levels of residue had a 49 percent lower sperm count, with a 32 percent lower percentage of normally-formed sperm than men who consumed a lower amount of produce, or less than 1.5 servings a day.“These findings should not discourage the consumption of fruit and vegetables, in general,” said co-author Jorge Chavarro of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
READ MORE: Monsanto agrochemicals cause genetic damage in soybean workers – study
Chavarro said the problem is not the quantity of fruit and vegetables eaten, it is the quality. He said men who consumed high qualities of fruit and vegetables that have lower levels of pesticide residue have “normally shaped” sperm. Organic produce also helps.
Men who ate fruit and vegetables heavily laden with pesticides had an average total sperm count of 86 million sperm per ejaculation. Men who ate the least-affected food produced 171 million sperm per ejaculation. Previous studies have tied poor semen quality to occupational and environmental exposure to chemicals, but this latest study points to the effect of pesticides in the diet.
Researchers said the results did not specify which pesticides were responsible but pointed to pesticide mixtures.
Eating Fruits And Vegetables Sprayed With Pesticides Might Lower Your Sperm Count http://t.co/mnA4pkJpZv #health#medical
— Senior Health Daily (@seniorhltdaily) March 30, 2015 “Given that pesticides are designed to kill and harm pest reproduction, it is not surprising that they are harmful to human reproduction,” study co-author Dr. Hagai Levine of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York told Reuters.Chavarro and his team are also investigating whether women’s markers of fertility may also be linked to pesticides in the diet, he said.
In 2013, a related study of diet and sperm from Harvard’s School of Public Health – from the same study sample of men – showed that processed red meat consumption could also reduce sperm quality and quantity, and the study recommended increasing consumption of white and dark fish meat.
Vs.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-26/apples-orchards-organic-kalangadoo-decline-price-supermarkets/6348600
Cropped because the original article won't copy and paste..
As Australia's apple orchards drop away, two farms transform to survive
Kalangadoo's Coorara Estate and Kalangadoo Organic are two of just five apple orchards in the region and both companies have had to completely transform operations to remain viable.Their vastly different transformations are like comparing apples and oranges.
On first sight, Kalangadoo Organic Orchard looks like it might have been abandoned.
A jungle of weeds, herbs and spider webs are tangled around well-established apple trees.
Rats hide in the long grass while birds of prey, like falcons and hawks, circle above them.
Maremma dogs protect the dozens of geese and chickens let loose in the orchard.
(Personal note: REAL organic fruit from wild orchards, are better than fucking (mostly) - and this fruit is brilliant)
This army of creatures became Chris and Michelle McColl's vital workforce when they decided to abandon conventional apple farming 15 years ago.
"In the future, people are going to farm like we are now, how people used to farm two or three or four generations ago," Mr McColl said.
"This modern thing where you use fossil fuels and huge farms with monoculture, where you have to use synthetic chemicals and fertilisers and things, and you put them on trucks and send them to the other side of the world – it's insanity.
"We believe you want lots of small, independently-owned businesses rather than multinational corporations and huge businesses controlling everything."
It might be a nice philosophy, but organic farming means about half the yields of a conventional apple farm.
To make up the shortfall, the McColls make the most of every piece of fruit.
They sell second-grade apples cheaper and those that don't make the cut are turned into juice, dried apples and apple cider vinegar.
Husband and wife do all the picking, packing, transporting and selling themselves, unless a Willing Workers on Organic Farms volunteer drops in for a few weeks.
"It's really long hours, usually from 6am to 10pm or 11pm or sometimes later," Mrs McColl said.
"We guarantee the apples are within four days from being picked, so if they're not sold within the four days, we pick them up from the shop and juice them."
In comparison, apples found in the supermarket could have been picked more than six months earlier and kept in cold storage.
Demand for freshly picked Kalangadoo apples has become so strong that the McColls no longer have to drive to Adelaide markets.
But they have come to realise consumers are only willing to pay so much for an apple and that price is still dictated by signs in supermarkets.
"They're around $6 a kilogram and I think that's not very different from conventional apples," Mrs McColl said.
"If they were any cheaper, we would go out of business like lots of apple growers have."
"Our Quality Assurance programs are very good in this country, so hopefully that's what will keep our industry going but underlying it all is obviously the cost of labour."
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Do something useful for a change - Join This and take yourself, some friends and or your family on a two week holiday.
Do it seasonally - 2 weeks 4 times a year, at several different farms.
Willing Workers on Organic Farms
http://www.wwoof.com.au/
Do you want to work on an Organic Farm?
WWOOFing gives you the opportunity to work on Australian Organic Farms, exchanging 4 - 6 hours work per day for your meals and accommodation, usually in the family home.
Join WWOOF, get your WWOOF Book and become a WWOOFer...
- Exchange your work for your keep
- All meals and accommodation
- Learn about Australia culturally
- 4-6 hours voluntary work
- Leave the tourist trail
- A great way to learn
The WWOOF Book is included in your membership and provides contact details for over 2,600 hosts throughout Australia. Around 270 of these are Certified Organic and approximately 2,000 are traditional farms using organic practices.
Becoming a Member will allow you to experience Australian culture at it's best, and give you the opportunity to learn Organics, Bio-dynamics and Permaculture.
Official WWOOF Australia Website
Tel: +61(0)3 5155 0218
Fax: +61(0)3 5155 0342
2166 Gelantipy Road
W Tree via Buchan
Victoria 3885
Australia
Contact Us
Email: wwoof@wwoof.com.au
And go join up and contribute $10 or more a month to this crowd.....
https://www.organicconsumers.org/campaigns/millions-against-monsanto
A good link - lots of info.
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