Four: Focus on future generations.
rats to DDT, and found that it caused
an increase in dramatic fat accumulaWhen you choose your food in 2014, tion and weight gain three generations
it will be important to think not only later.
about how the chemicals you are exposed to affect you, but also the effects Keep in mind that most of the studies
your exposure might have on future examining this concept have focused
generations.
on animal tests, so the conclusions
don't necessarily translate to humans.
New research in
2013 has shown
that it is possible for your descendants to be
affected by the
chemicals that
their ancestors
were exposed
to, even if the
future generations
were
never directly exposed to
the pollutants
themselves.
This concept of
disease inheritance is one
of the most interesting (and
f r i g ht e n i n g )
new phenomena to be discovered in the past few However, it's probably a good idea to
years.
avoid toxic pesticides so that we don't
inadvertently pass on environmental
An example of this was described in a diseases to our children and grandchilstudy published in 2013 that showed dren!
DDT exposure could increase rates of Five: Listen to the frogs.
obesity several generations down the Studies published in 2013 suggest that
line. Researchers in the study exposed the use of synthetic pesticides may be
contributing to the decline in amphibian populations. Amphibian populations have seen a dramatic decline in the
past decade. Many scientists are worried that several species of frogs could
go extinct in the next few years if we
don't change our agricultural practices. Even frogs living in remote areas are
exposed to toxic pesticides, according
to a 2013 study
published in
Environmental
Toxicology and
Chemistry.
Unfortunately,
pesticide exposure can result
in increased
amphibian
mortality, and
even low-dose
exposure can
result in endocrine disruption. These
effects
were
modeled
by
a 2013 article
published in
Scientific Reports.
When the researchers modeled agricultural spray scenarios using the recommended application rates for the
pesticides, they found that frogs experienced high mortality, ranging from
100 percent after one hour to 40 percent after seven days.