Take Action: Schools Must Provide And Encourage Organic Food

July 19, 2021

As yet another study, “Early life multiple exposures and child cognitive function: A multi-centric birth cohort study in six European countries,” draws attention to the benefits of organic food for the learning young mind, it is important that schools provide organic food to students. The study, conducted by Spanish researchers based at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, looks at a totality of all environmental hazards that children encounter, rather than individual lifestyle factors. As study co-author Jordi Júlvez, PhD, notes, “Healthy diets, including organic diets, are richer than fast food diets in nutrients necessary for the brain, such as fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, which together may enhance cognitive function in childhood.”

Tell your governor and USDA/Food and Nutrition Service to provide organic school lunches and information for parents.

Researchers find that children who eat organic food display higher scores measuring fluid intelligence and working memory. Lower scores on fluid intelligence tests are associated with children’s fast food intake, house crowding, and exposure to tobacco smoke. Lower scores on working memory tests were associated with exposure to poor indoor air quality.

This study adds to prior research finding that eating a conventional, chemical-intensive diet increases the presence of pesticides and their metabolites in an individual’s urine, including higher pesticide body burden from eating foods grown in chemical-intensive systems. In fact, because of their smaller size, children carry higher levels of glyphosate and other toxic pesticides in their body. Coupled with this research are multiple studies showing that many common pesticides result in developmental problems in children. Most recently, a 2019 Danish study found that higher concentrations of pyrethroid insecticides corresponded to higher rates of ADHD in children. There is also strong evidence that organophosphate insecticides, still widely used on fruits and vegetables in the U.S., are dropping children’s IQs on a national and global scale, costing billions to the economy in the form of lost brain power.

Studies show children’s developing organs create “early windows of great vulnerability” during which exposure to pesticides can cause great damage. This is supported by the findings of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which concludes, “Children encounter pesticides daily and have unique susceptibilities to their potential toxicity.”

Switching from a conventional diet of food produced with chemical-intensive practices to organic diet drastically reduces the levels of pesticides in one’s body, with one week on organic food showing a 70% reduction in glyphosate in the body, according to one study. Socio-economic factors play a large role in access to heathy organic foods, and the ability to provide the sort of environment that allows a child’s brain to flourish, so it is important that school lunches, which provide nutrition across socioeconomic classes, help to equalize learning potential. Pitting access and cost against the long-term success of a child’s development puts many parents in an untenable position. The preponderance of evidence points to organic food providing the nutrition needed to give young minds the start they need in life. But eating organic should not be a choice to make – all food should be grown with high quality standards that reject the use of brain-damaging pesticides and protect the wider environment. 

WEBINAR - JUNE 3: USDA $3M In Grant Money Available For Urban Agriculture, Innovative Production Projects

Planning Projects:

• USDA is making available $1 million for Planning Projects that initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. Projects may target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers and development of policies related to zoning and other needs of urban production.

Implementation Projects:

• USDA is making available $2 million for Implementation Projects that accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers. Projects will improve local food access and collaborate with partner organizations and may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, educational endeavors and urban farming policy implementation.

Webinar:

• A webinar, which will be held on June 3, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application. Information on how to register for and participate in the webinar, or listen to the recording, will be posted at farmers.gov/urban.

More Information:

• The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production was established through the 2018 Farm Bill. It includes representatives from many USDA agencies, including Farm Service Agency and Agricultural Marketing Service, and is led by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. More information is available at farmers.gov/urban.

Additional resources that may be of interest to urban agriculture entities include AMS grants to improve domestic and international opportunities for U.S. growers and producers and FSA loans.

WEBINAR - JUNE 3: USDA $3M In Grant Money Available for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging communities and families to create gardens on rooftops, indoors, traditional, non-traditional and other urban farms to be successful at their craft. They recently announced grants to help establish community gardens and compensate people for start-up costs.

The USDA allocated $3 million for grants through its new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.

The Office for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production was organized after the 2018 Farm Bill was passed by both the house and senate and signed into law by President Trump.

The competitive grants are intended to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects. They will accept applications on their website Grants.gov until midnight, July 6, 2020.“

These grant opportunities underscore USDA’s commitment to all segments of agriculture, including swiftly expanding areas of urban agriculture,” Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said. “Such projects have the potential to address important issues such as food access and education and to support innovative ways to increase local food production in urban environments.”

We are proud to be able to offer support through this cross-agency effort,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach. “In creating this grant opportunity, USDA will build upon its years of experience providing technical support, grant funding and research to help farmers and local and urban food businesses grow.”

• USDA has made available $1 million for Planning Projects that initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. Projects may target a variety of agriculture areas.

• USDA made available $2 million for Implementation Projects that accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor, and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers. Projects should improve access to local food and collaborate with other organizations that may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, educational endeavors and urban farming policy implementation.

• The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production will hold a webinar on June 3, 2020, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application.

Information on how to register for and participate in the webinar, or listen to the recording, will be posted at farmers.gov/urban.

More information is available at  farmers.gov/urban.

Additional resources that may be of interest to urban agriculture entities include AMS grants to improve domestic and international opportunities for U.S. growers and producers and FSA loans.