M7.8 Blog about your topic of interest


For my literature review, I will be exploring organophosphates, or pesticides which are commonly used in today's agricultural industry. I am looking to examine the developmental neurotoxicity of organophosphates. For my book review, I read "Raising Elijah" by Dr. Steingraber. The book had a section on neurotoxins on how they affect the growing bodies and development of children along with their association with the growing rates of autism, ADHD and other disorders. This inspired me to look further into how these pesticides are really affecting the healthy development of future generations. In researching this topic, I found the NIEHS has done significant research on the neurobehavioral effects of pesticides on children. The USDA would also be another resource in understanding the use of pesticides and their residues within the realms of food safety. EPA would also be another resource and authority in addressing the effects of pesticides on our health as well as current regulations. UNICEF also has an interesting discussion paper on the effects of pesticides on children from a more global perspective.




Comments

  1. Hi
    I have heard before about pesticides causing autism, I am not sure how true this is but would love to know if it has any ties to it! Hopefully I can see what you come up with. Where I live its mainly farmland so there is a lot of pesticides and farms are constantly getting sprayed.

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  2. Great topic. It’s unthinkable to me that millions of tons of organophosphate pesticides are still manufactured, sold, and used on farms today in the US. They were derived from chemical Weapons in the years after WW I & II and now they cost our food and reside in our soils. In addition to the developmental effects you’ve touched upon, they also harm civilians and farm workers in situations of acute exposure.
    I chose a different book and topic for my lit review but will definitely check out Raising Elijah at some point.

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