Food companies have a long way to go to ensure their products are free of harmful pesticides, according to a new report by As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy.
In its report, “2023 Pesticides in the Pantry: Transparency & Risk in Food Supply Chains,” the nonprofit graded 17 major food manufacturers on progress in reducing pesticides in their products and shifting to regenerative agriculture practices.
The companies earned grades ranging from C to F and collectively averaged an F grade.
As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar told The Defender, “It’s critically important for these companies to understand that their customers want to have safer food and they will win greater market share as they focus on reducing pesticides and increasing regenerative farming.”
Indeed, researchers in 2022 found 81% of U.S. consumers — many of whom may be shareholders in food companies — want their food to be pesticide-free.
Cailin Dendas, As You Sow’s environmental health program coordinator and the report’s lead author, told CNN that to appeal to shareholders, many companies set pesticide reduction goals for 2025 and 2030. “We’re looking at the progress companies are making to achieve those goals, and finding little significant movement,” Dendas said.
One week after As You Sow released its report, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a study that found nearly 40% of conventional baby foods still contain toxic pesticides.
Sydney Evans, a senior science analyst at EWG and co-author of the study, told The Guardian that babies and young children are “particularly vulnerable to the health risks posed by pesticides in food — and food is the way most children will be exposed to pesticides.”
André Leu, organic farming expert and author of “Poisoning Our Children: The Parent’s Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides,” agreed. He told The Defender:
“The greatest concern is for the unborn, babies, young children and youths going through puberty. These groups are particularly vulnerable to damage caused by toxins such as pesticides, heavy metals, plastics and forever chemicals.
“No peer-reviewed studies show that any level of these toxic compounds is safe for children. Hundreds of independent scientific studies show that the most minuscule amounts of these toxic compounds damage the developing nervous, hormone, and immune systems, contributing to numerous diseases in children and later in life as adults.”
While these studies show that tiny amounts of pesticides are contributing to the epidemic of chronic diseases, Leu said, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other pesticide regulators refuse to study how pesticide formulations used on food may be contributing to the U.S. epidemic of chronic diseases.
“There is zero peer-reviewed science showing that these residue levels are safe,” he added…
Children's Health Defense 
