28 March, 2018

Poisoning Our Children by Andre Leu - [Book Review]



Book Details:

Book Title: Poisoning Our Children: The Parent's Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides

Author: André Leu

Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 206 pages

Genre: Educational / Parenting / Nature - Science

Publisher: Acres USA

Release date: March 1, 2018

Tour dates: March 12 to April 13, 2018

Content Rating: G



Book Description:



Parenting was never easy. While loving, teaching and nourishing children, parents also seek to protect them from harm. The past few generations, however, have been silently attacked by thousands of manmade, poisonous chemicals carried into homes and children's bodies in our food supply. The chemical-based conventional agriculture industry claims that the synthesized concoctions they sell as pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are safe when used as directed, but does the scientific evidence truly support their assertions?



When pesticide residues are found in 77 percent of all foods in the United States, it's important to know the truth. Organic agriculturist André Leu has weeded through a wealth of respected scientific journals to present peer-reviewed evidence proving that the claims of chemical companies and pesticide regulators are not all they seem.




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My Review

I usually don't review non-fiction books. But, I chose this as this is an important subject to learn. 

We all know that our food is grown with the help of pesticides. But, what dangerous chemicals these pesticides contain? Will the vegetables/ fruits that we eat contain any residue of pesticides? What impact they will have on our lives? 

All these questions will be answered in this book. This book is more like a research document/ technical paper on pesticides usage, chemicals/ingredients in pesticides, residues of pesticides on our food and their impact. The author talks extensively on different researches done on pesticides on how safe they are, the truth behind the regulations and the assertions about the safety testing of food on humans and animals. There are many loopholes in the research and testing. The pesticides are tested for the safety and harmful impact it might have on humans. But, they are tested on animals which might not give the same result as tested on humans. The pesticides are tested majorly with the main ingredient ignoring the inert ingredients which combined with other toxins might prove very unhealthy.

This book talks about the shocking revelations on food safety. The impact of pesticides on our lives is huge. Pesticide exposure in unborn and growing children is linked to:
  • Cancers
  • Thyroid disorders
  • Immune system problems
  • Lower IQs
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
  • Autism spectrum disorders etc.,
The book highlights some important points by mentioning them as quotes in a box. It clarifies each and every myth about pesticides. The most common myth is "Very small amount" myth. It discusses that even a small amount of chemical residue can be harmful.

I loved this book for revealing the shocking facts about our food. I liked the intention of the author to protect our future generations from dangerous toxins. I appreciate the extensive research the author has done for this book. But, I felt, the content might have been presented in a concise way. There is so much information to consume for the reader and it becomes difficult to remember. There are some graphics in the middle about GMO tests on animals and some graphs which are helpful. More text and fewer graphics made this book quite difficult to read.  


My Rating: 4.5/5

PS: I have received this book from the author through Iread book tours in exchange for a review and this is my honest opinion on the book. 

Watch André Leu discuss a better way to grow our food:





About the Author:






André Leu is a longtime organic farmer in Australia and a director of Regeneration International. He served as president of IFOAM Organics International from 2011 to 2017. He speaks widely and regularly testifies to governments and NGOs worldwide on pesticide safety and policy. He is the author of the award-winning book, The Myths of Safe Pesticides.



Connect with the publisher: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Author's Twitter






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Until next time,


4 comments:

  1. Alana Mautone4:32 PM

    I try to support family farmers in my area (some of whom are organic) and am interested in knowing more about the science behind knowing what is safe and what isn't. (I even wonder how many "organic" pesticides are truly safe!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roshan R9:51 PM

    I agree with the point you made. Especially when it can be tough stuff to understand, the author needs to consider bullet points or better yet, graphs and tables to make it simpler to understand. Especially when it is a topic like this which can be complex chemically and scientifically.

    Godyears.net

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sure seems to be an important read, will definitely look it up. Thanks for sharing this, Ramya.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Important to read by all! Even I heard, the veggies/fruits/pulses comes under the name of organic are not really pure but some modified versions like some sort of chemicals are added while preparing the seed itself!! I dont know whether it is myth r fact!!
    whatsover, u r an expert reviewer irrespective of genre. ur review reminds me a pure technical review which we usually get to our research publications in journals.. gr8 going Ramya :)

    ReplyDelete

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