Keep off the lawn, really!

When I was little, I lived on a hill. One of the great joys of summer was rolling down our fresh-cut lawn until I was dizzy. And each summer like clockwork I would break out in a rash all over my body. Little red bumps would emerge on my arms and legs. Back then, no one knew about chemical reactions from lawn care products. But that was exactly what was happening. Thankfully, we’re way more aware of the pesticide load on our kids, but still we spread that white powdery blanket over our lawns to keep them “nice and green and dandelion-free”. I wish there were more films like A Chemical Reaction to wake us up to the toxins seeping into children. Watch this trailer and see how a whole town dared to stand up to the big chemical companies, and changed the world for the better.

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The top 3 pesticide-laden produce you want to know about

The Environmental Working Group just released their 2011 Shopper’s Guide for pesticides in produce. Here are the top three offenders:

#1 Apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Not if 98% of conventional apples have pesticides. Sad but true.

#2 Celery. Don’t crunch this for lunch. Celery tested positive for 57 different pesticides.

#3 Strawberries. Some of these lovely, juicy red berries have as many as 13 pesticides.

To see their whole list and get their guide, go to Environmental Working Group. They are your friend.

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