Pesticides are all around us, even inside our bodies.

As Americans, we are exposed to over 5,000 different toxic pesticides–64 million pounds annually–through the food and water we consume, the products we buy for our homes, in our air, soil, and waterways.

Science is conclusive: pesticides are making us sick.

Pesticide exposure is linked to rising cancers, respiratory diseases, dementia, obesity, cognitive problems, autism spectrum disorders, infertility, Parkinson’s disease, auto immune diseases and other troubling health conditions. Those pesticides, which are hormone-disrupting chemicals, damage chromosomes that are passed on, making our offspring more prone to cancer for generations to come.

For the research studies, access the Maryland Pesticide Education Network research archives.

Pesticide exposure is far worse for children.

Children’s smaller body mass and developing brains make them more vulnerable to pesticide damage. Life-defining impacts, including autism, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, cognitive and behavior problems, have been linked to pesticide exposure. Sadly, adequate testing for impacts to children is often not required before products are allowed on the market.

Its strawberry season, download this fact sheet on pesticides and strawberries, their impacts to children and how to avoid them.

Doesn’t the EPA protect us?

Unfortunately, the EPA’s ability to protect Americans has been eroded by the agro-chemical industry’s powerful influence on our government, for decades. A recent example–in 2017, the US EPA’s Secretary Pruitt overturned his own agency’s 2016 recommendation for a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos, despite overwhelming scientific evidence proving damage to babies’ brains and that chlorpyrifos is unsafe at any level in our food. See how EPA routinely allows ongoing use of untested pesticides.

Consumer power drives change, join the movement!

We cast a vote everyday with our wallet and our fork. Protect your health by avoiding pesticide laden food, products and services. Instead, choose organic or pesticide-free alternatives. Each choice is a powerful act that can reduce your toxic chemical body-burden. And, with every dollar you withhold from polluting industries, you’ll be creating greater demand for affordable, clean and organic alternatives.

Organics are readily available and can be affordable on any budget.

Even adding a few organic or pesticide-free products can support your, and your family’s, health! Prices have fallen, so that some organic products and services can be little or no more expensive than pesticide reliant conventional products and services.

Use this website to source clean, organic and pesticide-free alternatives.

Find new suppliers for food (vote with your fork), services and products (vote with your wallet)—and learn the compelling reasons you should choose them. The following website sections will be expanded weekly with lots of new resources to help you move toward a pesticide-free lifestyle. Get started now, with the links below. Go Organic! Vote with Your Wallet, Vote with Your Fork.