From: "Malcolm J. Sickels" <mjsickel@umich.edu>

Subject: Re: Calcium: Not milk but leafy vegs? Pesticides+herbicides!

> > milk is not a excellent source of calcium. ...

>

> When I read this response, I chuckled to myself. What about the

> herbicides and pesticides on the vegetables? Vegetables even produce

> substances to ward of bugs and disease that are sometimes more toxic

> than what is applied to them by a farmer.

>

Funny, I chuckled reading _this_ response. Pesticides bio-accumulate and

one of the few ways to release them from tissues are through lactating.

The milk ends up carrying the pesticides on all the feed that went to

produce the milk. Besides, the feed destined for cows doesn't have to

pass the same standards that human food does, so residues may be much

higher. Remember that as a general rule, it takes 10X the energy to feed

the next higher trophic level, so dairy products may have the residues

from ten times the amount of vegetables.

Mac