14 DAY TRIAL // A new report made available to the public by Greenpeace East Asia shows that, rather than helping people better cope with various medical conditions they might be suffering from, some traditional Chinese herbs could harm those who consume them for medicinal purposes.
This is because they are coated in pesticides residues, the people who pieced together the report explain.
The Greenpeace activists reached this conclusion after collecting 65 samples of Chinese herbal products and carefully analyzing their chemical make-up.
The organization maintains that some of these products had traces of pesticides on them, labeled as “highly hazardous” by WHO (World Health Organization).
Interestingly enough, some of the residues reportedly came from pesticides that are presently banned in China.
Of the 65 samples that Greenpeace East Asia collected and analyzed, 48 tested positive for pesticides residues.
All in all, the organization pinned down traces of 51 different pesticides, 6 of which are illegal in China.
Greenpeace suspects that these traditional Chinese herbs ended up being coated in pesticide residues because they had not been picked in the wild. On the contrary, they had been cultivated in a chemical-intensive environment.
The organization warns that, should these chemicals begin to accumulate in a person's body, they could trigger hormone disruption and reproductive abnormalities.
In some cases, they could also affect the brain and cause learning difficulties.
“Greenpeace East Asia is urging the Chinese government to impose stricter supervision and control of illegal pesticides, provide clear pesticides reduction timelines and commit to a road map to fully phase out chemical pesticides in agriculture.”
“Additionally, we call on the Chinese authorities to divert financial funding towards more ecological farming practices,” Greenpeace urges.
Apparently, Chinese farmers presently use about 2 million tons of pesticides on a yearly basis.
Although these chemical compounds are sprayed on crops, roughly 70% of them eventually work their way into the surrounding environment. Once there, they up water, soil and even air pollution levels.