Originally published May 17 2014
Elementary school science experiment proves organic food is cleaner, safer
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Bud nip. Chlorpropham. You probably haven't heard of these chemicals before, but they are quietly lurking inside and on many of the conventional potatoes and sweet potatoes sold in grocery stores all across America. And one elementary school student by the name of Elise recently did a basic science experiment that inadvertently exposed their presence, which she explains in a video posted on YouTube that has since gone viral.
You probably did the experiment yourself when you were a kid -- suspended a potato with toothpicks over a glass of water and watched the buds turn into large, leafy vines over the course of the next few weeks. Except for young Elise, the first two potatoes she tried failed to grow any vines due to the presence of chlorpropham, a bud-inhibiting chemical that is commonly used on factory potatoes to extend their shelf life and prevent any unsightly growths.
With the help of her grandmother, Elise asked the produce manager at her local supermarket why the first two potatoes failed to grow vines. He told her that because of the chemical, the conventional potatoes would never grow vines. Instead, she would have to purchase certified organic or organically-grown local potatoes instead which, sure enough, began sprouting vines relatively quickly.
"We took a sweet potato and waited for three weeks and nothing happens," explains the innocent child in her video report. "We took another potato and waited for three more weeks and nothing happened. So we talked to the produce man at the store and he said, 'Well, these will never grow vines because at the farms they spray them with a chemical called bud nip. You should try one of our organic sweet potatoes.'"
Elise and her grandmother purchased the organic sweet potato and after one month it produced small vines in striking contrast to the conventional sweet potato they first purchased. But a third organic sweet potato purchased from a nearby organic market fared even better, sprouting enormous vines after just one week, demonstrating its superiority even to the organic sweet potato purchased from the regular supermarket.
You can watch Elise's roughly two-minute video here to see the results for yourself:
http://youtu.be/exBEFCiWyW0
Chlorpropham damages thyroid and may cause cancer
Curious about the effects of chlorpropham, young Elise decided to investigate the matter further. She discovered that this ubiquitous chemical used to make potatoes and all sorts of other produce visually appealing is actually quite toxic. And the worst part is that most people who eat potatoes have no idea that it is even present.
"Bud nip is a chemical that they put on vegetables," explains Elise. "They also spray bud nip on blueberries, carrots, onions, spinach, tomatoes, beets and cranberries. Bud nip goes through the whole vegetable, so washing it won't make a difference. It's also called chlorpropham, and chlorpropham can kill animals that they've tested it on. It can even cause tumors."
These statements are largely affirmed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which found in tests that chlorpropham inhibits maintaining a healthy body weight, alters thyroid function and structure, destroys red blood cells, damages the kidneys and harms various other bodily organs. Chlorpropham is also mutagenic, which means it can cause genetic mutations.
"Following admin of single oral toxic dose of chlorpropham to lab animals, initial symptoms include listlessness, ataxia, epistaxis, exophthalmos [and] hemodacryorrhea hemorhinorrhea," reads a toxicology report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for chlorpropham.
"These progressed to dyspnea, prostration, anuria, glycosuria, proteinuria, hyperthermia and death. Autopsy findings showed gastroenteritis with occasional congestion of brain, lungs and other organs. Stress response was evident in adrenal, thymus and spleen, while degenerative changes were seen in kidney and liver."
Sources for this article include:
http://eatlocalgrown.com
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov
http://youtu.be/exBEFCiWyW0
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml