Fluoride: the Hidden Poison in the National Organic Standards Asking Organic Farmers to Adopt Fluoride-Free Farming by Ellen and Paul Connett, Ph.D
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Fluoride: The Hidden Poison in the National Organic Standards Asking organic farmers to adopt fluoride-free farming by Ellen and Paul Connett, Ph.D. [Editor’s Note: This article raises serious health questions about the continued use of fluoride in food production, specifically organic farming systems, and in public water supplies. It leads to a larger discussion of allowable inert or secret product ingredients and permitted synthetic materials in organic agriculture under the national organic standards, adopted in Decem- ber 2000. However, it should be noted that chemical-intensive practices in conventional agricultural systems incorporate polluting practices that also result in fluoride contamination and other pollution problems of a magnitude that far exceeds organic practices. Nevertheless, as consumers and farmers seek to improve and purify organic practices, we must face the challenges raised by Ellen and Paul Connett’s article and others.] To call sodium fluoride an “inert” is Orwellian and defies one lntroduction of the NOS’s stated principles: producers shall not use “natural he U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) revised poisons such as arsenic or lead salts that have long-term effects rule on National Organic Standards (NOS), proposed and persist in the environment.” Fluoride is clearly in this cat- Tin March 2000, was finalized in December 2000. For egory. Sadly, the use of fluoride in organic farming could un- the most part, the standards have been written with care and dermine the public’s confidence and safety in organic food- both integrity. For the rest, they attracted over 40,000 comments here and abroad. This will become more obvious as the move- from the public. The standards were first proposed in 1997 ment against fluoridation of public water picks up momentum and included proposals to use worldwide. As it does, more and sewage sludge, irradiation, an- more people will be asking ques- tibiotics in livestock, and geneti- Fluoride is a persistent and non- tions about fluoride levels in cally modified organisms. USDA their food. Unlike the List of withdrew the proposal after re- Inerts, fluoride levels in organic ceiving over 275,000 comments degradable poison that accumulates in food cannot be hidden. from the public— the most com- The purpose of this article is ments received on any U.S. soil, plants, wildlife, and humans. to argue the case against any use agency proposal in history. of fluoride in organic agriculture In the main the public’s efforts in the hope that despite these on this issue paid off well. In the final NOS the four practices new standards it will encourage organic farmers to go “fluo- listed above were out, but unfortunately, despite over 100 com- ride free.” Before we proceed we wish to note the following: ments, those concerned about fluoride were ignored. Incredibly, ■ the new standards allow the use of the toxic substance sodium The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry fluoride in organic agriculture. (ATSDR) stated in 1993: “Existing data indicate that sub- Fluoride is a persistent and non-degradable poison that sets of the population may be unusually susceptible to the accumulates in soil, plants, wildlife, and humans. Many or- toxic effects of fluoride and its compounds. These popula- ganic farmers may be unaware that this highly toxic substance tions include the elderly, people with deficiencies of cal- has been allowed for use in the NOS, because its presence is cium, magnesium, and/or vitamin C, and people with car- hidden. However, it is there: diovascular and kidney problems... Because fluoride is ubiquitous in food and water, the potential for human ex- ■ As Sodium Fluoride tucked away in the U.S. EPA List 4B posure is substantial (ATSDR, p 112, 153).” Inerts (“Inerts which have sufficient data to substantiate ■ they can be used safely in pesticide products, according to The studies on which the U.S. EPA relied in establishing its EPA.”), which are allowed for use in the NOS. maximum contaminant level (MCL) for fluoride in drinking water -4 parts per million (ppm)- and on which it has relied ■ In Bone Meal (which can contain 1000 ppm - or more- to perform risk assessments for fluoride pesticide residue lev- fluoride), also included in U.S. EPA List 4A Inerts (“Inerts els were seriously flawed. Not only has the union represent- generally regarded as safe, i.e., corn cobs and cookie ing professionals at EPA’s Washington, DC headquarters called crumbs,” according to EPA). for an independent review of these studies, their concern led Page 18 Pesticides and You Vol. 21, No. 1, 2001 Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides question “whether public health concerns and toxicologic research should not shift their focus from the isolated in- TABLE 1 take from fluoridated water to the potential toxicity of the 7 ppm Established Tolerances: For combined total fluoride intake (Freni).” This suggestion is impor- residues of the insecticidal fluorine compounds tant, because surprisingly, a great deal of the promotion of cryolite and synthetic cryolite (sodium aluminum fluoridation in the U.S. has centered on the concentration fluoride) in or on the following: of fluoride in drinking water and has been very cavalier about the total dose of fluoride we get from ALL sources. Apricots; Beets, roots; Blackberries; Blueberries (huckleberries); Boysenberries; Broccoli; Brussels A Little History sprouts; Cabbage; Cauliflower; Citrus fruits; Collards; Cranberries; Cucumbers; Dewberries; Eggplant; Fluorine is one of 92 naturally occurring elements. It is a mem- Grapes; Kale; Kohlrabi; Lettuce; Loganberries; Melons; ber of the halogen family, which includes chlorine, bromine Nectarines; Peaches; Peppers; Plums (fresh prunes); and iodine. It is a pale yellow gas which is extremely reactive. Pumpkins; Radish, roots; Raspberries; Rutabaga, roots; As a result it is never found free in nature but only combined Squash (winter); Squash (summer); Strawberries; with other elements. These compounds are called fluorides. Tomatoes; Turnip, roots; Youngberries. Fluorine readily forms compounds with all elements except two: helium and neon. Despite being the thirteenth most abun- dant element in the earth’s crust, it is not an essential nutrient for any living thing. The level in human milk is 100 times lower than infant them to two unprecedented actions. In 1986 they filed an formula reconstituted with fluoridated drinking water, e.g. Amicus Curiae brief in a lawsuit brought by the Natural Re- 0.01 ppm vs 1.0 ppm. Apart from its reaction with the cal- sources Defense Council against EPA for its MCL of 4 ppm cium hydroxy apatite found in dental enamel, bone, and the for fluoride in drinking water. The union charged that the pineal gland, fluorine has never been incorporated into the MCL was based on shoddy science and was not protective of building blocks of living things. public health. In 1997 the union announced its support of a The most common mineral containing fluorine is fluor- citizens group fighting mandatory fluoridation in California. spar (CaF2). It has been used for centuries as a flux in the ■ Elsewhere, we have gone into the dangers posed by water smelting of ores and gave fluorine its name (from the Latin fluoridation (see “50 Reasons for Opposing Fluoridation,” word fluere meaning “to flow”). Other important mineral <http://www.fluoridealert.org>). A great deal of animal and sources of fluorine are cryolite (Na3AlF6), flurapatite (Ca5 human research, much of it published since 1990, points (PO4)3.F) and other phosphate rocks. to fluoride’s potential to damage the bones of the elderly, Before World War II, fluorine could only be generated in and interfere with the functioning of the brain, thyroid very small quantities for experimental purposes “and could gland, pineal gland, kidney, and reproductive system. not be purchased at any price.” The breakthrough to large scale production came from the work of the Manhattan ■ In 1998, a fluoride study published in Brain Research re- Project’s efforts to build the Atomic Bomb (Kirk et al). Mas- ported damage to rat kidneys and brain at very low doses. sive quantities of fluorine were necessary to separate and con- Rats were given 1 ppm fluoride in doubly distilled and de- centrate the uranium isotopes ionized water for 52 weeks. In other words they were given After World War II, huge quantities of fluorine have been the same levels as we get in fluoridated water, albeit with- used to produce organofluorine compounds (compounds where out the other ions present in tap water. One group of rats fluorine is attached to carbon). These include chlorinated fluo- was given aluminum-fluoride (AlF3) and another, sodium rocarbons (CFCs ); Teflon® (polytetrafluoroethylene), an ex- fluoride (NaF). In both cases amyloid deposits were found tremely stable plastic resistent to the vast majority of chemicals in the rat brains. Amyloid deposits are tangles in the brain including fluorine gas; and many pharmaceuticals and pesticides. and are associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. Scientists do not know why they form. The The Sources of Fluoride rats in the control did not have them. The authors of the study speculate that fluoride enables aluminum to cross the Getting into the Food Supply blood brain barrier (Varner et al). This paper has caused 1. Background levels of fluoride in food. quite a stir in regulatory circles and has prompted both the According to Waldbott et al, “Virtually every food contains at NIEHS and the EPA to nominate aluminum fluoride for com- least some fluoride. Plants take it up from the soil and from prehensive study by the National Toxicology Program. the air. From the soil, fluoride is transmitted through fine ■ In 1994, a FDA researcher published results from a study hair rootlets into the stems, and some reaches the leaves.