The Correlation Between Pesticides And Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning, it causes neuron (nerve cell) damage, and eventually, death. I got interested in studying it back in the days of my obsession with boxing, and of course, Muhammad Ali, who suffered tremendously. Most people blame it on the brutality of the sport itself, but I think we shouldn't exclude sportsmen's diets and vaccines, which, they're forced to get jabbed with in order to have the license to compete. Stanley Plotkin, which many call the "Godfather of vaccines" confirmed that the injected aluminum is stored in the brain, which is interesting, 'cause aluminum is linked to Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, among other, life-threatening conditions.

Therefore, there are many paths to the top of the mountain. Any nerve-wracking agent may result in Parkinson's, even sugar. A documentary made for DW by Elke Brandstatter and Marko Rosseler inspired me to discuss links between pesticides and Parkinson's.

Sooner or later, we'll be forced to tackle this subject, because the average age of patients decreases while the disease spreads rather rapidly. Mister Bas Bloem (a neurologist and researcher at Radboudumc) who set the Parkinson Centrum at Nijmegen said that Parkinson's rates are rising faster than any other neurological disease. He called it "Parkinson's pandemic", 'cause it is soaring worldwide.

Many scientists blame it on environmental factors, including pesticides. The following information shouldn't surprise you: the number and health burden of Parkinson's disease is increasing rapidly in China. By 2030, it is estimated that China will have nearly half of the global Parkinson's disease population.

Link: https://translationalneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40035-019-0162-z

It's a common belief that says "rural areas are inevitably healthier and safer," but that's not the case in Germany. Surprisingly (or not), Parkinson's is a more common condition in German rural areas, than in metropoles. Why? Well, Mrs. Marie Cruz answered that question by carrying out a study on air pollution in Germany. Monitoring devices were installed all over the country. Here comes the shocker: they've recorded significant levels of pesticides even in deep forests. Mrs. Cruz says there are no ways to escape pesticide pollution. Contamination rates are higher in rural areas 'cause modern agriculture depends on chemicals. Mrs. Beate Ritz (epidemiologist, and a professor at the University of California) found Parkinson's clusters in Californian central valley, where nearly a quarter of vegetables grown in the US come from. According to Ritz, residents who live close to the sprayed fields have an increased risk for Parkinson's by 75%.

"I'll go organic", you can't. The entire surface of the Earth has been contaminated already! Organically grown foods are contaminated, though toxicity levels are lower in such products. The contamination is so vast, that pesticides can be found in milk (which happened in the US). The industry says "hush, tiny amounts won't harm you," but if you're exposed to low doses over long periods, it can be very detrimental to the overall wellbeing.

Why?

Why would agriculturalists and farmers even use chemicals, if they are deadly? Martin Hauslin, an organic farmer who joined the green-party and the EU politics in the early 2000s answered that question: farmers have been brainwashed for the past 30-40 years. They've been told that chemicals are not harmful. Nowadays, we are starting to see more and more side effects that weren't included in the labels.

Mr. Wilfried Telman, a retired German farmer who suffers from Parkinson's says pesticides were represented to the agricultural community as progress. Mr. Herman Dorman says the only reason they're using pesticides is the guarantee that yields will be high. He also says organic agriculture would make products unaffordable.

Unlike the state of California, Germany hasn't passed any laws to keep official records on which pesticides have been used. Such information may help us monitor side effects, and determine which products should be taken off the market. In the EU, it takes over 20 years to take a chemical off the market, plus, farmers are always given 2-3 years to spend their reserves, so, generally speaking, a brand-new cancer-causing chemical product may remain available 'til 2045. Another factor worth reporting is the plant's memory. For instance, a test was carried out on samples of wine from Bordeaux (France). Each of the 15 bottles that were analyzed contained between 9 and 16 different pesticides, of which some haven't been used for a very long time, which means, plants store toxins and can spread them through fruits for many years to come.

Conventional agriculture and farming generate profit at the expense of health. To protect producers and consumers, a major overhaul of the industry is needed. Will it happen? I doubt. There is too much money in question for "whales" to allow it to happen. What's the solution, you may wonder? I have none. The best thing you can do is grow your own food, which is out of the question for the majority of the global population.

Feel free to share solutions, if you have any. Here is a documentary: (read the top comments!)