Environmental Links to

Cancer: Food Production

By: Marissa Schriver
The Gist
cases of cancer in U.S. are caused by exposure to a
variety of natural & man-made environmental
substances
Focusing on contaminants related-to food production
Prolonged, frequent exposure to environmental hazards
cause genetic alterations
Endocrine disruptors: mimic or antagonise natural
hormones in the body; long-term, low-dose exposure is
increasingly linked to immune suppression, hormone
disruption, diminished intelligence, reproductive
abnormalities and cancer
Environmental impact most evident in groups of people
who immigrated to U.S.
Example: Asians have lower rates of prostate & breast
cancers but after immigrating to U.S., rates rose to the
same or greater than the U.S. levels of these cancers
 Looking Ahead...

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/articles/cancer_2020.htm
 Personal Bias
Family History
Correlation b/w environmental
factors exists as evidenced by
increase in cancer incidence over
years
 Relation to Dietetics

Nutrition education for prevention
As incidence of cancer increases, need for
oncology nutrition professionals increases
Hunger and Environmental Nutrition DPG
43% RDNs heard of agricultural sustainability but
only 13% incorporated in practice

Image: https://www.asbestos.com/wp-content/uploads/stethoscope-heart-with-fruit.jpg
Pesticides
>1 billion tons of pesticides are used in the US every
year w. 80% being agricultural usage (EPA, 2007)
20/900 found to be carcinogenic in animals & banned or
restricted
Direct relationship b/w exact pesticide & link to a
specific cancer unable to be determined
Food Quality Protection Act of 1966: requires that the
EPA ensure that levels of pesticides on food are safe for
children and infants
Usage increased from 400 million lbs in 1960s to 1,133
million lbs in 2007 (684 mil. Lbs from agriculture)
People w. increased exposure to pesticides had higher
incidences of blood and lymphatic system cancers,
cancers of the lip, stomach, lung, brain, prostate,
melanoma and other skin cancers
Herbicides & Insecticides
70% pesticides used are herbicides
Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) most
commonly used insecticide
Highest levels found after planting or during early
stages of growing season
Increase plant's susceptibility to certain disease
Soil Fertility:
Plants depend on microorganisms to transform
atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate
Triclopyr in common herbicides inhibits soil
bacteria that transform ammonia into nitrite
Glyphosate reduces the growth and activity of
free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) of 1972
Increased the regulations needed to support a pesticide
registration to ensure health & safety
EPA has banned several pesticides & put use
limitations on others
All existing pesticides have to be re-registered using
current health and environmental standards
New chemicals are marketed to be less harmful to
humans and the environment, or less likely to migrate
from farm fields to contaminate groundwater and
surface water
Air: Dioxin

Byproducts of chemical processes that contain chlorine

and hydrocarbons; accumulate in fats & breakdown
slowly
Produced unintentionally by: paper and pulp bleaching;
incineration of municipal, toxic, and hospital wastes;
certain electrical fires; and as a contaminant in some
insecticides, herbicides, and wood preservatives
TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin)
Increased exposure for workers & low-level exposure
through consumption of dairy products, fish, meat &
poultry
Connected with tumors of the liver, thyroid, upper
aerodigestive tract & skin
Air: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs)
Produced from burning carbon-containing compounds
Emitted via burning wood or fuel for homes & waste
incinerators
Found in gasoline and diesel exhaust, soot, cigar and
cigarette smoke
Food contaminated during smoking, barbecuing &
grilling
Present at low concentrations in oils, coffee, sausages,
etc
Increased incidence of lung, skin & urinary cancers
Farm Runoff
Can transfer chemicals from fertilizers & pesticides
into larger bodies of water or provide opportunity for
pesticide leaching into the ground
Corn has highest percentage of pesticide runoff index
that affects drinking water (~80%)
Nitrates found in groundwater from runoff double risk
of developing thyroid cancer (long-term consumption
of >5 mg/L nitrate-N)
U.S. Geological Survey
> 90% water and fish samples from all streams
contained one or several pesticides
> 143 different pesticides found in groundwater
Metals Consumed via Drinking H2O
Arsenic: associated w. high levels of skin, lung, bladder,
kidney & liver cancers
Nickel: linked to cancer of nasal cavity, lung & larynx
Exposed via eating, breathing & skin contact
Cadmium metal/compounds: increased risk of lung
cancer
Used to coat metals to prevent corrosion, in plastic
& synthetic products, fungicides & batteries
Industrial processes involved in product making
releases cadmium into air, surface water,
groundwater, and topsoil
 Economic Benefit: Cost of Food
Organic farmers: produce costs 49% more
than standard
Local farms & their community: University
of Minnesota study showed that small
farms with gross incomes of $100,000 or
less made almost 95% of farm-related
expenditures within their local
communities
Bottled water companies
Increase availability of food when
following industrial farming practices
Economic Burden: Cost of Food
Consumers: more expensive to eat
organic produce
Farmers: cost of pesticide usage
U.S. agriculture spends ~$8 billion/year
on pesticides
Establishments that dont use organic
practices
Small, local farms: outnumbered by
industrial farming
 Environmental Benefit: Food
Quality & Quantity
Crop yield based on farming practices used
is dependent upon crop being considered
According to study conducted by UC
Berkeley: no significant differences between
yield gaps for leguminous crops, such as
beans, peas and lentils
Ensure the physical health of farm livestock
controlled by pesticide usage
Machinery used in industrial farming
removes outlier of human error in
production
 Environmental Risk: Food
Quality & Quantity
Controls put on usage of these products
could decrease food quality if it is
damaged by outside forces pesticides
eliminate
Concentration of insecticides in urban
streams exceed level to ensure safety of
aquatic life (USGS, 2001)
2009: 158 million acres of land utilized in
U.S. for biotechnically engineered crops
Organic yields ~19.2% lower than
conventional ones
 Impact on Health

Environmental Affordable
Hazard
VS. Food
 Environmental Hazard
Loss of biodiversity & risk of endangerment
Beneficial soil microorganisms and insects,
trees, nontarget plants, fish, birds, and other
wildlife
Agricultural chemicals present in surface
water, groundwater and rainfall
The US National Academy of Sciences: DDT
metabolite DDE causes eggshell thinning and
the bald eagle population in the U.S. declined
primarily because of exposure to this
 Affordable Food
Concern for cost of food is more important
to certain populations
Feeding a family is 1st priority &
environmental impact of food isnt a
concern
Many pre-packaged foods utilize corn,
wheat, and soy as their base which is
largely produced by industrial farming as a
commodity crop
Processed meats: higher levels of nitrites
Refined grains: stripped of fiber
recommended as nutrition for prevention
Health Risks
Production workers, formulators, sprayers, mixers,
loaders and agricultural farm workers at highest risk
of developing health hazards due to exposure
Corn, wheat & soymeal main constituents of animal
feed
Grains produced by industrial farming utilizing
herbicides & insecticides
Pesticide residues can accumulate in the animals'
fatty tissue and milk = contamination of our food
Health Benefits
Food and fiber protected from damage by insects,
weeds, diseases, nematodes, and rodents
Food availability

Cultural Influence: Technology
Increase in technology = increase in chemically
intensive production methods
Stray away from labor-intensive production & turn
towards quicker & more efficient production that will
produce more $$
Changes in technology, prices, and government policies
resulted in development of a chemically intensive
agriculture

Cultural Influence: Media Dramatization
Actually promotes preventive properties
Phytochemicals: reduce inflammation and inhibit activation
of proteins promoting cancer cell growth
Cell studies: soy isoflavones more likely to bind to ER-beta
receptors
Why the hype?
Rodent studies: genistein increased growth of ER positive
breast cancer cells
Rats & mice metabolize phytoestrogens differently than
humans
Higher levels of active isoflavones in blood than humans

Who benefits from this cultural influence?
Farmers: less physical demand on them & increase in
productivity if they adopt these new practices
Pesticide industry: $12.5 billion industry in U.S.
Who loses?
Farm workers: out of jobs because of less labor-intensive
practices
Consumers: puts them at higher risk of exposure to
carcinogens & always in fear due to media exposure
Our environment!
Conclusion
Impact of food production contaminants on cancer
risk increases with long-term exposure
Environment plays a large role in our individual health
& protecting it with safe practices will benefit us as
well
As future health professionals, it is important that we
support and promote practices that are positive to
both individual & environmental health
Questions?
 Resources
Abnet, C. C. (2007). Carcinogenic food contaminants. Journal of Cancer
Investigation, 25(3), 189-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/
07357900701208733
GRACE Communications Foundation. (2015). Pesticides. Retrieved March 26, 2017,
from Sustainable Table website: http://www.sustainabletable.org/
Kellogg, R. L., Nehring, R., Grube, A., Goss, D. W., & Plotkin, S. (2000, March
9). Environmental indicators of pesticide leaching and runoff from farm
fields. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service website: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
M, W. H., B, K. A., P, W. J., K, A. E., A, F. R., & J, C. R. (2010). Nitrate
intake and the risk of thyroid cancer and thyroid disease. Journal of
Epidemiology, 21(3), 389-395. https://doi.org/10.1097/
EDE.0b013e3181d6201d.
Maryland Department of Health and Human Services (Ed.). (2010). Asian american
health concers. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from Asian American Health
Initiative website: http://aahiinfo.org/
Motes, W. C. (2010). Modern agriculture and its benefits: Trends, implication
and outlook (Global Harvest Initiative, Ed.). Retrieved from
http://globalharvestinitiative.org/
US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health,
National Cancer Institute, & National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences. (2003). Cancer and the environment: What you need to know and
what you can do (2039 ed., Vol. 03). National Institute of Health.
Wasim, A., Dwaipayan, S., & Ashim, C. (2009). Impact of pesticides use in
agriculture: Their benefits and hazards. Journal of Interdisciplinary
Toxicology, 2(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10102-009-0001-7
Yang, S. (2014, December 9). Can organic crops compete with industrial
agriculture? Retrieved March 26, 2017, from Berkeley News website:
http://news.berkeley.edu/