Hydrosols

Chemical-Free Agriculture 

Even if we assume that agrichemicals are safe, they are frequently used in ways other than those expressly indicated. For instance, in the early 1990s a survey of foods in the United Kingdom found that lettuces contained many times the allowable limit of chemicals, indicating that they had been sprayed just before harvest, although manufacturers recommendations suggested that spraying be ceased at least seven to ten days prior to harvest.

The chemicals did not have any time to leach out of the sand were being consumed in nice healthy salads. Unpeeled carrots were also a danger for the same reason. Peeling the carrot was shown to remove the majority of the residual chemicals and thus render them fit for human consumption. There is no way to point the finger of blame, since farmers frequently do not understand the full implications of agrichemicals on foodstuffs and health, while manufacturers may not do enough to advertise the possible dangers, and the governments do nothing but talk.

In his book Seeds of Change: The Living Treasure, Kenny Ausubel states, "Eighty percent of the known health risks come from thirteen pesticides on fifteen crops and products. Of greatest concern are tomatoes, beef, potatoes, oranges, lettuce, apples, peaches, pork, wheat, soybeans, , carrots, chicken, corn, and grapes. Broccoli, whose crucial health benefits are well documented, is treated with fifteen seperate chemicals and it can't be peeled. Apples can have up to a hundred different pesticides on them, seventy on bell peppers and a hundred on tomatoes." 

We know from clinical analyses that plant material grown under modern chemical-farming conditions retain chemicals. When distilled, plant material components are extracted and condensed, and therefore the chemical residue becomes concentrated. What may be acceptable levels in a plant could easily become highly unacceptable levels when concentrated in essential oils or hydrosols.

The Canadian Ministry of Agriculture and a number of universities are now working jointly on studies assessing the effects of organic versus conventional farming. In a paper titled "Effects of Organic and Conventional Production Systems on Yield and Active Ingredient Concentration of Medicinal Plants,"researchers at Laval University  "examined the influence of three organic systems and one conventional production system on dry matter yield and active ingredient concentrations.
"using thyme,Thymus Vulgaris:horehound, Marrubium vulgare; and German chamomile, matricaria recutita, "preliminary results showed that dry matter yield was higher with the conventional production system for all species and active ingredient concentration was higher in the organic system for thyme and horehound. Higher active ingredient concentration in these two species was btained in the organic-biodynamic  system.

As the issue of standardized extracts and " active ingredients" becomes critical to the main stream scientific acceptance of botanical products, it is most satisfying to note that organic and boidynamic systems can produce more of what we want from a plant than chemical farming can. Quality, not quantity, is what we get from organics.

Then there is the issue of environmental effects of conventional agriculture. The earth is already very polluted; we know that all too well. The air, the water, the soil, from the artic to the Antarctic, even out in the middle of the oceans, is polluted. These contaminants are affecting our health both directly and in directly.

The rise in environmental sensitivities, asthma, allergies, eczema, psoriasis, chronic fatigue, colitis,and even cancer is being researched for possible links to pollutants. Pollution is killing us, and we cannot expect to use conventionally farmed products full of these chemicals if we wish to benefit our health. So be nice to yourself and the planet: buy organic.

Reference: Hydrosols The Next Aromatherapy: Suzanne Catty