What are some sources of toxins?

There are dangers in the plastics that deliver our food. Producing that food also employs an array of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides to kill the insects and weeds that harm the crops. These obvious toxins run off from fields and enter the water table; we've all heard about their effects on our collective health. Sometimes we may think about it when we pass the little organic produce counter at the supermarket, where a small number of worried pregnant moms prefer to buy their food. You too may choose to buy there.

We try to improve our standard of living, but with the new adhesives, carpets and building materials that outgas volatile organic compounds we create more toxin exposure for our unborn. We sand away the pre-1960 paint, and so release lead into our homes. We tear down old ceilings in schools and offices, and invisible threads of asbestos insulation float out to lodge in lungs and produce mesothelioma, a usually incurable cancer. We demand our dentist remove the amalgam from our teeth, and we're told we'll release a flood of mercury into our bodies. We attempt to eat more healthily by upping our fruits and vegetables, and in doing so are exposed to levels of pesticides strong enough to cause neurological disease if we are so predisposed. And if or when we finally succumb to the toxic burden and go to see our doctor, he or she prescribes us a medication that is likely to do nothing in support of our complaint but perhaps even add to our toxic burden.