MIND. How To Avoid Parkinson’s Disease.
The keynote speaker for the 2025 Advancing Food As Medicine Conference was Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, an agroecologist and Executive Director of Ecdysis Foundation. This foundation has set out on one of the most ambitious experiments to gather data from over 1,000 farms of all kinds - conventional and regenerative - in North America. Their aim is to better understand how management practices on various farms affect production, nutrient density of foods while also accounting for the quality of life and health outcomes of those farming. Data is still being collected. but Dr. Lundgren shared some preliminary data the conference.
A set of statistics particularly hit me regarding farmer’s report on their health compared to the National Average (which is a low bar, mind you):
Allergies 41% increase
Asthma: 16% increase
Anxiety: 32% increase
Depression: 25% increase
Parkinson’s: 2000% increase
Cancer: 209% increase
While all are quite shocking, the severe curve in Parkinson’s seemed like something more than just correlative. I texted a naturopath colleague who specializes in Parkinson’s Disease, “Oh yes, that data is well confirmed that farming and PD go hand-in-hand,” she replied.
Digging more into the why, I found the work of neurologist Dr. Ray Dorsey. He boldly states that Parkinson’s is a manmade disease, based primarily on environmental factors. There are three in particular he highlights in his published papers and lectures:
Paraquat: a weed killer, first used in the 1960s. This pesticide kills the weeds that Round-Up does not, and is associated with 150% increase in Parkinson’s Disease. It is legal in the US, while 50 countries have banned this chemical. It is still widely used on fields of corn, cotton, soybeans and vineyards. Its use has actually doubled between 2013 and 2018 (my only guess to be that Round-Up is becoming less effective).
Trichloroethylene: commonly in used in dry cleaning and decaffeinating coffee. Associated with 500% increase in Parkinson’s.
Air Pollution: not much of an explanation needed in one this one
Dr. Dorsey thoughtfully accounts for other possible factors such as better diagnostics, increasing age and genetics contributing to the steep rise of PD, and he maintains that Parkinson’s is a preventable disease based on environmental exposure.
He states in his 2024 paper,
“Importantly, the risk of PD is not confined to those working professionally with pesticides. Those living near their application are also at risk. For example, in France the increased risk of developing PD is not limited to farmers, but extends to those living near farmland or vineyards.”
Here is the hard and honest truth: the chemicals we are spraying on our foods are neurotoxic. It puts at first those who are farming our food at great risk for inhalation of these chemicals, and those consuming it as well further down the line. We also can’t neglect the fact that the momentary and immediate impact of these chemicals are perpetuated and magnified with the fact that many of these pesticides are water-soluble, meaning they can end up in our water system and rain down on our organic produce. Perhaps not so organic anymore.
I had a friend bike from Seattle, WA to me in Coeur d’Alene, ID and he took many backcountry gravel roads for the route. He told me that he saw people in hazmat suits spraying apples. In what world do we think that these food products are ok to consume?
So, how to at least try to prevent Parkinson’s Disease? Avoid living near conventional farms to reduce exposure to neurotoxins and choosing food that has been grown without application of pesticides (think farmer’s market, CSA, organic).
The ultimate how is to help support initiatives and policies that encourage the elimination of these chemicals as they have been in other countries. But first, you can support with the farms you choose to support with your own buying choices.
Citation: Dorsey ER, Bloem BR. Parkinson's Disease Is Predominantly an Environmental Disease. J Parkinsons Dis. 2024;14(3):451-465. doi: 10.3233/JPD-230357. PMID: 38217613; PMCID: PMC11091623.