The Quiet Poison in Our Groceries

I love food and always eat well when I travel. Unfortunately, that willingness to experiment with food has a downside, and I have gotten sick in a few countries as a result of not being careful. I mean the level of sick that makes you promise God to be a better person while on the toilet, regardless of what deity you believe in. These are mainly accidents. It's the little rituals we do without thinking. You land somewhere, thirsty, grab a bottle of water because it's safer than the tap water, buy some fruit from a local market, maybe a salad at the buffet if the hotel room feels too quiet. You feed your family on autopilot because food is supposed to be the safe part of the journey. You are hungry, so you eat what's available at whatever restaurant. But lately, every time I'm back in the U.S. or even buying American food imported in Europe or the Caribbean, a small voice in my head whispers: "Hey, Elliott, do you know what exactly you're eating?" (Yep, my head voice talks to me in third person!)

That's where the trouble starts. While living in Santo Domingo, I once poisoned myself with a package of spinach that, after two weeks, still looked perfect. Farmers soaked it in pesticides. Similarly, today, the food looks fresh, the packaging looks clean, and the lettuce is bright and crisp. But there is an invisible chemical layer on top and inside of all this—PFAS, the so-called "forever chemicals"—and it's hiding in places our government is now actively expanding, rather than reducing. So, instead of my bellyache from eating food in the Dominican Republic, you could get much more than a passing illness.

I wish I were just being paranoid. This is now American food policy.

Europe Tries to Shut the Door to Poison, America Props It Open

I live in Europe now. I have many articles on this link that explain why. I am watching this food tug-of-war between regions. On one side, the European Union is moving toward a sweeping PFAS ban: nearly 10,000 chemicals grouped into one restriction, with only narrow exceptions. Europe is trying to stitch up the wound before any more toxins bleed into our food systems, creating a long-term health crisis. They have a clear timeline, scientific committees deep in their final reviews, and a political promise to cut exposures "to the greatest extent possible." Save people, not profits! People seem to like that!

Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the same body created to protect people, has gone in the opposite direction. Not only is it approving new pesticides that contain PFAS as active or "inert" ingredients, but it's also pushing to weaken water protections and loosen reporting rules so companies don't have to disclose nearly as much. Companies seem to like that!

Depending on whether you prefer companies to people, you should read that twice to make it sink in. I did too, and I still can't believe it. It would seem like a no-brainer that a country should protect its people, consumers, workers, human beings, over a few extra dollars for some shareholders who need a new luxury yacht. (What else are they doing with all that money? Not eating more!)

So, Why Would a Government Choose This Path?

PFAS has been a money-printing machine for decades. Non-stick pans, waterproof jackets, industrial glues, firefighting foams, and now pesticides. Billions flow through that pipeline. Once you understand that, everything else becomes depressingly predictable. It's about the money, money, money!

I know people, including one in my men's beer group, who use the phrase "conspiracy theory" to dismiss anything they don't understand or believe. If they don't want to think about it, then you are just crazy to bring it up. It's a technique to try to shut down folks. However, regulatory capture isn't a conspiracy; it's a description of reality. Companies fund studies that "find no harm," hire former regulators, pay/buy/campaign fund politicians, and lobby for loopholes like surgeons. When the EPA says, "We're taking a risk-based approach," what that often means is: the industry won the argument behind closed doors. You and your health are the risk worth taking. Do you agree?

The EU isn't perfect, but at least it's acting as if science and people matter. From my desk here in Lisbon, I feel hopeful. I am, however, appalled. Europe is trying to close the gate while America is actively and publicly opening it like a neighbor who opens your gate to let the wolves eat your livestock.

Who Pays the Price For Inhumane Policies

Let's break this down to the human level. Chronic exposure to PFAS is linked to cancers, immune suppression (weaker vaccine response), liver and kidney disease, hormonal disruption, and complications in pregnancy. Don't take my word for it. If you are one of the few who still believe in science, look it up.

Ironically, just as those health risks grow, the U.S. Department of Education is redefining which degrees count as "professional," making it harder to become a nurse, social worker, or allied health provider. Studying medicine and law keeps their generous loan caps. Nursing, social work, and physical therapy, and similar programs that disproportionately serve working-class communities, get shoved into a lower tier with smaller loan limits. So, poorer families will not get support, and the more affluent families are unlikely to become nurses.

So we have rising toxic exposures… and fewer people able to afford training in the very fields that help communities deal with toxic exposures.

You don't have to be a development economist to know that these policies, collectively, aren't setting a country up for success. These policies are structurally flawed.

PFAS Doesn't Respect Borders

Now add travel. Are you visiting your family and friends in America? Add global trade. Add countries that are net food importers, those dependent on American food. Add the Caribbean, where I'm from (Antigua & Barbuda, specifically), where many islands rely heavily on imported U.S. food. Those same PFAS-containing pesticides approved in the U.S. are used on crops that are then exported worldwide. And because PFAS isn't always explicitly listed in residue standards, it slides into other countries like an uninvited toxic uncle at a Thanksgiving cookout.

Tourists don't know. Locals don't know. One of my former jobs was at the Bureau of Standards in Antigua. I know by experience that small island states often don't have the lab capacity to test for PFAS routinely. That means exposure becomes silent, steady, lifelong. Plus, regional healthcare can't cope with an extra long-term sick population.

Meanwhile, in Europe, strict rules already cause rejections of imported goods for illegal pesticide residues. I really hope these rules get coded and enforced soon. If the EU's PFAS ban proceeds, that gap will widen. Europe will increasingly be the "cleaner food" destination, not because Europeans are naturally blessed, but because political will aligns with the science.

Okay, But What Do We Do as Travelers and Consumers?

This is where I step into my guide role: the friend who pulls you aside at the airport café and says, "Listen, [fill in your name here], I know you're tired, but here's the one small thing you can do to not poison yourself today."

None of these is perfect. All of them could help. It's better than just sitting and waiting for the cancer to consume you or a loved one.

1. Choose food sources that minimize synthetic pesticides.

Organic isn't flawless. Some of the organic labeling organizations are infiltrated by corporations that pay for the label. But some are real. Organic food still has fewer residues. So does integrated pest management, or farmers who can tell you their practices plainly. Better yet, those who practice permaculture and other regenerative practices are even better. I am working on building such a system, which I will discuss further once I have municipal approvals.

2. Wash thoroughly. Peel where you can.

Remove outer leaves. Rinse produce under running water for 30 seconds. This doesn't erase everything, but it lowers exposure. I still do this, but remember that much of the pesticide residue is in the plant.

3. Don't lock your diet to one high-residue food.

Rotate your food. Variety is your friend. Eat a variety of foods, so you don't get poisoned by a single type. So, not just salad, or chicken, or potatoes, or vegetables, or raw food, or burgers. Eat a variety of foods.

4. Cut down on ultra-processed foods.

These often contain ingredients that have been further processed up the supply chain, and the packaging itself may contain PFAS. Plus, like many restaurants, the food processors are cutting costs by using the cheapest ingredients, most likely to contain PFAS.

5. Use certified filters in high-risk areas of the U.S.

If you visit friends or family, check local water reports. Bring a portable filter if necessary. I used to have a filter on my tap water when I lived in Atlanta because they issued boil-water advisories about 4 times a year due to aging infrastructure. Now you need to travel with a portable water filter, like camping!

6. For Caribbean governments and consumers

Push for import-testing capacity, label transparency, and regional food security. Fix your testing labs. Listen to your experts, making way for them to function. Support local farmers using safer practices. Educate people about regenerative approaches to agriculture and discourage monoculture crop practices. Get into the practice of planting some of your food in whatever space you have available. I was shocked at the price of food at the grocery store in Antigua when I was there last. Plant fruit trees, and vegetables in pots, tires, whatever you can, to save on spending lots of money on poisonous food. Become close with people with spare land and help them cultivate under an agreement to share the food.

I am not saying to panic or be paranoid. None of these actions requires panic. They require awareness. Be calm and save yourself and your loved ones.

Nobody Wants to Talk About This

If we ignore PFAS, nothing changes. The chemicals don't magically degrade. They accumulate in bodies, soil, rivers, national budgets, and eventually in our children's medical charts. It's been found in mothers' breast milk, so we feed our babies PFAS.

I'm not telling you to live in fear. Life is too good to waste on poor-quality food. I'm telling you that hope requires participation. Europe's slow march toward a PFAS ban is only moving forward because people demanded it. U.S. agencies may only reverse course when the public speaks loudly enough to drown out lobbyists. I have doubts about the present situation of non-responsive elected officials.

What Transformation Looks Like

Here's the good news: once you adjust your habits, everything gets easier. You become safer.

You start tasting food again. You buy more slowly. You ask one extra question at the market. You read labels and avoid food with ingredients you can't pronounce. You travel with a little more clarity and a little less blind trust in systems that have not earned it. You pressure your representatives, even lightly. You make consumer choices that ripple outward. You teach others to be aware. As the new phrase we hear these days goes, "you become intentional."

And when you travel to America, you will feel like you're protecting your body instead of handing it over to chance.

A Final Word: the Authentic Traveler

I grew up in a region defined by resource dependence. I've lived in or visited places where clean water was never guaranteed, where I have had to use bottled water to brush my teeth. I don't take safety for granted. So, when I see a policy storm forming, I pay attention and engage my protection. PFAS is a long-term hurricane on the horizon.

But storms pass. Structures change. Governments change. Laws shift when people push and make others aware. And you, living wherever you live, traveling wherever you travel, have more power than you think.

Eat well. Stay aware. Ask questions. Don't settle for chemicals that never die before they kill you.

And don't let anyone, private industry or their enslaved government officials, tell you that you don't deserve clean, wholesome food and clean water.