We often don’t think about the consequences when we’re biting into a large non-organic Fuji apple, but in reality, we are exposed to about 10 different pesticides. This is exactly why the Environmental Working Group has developed “The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides,” which ranks pesticide contamination for 47 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
The “dirty dozen” are the fruits and vegetables that are most important to buy in organic form, exposing people to about 10 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 15 least contaminated will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day.
Now why must we avoid pesticides. As acknowledged by the U.S. and international government agencies, pesticides have inherent toxicity because they are designed to kill insects, plants, and fungi that are considered pests…hence the name. With toxicity, pesticides pose health risks to people…a fairly obvious analysis. Pesticides have been linked directly to nervous system effects, carcinogenic effects, hormone system effects, and skin, eye and lung irritation (foodnews.org).
Ideally, all of our fruit and vegetable purchases should be organic. But with the limited availability of organic produce at our local grocery stores and decreases in our disposable incomes, these 12 are a good place to start.
Tags: organic food