There is a lot of attention being put on organic food. I think everyone would agree that they don't want to eat foods covered with pesticides. The problem with organic is the price. I know very few people willing to or able to do a complete conversion to organic foods. Sometimes the conventional vegetables and fruit can be difficult to afford for some families. The good news is that not all conventional foods contain dangerous levels of pesticides. Consumers can be selective of what they buy organic. Here are two lists of fruits and vegetables. One is the dirty dozen (the top 12 produce items with the most pesticides). The other is called the clean 15 (They have least amount of pesticides).
The worst offenders—the "dirty dozen"—contained 47 to 67 pesticides per serving, thanks to a "soft skin" that leaves them particularly vulnerable:
"The Dirty Dozen"
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce
The Clean 15
Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes
Sweet onions
If you are a person who eats a lot of fruit or vegetables from the dirty dozen list, then organic is best. One day I was eating some conventional strawberries. I washed them very well prior to eating them but as I was putting the strawberry in my mouth I could smell the pesticide on them. I washed them again but the chemical smell was still there. The next week I bought some at Ozark Natural foods in Fayetteville, Ar. They right away did not have the chemical smell. They smelled like strawberries. I haven't knowingly eaten a conventional strawberry again. On the other hand when at Ozark Natural foods I noticed that organic watermelons were selling for about $15.00 - $20.00 a piece. I complain about paying $5.00 for one at walmart. Luckily watermelons are on the clean 15 list. You just have to use commonsense.
A great place to find organic produce is at a local farmers market. Organic produce is usually a little more than conventional but in some cases just by a few cents. In the winter I like to get a lot of organic fruits and vegetables frozen. The bottom line is that we need to be aware of what we are eating and what chemicals the foods contain. We may not be able to afford a 100% organic diet but we can avoid the ones most effected by pesticides. There is not a lot of data on the long term effects of pesticides on humans but one thing we know is that it kills insects. If it kills insects instantly than what does it do to our bodies!
I've always been one of those that dismissed concerns about these issues of growing methods (pesticides, herbicides or not), but I'm coming to realize their importance in a variety of ways. For instance, stomach cancer used to be a very common disease back before World War II, but after the war it became increasingly rare such that I never saw a case during medical school. The reason? Nitrates and salt preservatives before the war, refrigerators after the war - no need for nitrate and salt preservatives resulting in fewer cases of stomach cancer.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the controversy over the omega-3/omega 6 ratio in corn fed verses grass fed beef. You'd think whatever you feed a cow that it all becomes "cow" and you butcher it and you shouldn't be able to tell one steak from another, but not the case!!
You really are what you eat. Thank for the list, Tanya.