[VolSimFirst] How To Reduce Pesticide Exposure

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

BAD RESIDUALS FROM DAILY RERUNS OF " EATING YOUR FOOD "

Reduce Pesticide Exposure by Choosing Foods with the Lowest Pesticide

Residues

 

Grinning Planet has already run a number of articles extolling the

virtues of organic agriculture and organic food. That's because we

think the high level of neuro-toxic pesticides used to grow most of

the world's food is probably the worst idea man ever came up with.

Well, maybe second worst, after reality TV shows like " Survivor:

Twelve Angry People with Machetes. "

 

Consumers are quickly recognizing that the levels of pesticide

residue on non-organic food-and the levels of resulting

chemical " body burden " in all of us-are worth avoiding. So maybe

you're already buying organic food, or maybe you'd like to but have

trouble footing the extra cost often associated with organic food.

For times when you can't find or can't afford organic fruits and

vegetables, today's article presents information on how

you can minimize your exposure to pesticides in food without

necessarily going organic.

 

THE EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES

 

Before we get to the good stuff, here's a quick recap of some of the

harmful things pesticides can do to us humans:

 

* cause low birth weight and birth defects;

* interfere with child development and cognitive ability;

* cause neurological problems;

* disrupt hormone function;

* cause a variety of cancers, including leukemia, kidney

cancer, brain cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

 

Children and fetuses suffer more of these effects from pesticides

than do adults because children's bodily systems are still

developing. It's also worth noting that farm workers suffer more

than their share of bad effects from pesticides; and birds,

beneficial insects, and other wild critters are impacted, too.

Buying organic-or at least limiting purchases of non-organic

foods to those with the lowest pesticide residue-can protect you,

your family, and all the rest.

 

FOODS WITH HIGHEST PESTICIDE RESIDUE AND LOWEST PESTICIDE RESIDUE

 

Let's jump right into the lists, which came primarily out of a 2003

research project conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

We have augmented those results with additional information from a

2004 analysis performed by Charles M. Benbrook, PhD, an agricultural

specialist. The additions from the Benbrook work are marked with

asterisks.

 

Chart of (1) most contaminated fruits and vegetables - Peaches,

Strawberries, Cherries, Cantaloupe from Mexico, Apples, Apricots,

Nectarines *, Pears *, Red raspberries, Imported grapes, Spinach,

Bell peppers, Celery, Green beans, Potatoes *, Mushrooms *, Carrots

*, and (2) least contaminated - Pineapple, Bananas, Watermelon,

Plums, Grapefruit, Mangoes, Avocados, Cauliflower, Asparagus,

Broccoli, Onions, Cabbage, Eggplant, Sweet Peas (processed) *

 

Click here to open a PDF of a wallet-sized version of

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-24/most-least-pesticide-

residues-char

t.pdf> this table

 

An EWG simulation showed that people can lower their pesticide

exposure 90% by avoiding their " dirty dozen " above and instead

eating the least contaminated fruits and vegetables. If you can make

some of your servings organic, you'll do even better.

 

Produce should always be washed before you eat it, but lest you

think that you'll be able to wash away all the pesticides, forget

it. The above list was based on USDA data where the fruits and

vegetables were already washed. Some pesticides are taken up

internally by the plants and find their way into in the parts of the

plant you eat; thus, the pesticides cannot be washed off. Other

pesticides are designed to bind tightly to the surface of the fruit

or vegetable so rain doesn't wash them off, which means you cannot

easily wash them off, either. Peeling does reduce exposure to

surface-level pesticides, but you often lose valuable nutrients and

roughage when you throw away the peel. And anyway, how are you going

to peel a strawberry or raspberry?

 

Picky, Picky

 

You'll note that fruits dominate the list of foods with the most

pesticide residue. The main reason for this is that consumers have

become very, very picky about fresh produce, and growers have

discovered that from an economic standpoint, it makes sense to douse

everything with toxic chemicals so the fruits are completely blemish-

free. But now that you know the dirty little secret about the

pesticide residue in those " perfect " fruits, does it really

make sense to put a higher priority on food beauty than on food

safety?

 

Moreover, organic growers have come a long way since the early days

(a few decades ago) and now routinely deliver excellent-quality

fruits and vegetables, both in terms of appearance and taste. In

fact, most people find that organic fruits taste better than

conventionally grown fruits, and research has shown that organic

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/03-02/organic-food-agriculture-

myths-article.htm#4> fruits and vegetables are often higher in

antioxidants.

 

It's also important to remember that the " best " and " worst " lists

apply not only to fresh fruits and vegetables but also to the same

items when they are in canned or frozen form, as well as to

processed foods and restaurant meals that contain those particular

fruits or vegetables. It is worth noting, though, that the Benbrook

study found less contamination in processed food than fresh food,

but you'll loose valuable vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants,

and other phytonutrients if you decide to avoid fresh food. (You may

want to see our article, Nutrition

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/06-29/living-food-article.htm>

Differences Between Living Food and Dead Food.)

 

PESTICIDE RESIDUES - THE WALLET GUIDE

 

Some people have good memories, but if you're not one of them, you

may want to download and print our handy wallet-sized version of the

lists of high- and low-pesticide fruits and vegetables. (See the

instructions below.)

 

How to Get the Wallet-Sized Pesticides-in-Produce Guide

 

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-24/most-least-pesticide-

residues-chart.pdf>

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-24/most-least-pesticide-

residues-chart.pdf> picture of same chart of most and least

pesticide contaminated fruits and vegetables, described previously

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-24/most-least-pesticide-

residues-chart.pdf> There are two ways to download and print the

wallet guide.

 

Approach 1: Click on the image or click here

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-24/most-least-pesticide-

residues-char

t.pdf> . The file should open in the Adobe Acrobat plug-in

associated

with

your web browser. You should then be able to print to your local

printer.

 

Approach 2: Do right-click/Save Target As on the image (or this link

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-24/most-least-pesticide-

residues-chart.pdf> ) to save the file to your hard drive. (Make

sure you know where on your hard drive you're putting the file. The

Desktop is always a good idea.) Then double-click the file and print

it. To use Approach 2, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader

installed on your computer.

 

If you need to install either the Acrobat plug-in or the Acrobat

Reader, you can do so for free from the Adobe web site

<http://www.grinningplanet.com/goto/adobe_acrobat.htm> .

 

For more details on the lists of most and least pesticide-

contaminated foods, as well as on the methodology used to produce

them, see the following resources:

 

* Environmental Working Group info:

www.foodnews.org <http://www.foodnews.org/>

* Benbrook study:

www.organic-center.org/science.htm?groupid=4

<http://www.organic-center.org/science.htm?groupid=4 & articleid=25>

& articleid=25

 

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