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My
son's school sent an excellent handout home last year on
the most pesticide-laden foods, and which one's you
should buy organic to protect your family. They called
these foods the "dirty dozen," and they are the foods
most commonly and highly contaminated with pesticides
and chemicals, even after washing and peeling. FDA and
USDA research shows high levels of pesticide and
chemical contamination in these common foods. The
research used to compile this list is from extensive
independent tests run by the FDA and the USDA from more
than 100,000 samples of food. The chemical pesticides
detected in these studies are known to cause cancer,
birth defects, nervous system and brain damage, and
developmental problems in children. In other words,
eat organic.
Many
people want to eat organically grown and certified food,
but find it too expensive to eat all organic. To help
readers prioritize which foods they should purchase that
are certified organic, they compiled the following list.
Beef, Pork and Poultry
The EPA
reports the meat is contaminated with higher levels of
pesticides than any plan food. Many chemical pesticides
are fat-soluble and accumulate in the fatty tissue of
animals. Animal feed that contain animal products
compounds the accumulation, which is directly passed to
the human consumer. Antibiotics, drugs and hormones are
a standard in animal husbandry, all of which accumulate
and are passed on to consumers as well. Ocean fish carry
a higher risk for heavy metals than pesticides, though
many freshwater fish are exposed to high levels of
pesticides from contaminated water.
Milk, Cheese and Butter
For
reasons similar to those for meat, the fat in dairy
products poses a high risk for contamination by
pesticides. Animals concentrate pesticides and chemicals
in their milk and meat. Growth hormones and antibiotics
are also serious concerns and are invariably found in
commercial milk, cheese and butter.
Strawberries, Raspberries and Cherries
Strawberries are the crop that is most heavily dosed
with pesticides in America. On average, 300 pounds of
pesticides are applied to every acre of strawberries
(compared to an average of 25 pounds per acre for other
foods). Thirty-six different pesticides are commonly
used on strawberries, and 90% of strawberries tested
register pesticide contamination above safe levels.
Raspberries trump strawberries with the application
of 39 chemicals: 58% of the raspberries tested
registered positive for contamination. Cherries
are almost as dodgy with 25 pesticides and 91%
contamination.
Apples and Pears
With 36
different chemicals detected in FDA testing, half of
which are neurotoxins (meaning they cause brain damage),
apples are almost as contaminated as strawberries.
Ninety-one percent of apples tested positive for
pesticide residue. Peeling non-organic apples reduces
but does not eliminate the danger of ingesting these
chemicals. Pears rank hazardously near apples with 35
pesticides and 94% contamination.
Tomatoes
It's
standard practice for more than 30 pesticides to be
sprayed on conventionally grown tomatoes. The thin skin
does not stop chemicals from infiltrating the whole
tomato, so peeling won't help you here.
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, but
they also rank among the most contaminated with
pesticides and fungicides. Twenty-nine pesticides are
commonly used, and 79% of potatoes tested exceed safe
levels of multiple pesticides.
Spinach and Other Greens
The FDA
found spinach to be the vegetable most frequently
contaminated with the most potent pesticides used on
food. Eighty-three percent of the conventionally grown
spinach tested was found to be contaminated with
dangerous levels of at least some of the 36 chemical
pesticides commonly used to grow it.
Coffee
Most
coffee is grown in countries where there are little to
no standards regulating the use of chemicals and
pesticides on food. The United States produces and
exports millions of tons of pesticides, some of which
are so dangerous they are illegal to use on American
farmland. Foreign countries import these chemicals to
cultivate food, which is sold back to the United States.
Coffee is an unfortunate culprit in this vicious cycle
of agriculture. Purchasing "Fair Trade" coffee provides
insurance that the premium price paid for this treasured
beverage supports farms and workers with more equanimity
and reward.
Peaches and Nectarines
Forty-five different pesticides are regularly applied to
succulent, delicious peaches and nectarines in
conventional orchards. The thin skin does not protect
the fruit from the dangers of these poisons.
Ninety-seven percent of nectarines and 95% of peaches
tested for pesticide residue show contamination from
multiple chemicals.
Grapes
Because
grapes are a delicate fruit, they are sprayed multiple
times during different stages of growth. The thin skin
does not offer much protection from the 35 different
pesticides used as a standard in conventional vineyards.
Imported grapes are even more heavily treated than
grapes grown in the United States. Several of the most
poisonous pesticides banned in the United States are
still used on grapes grown abroad. Eight-six percent of
grapes test positive for pesticide contamination;
samples from Chile showed the highest concentration of
the most poisonous chemicals.
Celery
Conventionally grown celery is subjected to at least 29
different chemicals, which cannot be washed off because
celery does not have any protective skin. Ninety-four
percent of celery tested was found to have pesticide
residues in violation of safe levels.
Red
and Green Bell Peppers
Bell
Peppers are one of the most heavily sprayed foods, with
standard use of 39 pesticides. Sixty-eight percent of
bell peppers tested had high levels of chemical
pesticide residues. The thin skin of peppers does not
offer much protection from spraying and is often waxed
with harmful substances.
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