The Worsted Witch » 2006

Pesticides in Produce

October 30, 2006 at 3:04 pm · Filed under Conscious Consumption, Eat Organic, Environmentalism, Food & Drink, Health, Kids

Environmental Working Group Guide to Pesticides in Food

Graphics by the Environmental Working Group

Going organic is a bit of a no-brainer. Even low amounts of pesticides can, over time, accumulate steadily in the fats and tissue of our bodies, resulting in adverse effects ranging from acute poisoning to the long-term potential for cancer. Children, infants, and fetuses are especially vulnerable because pesticides can affect their developing nervous, endocrine, immune, and reproductive systems, resulting in a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, birth defects, infertility, asthma, weakened immune systems, nerve and neurological damage, emotional disorders, and more. Zooming out for a sec, pesticide-run-off from fields and crop-dusting planes, dissolving into adjacent rivers, lakes, wetlands, and ground water, can result in the loss and fragmentation of ecosystems. (Pesticides unintentionally kill at least 67 million birds in the U.S. each year, for instance. In 1995, pesticide-contaminated run-off from cotton fields killed at least 240,000 fish in Alabama.)

If you want to know how persistent and pernicious pesticides are, you only have to look at DDT. Banned in 1972, this badass insecticide has been detected in human breast milk in the U.S., along with a chockload of industrial contaminants and known carcinogens such as PCBs, carbon tetrachloride, and benzene.

Even washing and peeling conventionally grown fruits and vegetables like you were Lady MacBeth after a really bad day at the office only reduces the level of pesticides but does not eliminate them. Because a 100 percent organic diet may not be practical or financially feasible, however, our best bet is to avoid conventional produce with the highest pesticide loads in order to minimize our exposure.

To help us along, the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group has developed a pocket guide—based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—you can print out and keep in your wallet. The worst offenders include peaches, apples, and strawberries. Conventional produce you can make do with, on the other hand, include onions, bananas, and broccoli. Download your own guide here to take with you the next time you weave your shopping cart down the supermarket aisles. (And if you’re a numbers nerd, you can find the complete data set here.)