Laurel on Health Food

Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Stonyfield Farm teamed up to create a wallet-size Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce based on over 100,000 USDA and FDA pesticide tests between 1992 and 2001. The guide lists the 12 fruits and vegetables which consistently have the most pesticides and the 12 which have the least. If you see a fruit or vegetable on the high pesticide list, go check the organic section of your grocery store and see if it’s available there instead.

The EWG released an updated version of the Shopper’s Guide which was based on almost 51,000 USDA and FDA pesticide tests between 2000 and 2005. The two guides are almost identical, but I wanted to note the differences here.

The ‘92-’01 tests include red raspberries on the high pesticide list and cauliflower and papaya on the low pesticide list (these were not included on the updated version). The ‘00-’05 list added lettuce to the high pesticide list and cabbage and eggplant to the low pesticides list.

Personally, I’m going to print out this one and write in the fruits and veggies that were added in the later years. Maybe I can tape it on top of an old business card so it holds up in my wallet.

I’ve said it before, but it’s very hard for the average person to buy ALL organic produce considering high food prices and the limited availability of organics. Just remember that every little bit helps because eating organics helps reduce the amount of toxins that enter your body. Recent studies are also finding that organic produce has more vitamins and antioxidants. If you ask me, organic fruits and veggies taste better too, but that argument is highly debatable.

Remember that ANY fruit or vegetable (conventional or organic) is a living food and is therefore better for you than dead foods or things that can survive in a plastic package for months or years from now.

See also:

Go Organic with These 5 Foods

Mindfully.org’s review of studies on organic vs. conventional

This entry was posted on Monday, July 28th, 2008 at 8:44 am and is filed under Health, Organic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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