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Pesticides in Food
It’s bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children’s health than the pediatrician.
– Meryl Streep
We’ve been thinking about organic versus non-organic a lot lately. Â One of the things we’ve discovered is that certain fruits and vegetables, when conventionally grown, tend to be laded with pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group in Washington D.C has published a list of the fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide levels.
Foods Grown using the Most Pesticides
- Apples
- Cherries
- Grapes (imported from Chile)
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Bell peppers
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Spinach
The foods with the lowest pesticide levels
- Onions
- Avocado
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Sweet peas
- Asparagus
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
Can the Pesticides Be Removed?
Now, Â organic can be expensive, and many of the foods in the high pesticide level list are otherwise nutritious. Â So, how can the pesticides be removed?
- Wash and scrub fresh fruits and vegetables under running water. Â Don’t soak them.
- Peel fruits and vegetables when possible.
- Throw away the outer leaves of leafy vegetables.
Very important to wash the melons, pesticides or no: E. coli is a possible contaminant with the melon sitting on the ground in the field. I know we can’t all buy organic all the time (and I don’t currently) but there are other concerns besides our own health. Farmworkers can become sick while applying the pesticides, birds, insects (including bees) and other wildlife can be affected, too.