My friend is expecting a baby! Being understandably protective of her unborn child, she asked me about what foods I buy organic. I said, "Well, I
pretty much don't pay attention unless it affects the taste or quality
of the product! For example, I love buying Horizon DHA fortified
milk because it has more Omega-3s, but not because it is organic." If all
the rules are followed, there should not be unsafe pesticide residues in
our food. I understand people make mistakes and not every apple I take home has gotten
tested, but I'm going to wash all my produce well and eat it anyway.
HOWEVER, putting myself in my friend's shoes...if I were pregnant, I
want to pretty much eliminate the normal risks I'm willing to take. I
figure changing what I eat just for nine months to reduce or eliminate
risks is well worth it!
You've heard of the
Dirty Dozen put out by the Environmental Working Group? I'm choosing not to follow it perfectly, and I'll explain why. From the
FDA Pesticide Monitoring Reports Summary, these are the only two factors that would determine how I shop for my food if I wanted to reduce my already low pesticide ingestion risks:
1) Avoid buying imported produce. Imported produce has four times the
FDA residue violations that domestic produce does...not that the
violative produce ever enters the grocery store; it gets destroyed,
but not 100% gets tested either. I'm thankful for the checks-and-balances philosophy of accountability our forefathers grafted in to our regulatory system. I can't say the same for other countries, though.
2) Of domestic produce, avoid (or buy organic) the following products
that were found in violation: Bean Sprouts, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Kale,
Leaf Lettuce, Spinach, Carrots, Onions/leeks/scallions. NO conventional
fruits came into violation with FDA safe residue limits, yay!
I'm state-certified for pesticide application so I know that there are very strict laws
against applying pesticides the wrong way and to the wrong types of
produce - many do pose a hazard in large doses (i.e., concentrated in their
packaging) so the most dangerous part to humans is mixing and preparing
the pesticide for use. Once they are sprayed out, they begin to
react with air and sunlight, and as time goes by, they decompose into inert (safe)
substances. This is why if you ever buy pesticide for a garden, it will
say something like "do not apply within 5 days of harvest"... this means
the FDA found it takes less than 5 days to break down into something
harmless to eat. The FDA has determined a set of standards for hundreds
of produce items and all possible pesticide residues that will only
allow food to enter the supply chain IF the concentrations are within
what is found to be "safe" -- i.e. breaks down into inert substances on
its own (unstable & has a half-life) or what your
liver will cause you to you eliminate.
Many pesticides are naturally derived from plants, such as nicotine, or
from bacteria, such as Bt toxins and
Ryanoids. Humans have nicotine
receptors, but not
Bt or Ryanoid receptors, so pesticides besides
nicotine are not absorbed by the human body, and are harmlessly
eliminated.
Pyrethroids are the pesticides that are in household roach,
wasp, ant, etc. killers. These are harmful to humans in high doses, but
not in extremely low doses. People with poor immune systems or
problematic liver function should avoid these. These chemicals react
with sunlight and oxygen and break down within a certain amount of time,
and these will have a withdrawal order (i.e. DO NOT APPLY within # days
before harvest). However, they can avoid breaking down by entering
bodies of water, and for this reason they are toxic to fish and aquatic
species. Sadly, BPO, an additive in household pesticides, has been
linked to
complications in the mental development of children (I'd
rather practice my aim with my tennis shoe / rolled up magazine against
roaches than use Raid anyway).
Others are insect hormones that interfere with a bug's ability to
grow...humans are insensitive to insect hormones...if you worry about
Insect Growth Regulators, I will worry about you. Other insecticides
form a protective covering over plants, making it difficult for bugs to
eat them. This is not toxic to any organism, it's just a barrier method.
This
is what the FDA's Residue Monitoring Reports look like for
Fruits and
Vegetables. Less than 10 U.S. produce items are found to be violative.
So, why does the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publish findings on
"The Dirty Dozen" (foods with highest pesticide residues) and "
The Clean Fifteen" (foods with lowest pesticide residues) based on 51,000 FDA
tests from 2000 - 2009? Sure, these
"Dirty Dozen" may have had the highest residues, but these are STILL at
safe concentrations!
With the exception of Bean Sprouts, Cucumbers,
Eggplant, Kale, Leaf Lettuce, Spinach, Carrots, Onions/leeks/scallions
as mentioned earlier, I would argue eating the following conventional
"Dirty Dozen" products would be fine: Apples, Celery, Strawberries,
Peaches, Domestic Nectarines, Domestic Grapes, Bell Peppers, Potatoes,
and blueberries.
The EWG argues that NO residue level is a safe level.
The FDA and EPA argue that a
teeny tiny reside level is a safe level,
and it would be best to avoid imported produce and conventional Bean
Sprouts, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Kale, Leaf Lettuce, Spinach, Carrots,
Onions/leeks/scallions. Pick your side and stand with the EWG or the
FDA, but, no matter what, ALWAYS wash your produce well (organic has
higher bacterial contamination from manure) and keep eating your fruit
and veggies!
(See also
Organic or Not?)
What do you
Think?
