Buy Organic Fruits and Vegetables, Reduce Exposure to Pesticides
- The US Food and Drug Administration annual pesticide residue report found 82% of domestic fruits and 62% of domestic vegetables contained pesticide residues
Eating non-organic GE foods (the prime candidates for Roundup spraying) is associated with higher glyphosate levels in the body.
A study of about 4,500 people in the US also found that those who “often or always” ate Organic had about 65% lower levels of pesticide residues compared to those who ate the least amount of Organic produce.
So choosing Organic foods as much as possible is an important way to lower exposure to pesticides and, in fact, avoiding pesticides is the # 1 reason why people go Organic.
Not only do these chemicals pose a direct risk to human health, including to developing babies, but they also threaten The Earth.
Glyphosate residues of 653 parts per billion (ppb) have even been detected in some honey samples, that is an amount that’s more than 10X the European limit of 50 ppb.
Bees, as pollinators, travel from plant to plant.
With grasslands being increasingly converted into GE Corn and Soybean fields where glyphosate and other pesticides are amply sprayed, it is easy for them to become contaminated and then transfer that contamination to their honey.
Research published in the journal Nature Communications shows that pollen collected next to Corn fields is contaminated with up to 32 different pesticides.
Right now, the effects of these chemical exposures on bees and other pollinators is not known, but common sense would indicate that they cannot be good.
So remember that you are telling growers and sellers you want less pesticides and herbicides with every Organic and grass fed food and consumer product you buy, every Organic purchase you make helps.
If you must choose between which products to purchase Organic, prioritizing Organic animal foods and then using the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “Dirty Dozen” list for produce, which are among the most heavily contaminated with pesticides and the most important plant foods to buy organic.
As of Y 2017, these include, the following:
| Strawberries | Spinach | Nectarines |
| Apples | Peaches | Pears |
| Cherries | Grapes | Celery |
| Tomatoes | Sweet bell peppers | Potatoes |
For the non-Organic produce you consume, washing with a solution of baking soda may help to remove some of the pesticides on the surface of the fruit or vegetable, it will not remove chemical residues that have penetrated beyond the peel.
Peeling is another option to reduce pesticide residue, but this means removing the healthy compounds contained in the peel.
So, the best way to avoid pesticide residues in food is to choose those foods that have not been exposed to them to begin with; Go Organic.
Eat healthy, Be healthy, Live lively
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