'Dirty dozen' produce carries more pesticide residue, group says

[IDemo]

By Danielle Dellorto, Senior Medical Producer
June 1, 2010 -- Updated 0531 GMT (1331 HKT)

(CNN) -- If you're eating non-organic celery today, you may be ingesting 67 pesticides with it, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group.

The group, a nonprofit focused on public health, scoured nearly 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine what fruits and vegetables we eat have the highest, and lowest, amounts of chemical residue.

Most alarming are the fruits and vegetables dubbed the "Dirty Dozen," which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides.

"It's critical people know what they are consuming," the Environmental Working Group's Amy Rosenthal said. "The list is based on pesticide tests conducted after the produce was washed with USDA high-power pressure water system. The numbers reflect the closest thing to what consumers are buying at the store."

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen.produce.pesticide/index.html

The Dirty Dozen

Celery

Peaches

Strawberries

Apples

Domestic blueberries

Nectarines

Sweet bell peppers

Spinach, kale and collard greens

Cherries

Potatoes

Imported grapes

Lettuce

[Sanity Claws]

1. That list is about 60-70% of all produce I eat

damn

[IDemo]

3. Here, too

We have a temporary supply of garden-grown lettuce, but that's it after the summer heat kicks in.

[Alameda]

try a shaded area....or do it inside.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. damn....

I am really upset now...

Not only do I eat all that stuff, but I feed it to my pets as well...

At least I do include the Clean stuff in my diet as well...
The Clean 15

Onions

Avocados

Sweet corn

Pineapples

Mango

Sweet peas

Asparagus

Kiwi fruit

Cabbage

Eggplant

Cantaloupe

Watermelon

Grapefruit

Sweet potatoes

Sweet onions


At least there is some good news...

"To the extent you can afford to do so, should simply buy organic, because there have been some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides in two weeks," Landrigan said.

[LaurenG]

4. I received this list from a newsletter last week. edit to say - I didn't mean to post just to you.

and tried to find everything on the list in organic only. I couldn't find most of the produce in the organic section and this was at Whole Foods. The price for the items I did purchase was extremely high.

People really need to grow as much produce as they can on their own.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Home farming is the BEST idea. And for those who do not have land, per se..we need to really get

going on encouraging neighborhood gardens..so everyone can have a little piece of land on which to grow things.

The neighborhood garden would benefit a neighborhood in many ways...not just the food that is grown. It creates social connections and a sense of belonging..and cohesiveness in a neighborhood.

[starroute]

5. There isn't a whole lot of fruit on that list

And especially not things you can just grab one of out of the refrigerator to munch for a snack.

[tandot]

7. EWG has a little dirty dozen guide that fits in your wallet

http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

I have that with me whenever I go shopping. I buy mostly organic veggies and fruits of those that are on the list, especially if our son eats it, too.

A while ago there was a study finding no relationship between people who eat lots of veggies and the rate of cancer. Even people who ate a lot weren't less like to get cancer. You have to wonder how much the pesticides contributing to the cancer rate.