Pesticide Amounts on Fruits and Vegetables

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We all know that most foods in our grocery stores are sprayed with pesticides, unless they are considered organic. Eating fresh fruits and veggies straight from a garden in my backyard would be fabulous, but I have a brown thumb.  I buy from local farmer’s markets when the opportunity arises,  but I usually purchase the majority of my produce from local grocery stores. Up until now, the produce I buy is mostly non-organic since I try to watch my spending.

Since most of us can’t afford to go all-organic, we can use the guide from foodnews.org to help determine which foods are worth the extra money to stay away from large amounts of pesticides. According to the Environmental Working Group and data from USDA and FDA tests, different fruits and vegetables are sprayed with different amounts of pesticides and are thus more contaminated.

Sweet bell peppers are sprayed with 39 pesticides.  Sweet bell peppers along with peaches and apples are among the most contaminated with pesticides.  I am guilty of just rinsing off my apples and peaches before eating them… yikes!  Now I will consider buying organic in these varieties to avoid ingesting so many chemicals, especially if the price difference isn’t much.

The foods with the least amount of pesticides were onions, asparagus and avocados, so I would have to think twice about paying extra for the organic price since they don’t contain as much pesticides anyway.

Do pesticides have an effect on our health?
According to the Environmental Working Group, the toxins from pesticides have been linked to skin, eye and lung irritations as well as hormone system effects.  They have also been linked to nervous system and carcinogenic effects.  The toxins from pesticides are also shown to have more long-term effects in children as their bodily systems are growing, developing, and maturing.

I would have to say that organic produce is worth the extra money, but it still doesn’t mean we can all afford it.  Do you go organic?

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