Mar 9, 2009
Jason Johnson: Should you buy organic produce?
Categories: Featured, Health, Jason Johnson
Written By: Shawn Williams
BY JASON JOHNSON
A non-profit research organization called the Environmental Working Group studied which produce was the most likely to be contaminated by pesticides, and therefore best eaten organically grown, and which ones were the least likely to be contaminated, and therefore could safely be eaten conventionally grown. Here is the list of the 10 most contaminated foods. You might want to consider going organic on the following:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Pears
- Imported Grapes
- Spinach
Peaches and apples appear to be the 2 biggest culprits. Approximately 96% of peaches tested positive for pesticides, along with approximately 91% of the apples testing positive for pesticides.
From the study, here is the list of the 10 least contaminated foods. These appear to be relatively safe purchasing conventionally grown (non-organic):
- Onions
- Avocados
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapples
- Mango
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Kiwi
- Bananas
- Cabbage
Until next time…Stay healthy.
Jason M. Johnson, ACE-CPT
JMJ Fitness
March 10th, 2009 at 10:25 am
You raise some interesting points about when to buy organic. However, the Organic Trade Association would caution people against the idea of limiting their organic purchases to the list of items you outline in this blog.
While establishing such limits may help to reduce the size of your personal food budget, it misses an important point: buying organic is about more than keeping pesticides out of our bodies.
It is about supporting a system of sustainable agricultural management that promotes soil health and fertility through the use of such methods as crop rotation and cover cropping, which nourish plants, foster species diversity, help combat climate change, prevent damage to valuable water resources, and protect farmers and farmers’ families from exposure to harmful chemicals.
In this sense, buying organic is a commitment to the bigger, more complex picture of which our personal health is a part.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I think I will stick to produce that is “contaminated” with non-toxic levels of pesticides rather than produce that is contaminated with pests.
Everything is a tradeoff. The only thing that defines a poison is the dosage. If there were toxic levels of pesticides in any produce, that would be the story. In this sense, buying organic is a commitment to a mythology of sentimentalism and nostalgia.