Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Call It Whatever You Want

I have been on this earth for almost 34 years now.

And I have never, ever, ever seen crop dusting before.

Some jazz up the name and call it "aerial application."

Whatever it is ...

GOOD LORD.

I call it "how would you like a bunch of chemicals all over your food?"

While driving through Eastern Washington yesterday, my eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw images just like this ...



That's right people.

Those are the fields of fruit and vegetables that we eat all year.

Being sprayed by chemicals.

That we put in our bodies.

Now I know all about the organic food craze.

I've read the books, seen the movies, done the research.

But something about seeing it first hand that really rocks your world.

I'm rocked.

I can't turn back.

Can't pretend it's not there.

Can't pretend I didn't see it.

To make wiser consumer choices here is a list of produce with the highest level of pesticide contamination from gourmetfood.com

Top 12 fruits and vegetables that we should be buying organically:
1. Nectarines – 97.3% of nectarines sampled were found to contain pesticides.
2. Celery – 94.5% of celery sampled were found to contain pesticides.
3. Pears – 94.4% of pears sampled were found to contain pesticides.
4. Peaches – 93.7% of peaches sampled were found to contain pesticides.
5. Apples – 91% of apples sampled were found to contain pesticides.
6. Cherries – 91% of cherries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
7. Strawberries – 90% of strawberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
8. Imported Grapes – 86% of imported grapes (i.e. Chile) sampled were found to contain pesticides.
9. Spinach – 83.4% of spinach sampled were found to contain pesticides.
10. Potatoes – 79.3% of potatoes sampled were found to contain pesticides.
11. Bell Peppers – 68% of bell peppers sampled were found to contain pesticides.
12. Red Raspberries – 59% of red raspberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

And because buying organically is more expensive, here is a list of fruits and vegetables found to contain the least amount of pesticides (also from gourmetfood.com).
* Asparagus
* Avocados
* Bananas
* Broccoli
* Cauliflower
* Corn (However, almost all corn is genetically modified)
* Kiwi
* Mangoes
* Onions
* Papaya
* Pineapples
* Sweet Peas

Happy, healthy eating friends!

5 comments:

Steph said...

Ever since last October when I was diagnosed with the dreaded C-word...I am uber-paranoid about stuff like this! Although it just about kills me everytime I have to skip the $.99/lb fruit and head to the $2.99/lb fruit. I try to head to PCC so I cannot see the cheaper stuff just mocking me from across the aisle. :)

Ashley said...

growing up around my brother and the Stookey boys (especially Pat) gave crop dusting a whole other meaning... equally harmful!

Renee Little said...

I ran an almond facility in California (25 million lbs a year)...I have my applicator license and we treat almonds with a safe pesticide that has 0 residual (we test)...I have also had a ton of dealings with Organic product...ALL organic product coming in from the fields had 16-25% insect damage and live/invested deliveries...where there is insects and insect damage there is also a MUCH HIGHER risk of ecoli, salmonella and aflatoxin....all things I KNOW are much more dangerous than pesticide that dissipates over a controlled period of time....just something to think about....either way has it's drawbacks. I love that people (you) think about what they put in their tummies...and talk about it...each person gets to make their own choices and I more than respect your choice to choose Organic.

Anonymous said...

Lisa-
Great post! You have hit a subject very dear to my heart. I am careful to make sure my fruits and veggies are organic but also the animals I consume were treated humanely. Working in the "natural food" food industry you can learn too much, too soon but I don't think any of it is to be underestimated!! I mean can you really put a price tag on your families health?
-Kirsten

Lisa said...

Renee - thank you! I LOVE that you can shed light in this area. I consider myself to know very little and I LOVE the information you shared.

Just goes to show I have more reading to do.

And so cool about what you used to do! I bet you have a ton of insight and knowledge! Can I have some? ;)

xoxoxo