Many of our favorite fruits and vegetables are soaked in pesticides. If you are familiar with the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen from the Environmental Working Group, you know it is a list of the biggest offenders of pesticide soaked fruits and vegetables. It is mind boggling how many pesticides are in the food we eat. If you read my last blog post on Small Steps to Healthy Living, I compared how we eat to how my grandparents ate. They lived to be in their late 90’s. I believe the secret to their longevity was not necessarily the food they ate, but the fact that it was not processed and not dosed in heavy pesticides and chemicals.
There is a growing awareness of pesticide contamination, but despite that, these fruits and vegetables are still pushed as healthy.
Here are some of the worst offenders:
At the top of the list is strawberries, one of my favorite healthy go to snacks. More than 45 total pesticide residues have been found on strawberries! If you can’t access or can’t afford organic strawberries, grow your own. Their easy to grow, and can be grown in containers or small beds. We grow ours in pallet wood. It works great! 
Number 2 on the list if apples. Another one of my favorites, and also considered one of the top healthy foods. The vast majority of apple orchards are conventional, not organic. American apples were recently banned in Europe by regulators – this should tell us something. Over 45 pesticide residues were found in conventional apples by the USDA’s pesticide data program in 2010. Does not sound very healthy!
Nectarines are number 3 on the list. Nectarines soak up pesticides like a sponge, making it important to always buy organic or at least limit consumption. According to the 2012 EWG report, nectarines actually had the most overall weight of pesticides of any fruit and vegetables.
Peaches are ranked number 4 on the list. The soft skin of the peaches with the amount of chemicals they are treated with make it a top concern. A study found 62 different pesticide residues on conventional peaches. Several are considered carcinogens and/or neurotoxins. You can wash some of the residue off, but with its soft skin, much of it remains.
Celery, according to USDA data, may contain as many as 64 different pesticide residues, including as many as 16 that are considered toxic to honeybees. This data earned it the number 5 spot on the list. This data underscores the need to buy organic when possible.
Our nation is unhealthy. While some of us try to practice good health, it can be difficult given the contamination of our healthy food. What can we do about it? We must become informed consumers and we must stand up for ourselves as consumers. Push for regulations, and clear labeling. There are many groups out there you can become involved in such as the Organic Consumers Association and their Millions Against Monsanto. The Millions Against Monsanto Campaign was started by the Organic Consumers Association in the mid 1990s to fight back against Monsanto and the other Biotech Bullies who are responsible for creating Agent Orange, PCBs, Roundup (glyphosate) and other toxins that threaten human health and the environment.
“How could we have ever believed that it is a good idea to grow our food with poisons?” – Dr. Jane Goodall
