Living green and eating organic is trendy, but I've been doing it for twenty years. It's the most life-supporting thing I can do (for me, the farm workers and the earth) and it's not easy. There are the logistics of buying and cooking organic produce while maintaining a busy schedule. I can do it because I've had a lot of practice, I live near the Hollywood Farmers Market, and my husband supports me in this endeavor.
For those of you with more finicky eaters in your families, here is the Environmental Working Group's 2009 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides, a concise look at the foods to avoid and those that are safe to eat. (Visit their site to download an iphone app of this list.)
They update the list annually based on mainstream agricultural practices.
Although it is always better to eat fresh fruit and vegetables rather than packaged foods, the following contain larger traces of pesticide residue than are considered safe. Avoid them in any form unless organic.
Eat only if organic:apples
bell peppers
carrots
celery
cherries
grapes (imported)
kale
lettuce
nectarines
peaches
pears
strawberries
The following are considered by the Environmental Working Group to be safe to eat if non-organic. They have minimal to no pesticide residue. (Some of these surprise me.)
Okay to eat non-organic:asparagus
avocados
broccoli
cabbage
eggplant
kiwi
mango
onions
papaya
pineapple
sweet corn
sweet peas
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
watermelon
(Source: Environmental Working Group)
Remember, eat food, not too much, mostly plants; and support local organic farmers whenever possible.
Thanks for this lovely blog, Joy. Even though non-organic corn may be "okay to eat" from a pesticide perspective, I was told that all corn has been genetically modified except for organic corn (well, pretending that GMO seeds don't fly around and taint organic crops). I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
ReplyDeleteCorn is not the only problem. In North America, the only guarantee you have of eating non-gmo food is to eat organic, because gmo is not permitted under the organic certification guidelines. In Europe, gmo food must be clearly identified as such, but in the US and Canada agri-business has lobbied intensely against labeling. I'll write about this in the future, but the topic makes my blood boil. It's one thing for MacDonalds to make fake food, but for someone to make a fake carrot ... (imagine steam coming out of my ears).
ReplyDelete