Organic Foods: Know the Facts - Dr. Trent Maly

nutrition
12 low-pesticide produce items
asparagus
kiwis mangos
avocados bananas
access to the outdoors and cannot be given antibiotics or growth
hormones. The NOP labeling standards are as follows.
• Products labeled “100 percent organic” must contain only
organically produced materials.
• Products labeled simply “organic” must contain at least
95 percent organic ingredients.
• The label “made with organic ingredients” can contain
anywhere between 70 to 95 percent organic ingredients.
• Organic products cannot be irradiated, and are not allowed
to contain preservatives or flavor-enhancing chemicals.
• Additionally, organic products cannot contain traces of
heavy metals or other contaminants in excess of tolerances
set by the FDA.
• The pesticide residue levels in organic foods cannot be higher
than five percent of the maximum EPA pesticide tolerance.
(For a free downloadable iPhone app on pesticides and
produce, visit the Environmental Working Group at ewg.org.
For the complete National List of Allowed and Prohibited
Substances under the USDA organic label, visit ams.usda.
gov/AMSv1.0/NOP.)
Should everything you buy be organic? Aside from the fact
that organic food contains higher levels of vital nutrients, and
is naturally lower in residues and compounds that are seriously
Growers and manufacturers of organic
products bearing the USDA seal have
to meet the strictest standards of any
of the currently available organic labels.
onions pineapples
broccoli cabbage
eggplant
sweet corn sweet peas
detrimental to your health, such as herbicide and pesticide
residues. Organic fruits and vegetables are, by definition, grown
without the use of harmful chemicals. Aside from that, the use
of pesticides and herbicides in conventional farming practices
contaminates groundwater, ruins the soil structure and promotes
erosion. They’ve also been linked to the mysterious “colony
collapse disorder” that threatens pollinating honeybees populations
around the world.
Eye on Pesticides
It is apparent that buying or growing as much organic food as
possible is not only best for your health, but for the health of the
entire planet. However, certain fruits and vegetables are subjected
to far heavier pesticide use than others. With food prices
rising, many are looking for ways to buy the healthiest foods
possible at the lowest cost.
One such way would be to focus on purchasing certain
organic items, while settling for others that are conventionally
grown. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization
that advocates for policies that protect global and individual
health, produces the Shoppers’ Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
It is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests.
Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories in the EWG’s
Guide to Pesticides, the following 12 foods had the lowest pesticide
load when conventionally grown: asparagus, avocados,
bananas, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, kiwis, mangos, onions,
pineapples, sweet corn and sweet peas. Consequently, they are
the safest conventionally grown crops to consume.
Meanwhile, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest
pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or
grow organic: apples, celery, cherries, imported grapes, lettuce,
nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach, strawberries and
sweet bell peppers. Conventionally grown strawberries, in particular,
were found by a 2007 European Union study to be highly
toxic due to a poisonous blend of pesticides. But be aware that
© tina aitala / corn: istockphoto.com