Like many others I've become very concerned about the safety of the food that I have been eating. Reading a long list of unfamiliar chemicals on a food package is worrisome. And that great tasting lunch had me drinking a gallon of water later.There is also much concern about farm products, with the use of growth enhancements and pesticides raising awareness these days.
Pesticides in particular scare me. While it could be argued that a certain pesticide is unharmful when used in the prescribed amounts, what are the possibilities that it is used excessively to increase revenue? Or that it is used combined with other pesticides that have similar side effects?
Food News from the Environmental Working Group asks
Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides whenever possible.
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing the rankings is available as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have been tested.
Read more . . . and check out the full list of 43 Fruits & Veggies from Onions and Avocados to Apples and Peaches.
EWG is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food.
