Eat the Clean 15, go Organic with Dirty Dozen
Ever go to a Farmer's Market and marvel at the fresh produce?There's a certain something about a fresh wedge of lettuce, that makes you feel healthy. But do you always go organic? Do you know which veggies have high pesticide residues? We asked some Americans about their choices.
Cherie Keeler from Brooklyn says "Usually, I buy organic."
"I look at price more than organic produce,” explains Micah Washington, from Ohio
Natsuyo Lipschutz, a Manhattan Mom adds, "I'm trying to buy fresh vegetables and the fresher the better.”
Dr. Micheal Hanse,n Senior Researcher at Consumer Affairs says it's important to be concerned about the food you eat
"People should be concerned about the food system, because you are- what you eat. The way the food is grown, the way it is handled and raised, can have an impact on how nutritious it is. It could also impact the environment.”
You don't have to go organic all the time. It's about knowing the difference between the "clean 15" and the "dirty dozen".
The clean 15, are 15 varieties of produce, that are low in pesticides. Hence, there is no need to organic.
"Avocados, sweet corn, asparagus, domestic cantaloupes, and onions -98% of all the samples we tested had no detectable pesticides residues,” says Hansen.
The dirty dozen on the other hand, are 12 varieties with high pesticide residues.
Dr. Micheal Hansen explains, "Examples of those are potatoes, apples, imported nectarines. Every single sample of imported nectarine ,had at least one pesticide residue on it. Peaches, strawberries, grapes, lettuce.”
Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to buy organic, you can substitute . "Or in the case of potatoes you can switch over and eat sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have very little pesticide residue on them," says the doctor.
A shocking new study, suggests that non -organic baby food is at risk, and requires better regulations.
" Some baby food is made from pears. Out of the190 pear baby food samples- 26% or over one quarter, had five residues of pesticides. Green beans also had residues in them. That's very upsetting people might want to consider organic," stated Dr. Hansen.
Another trend is local vs organic.
"It depends on what their values are. If they always want to support organic. that's fine. But some people also want to support sustainable agriculture. So they want the food to be more local. If your growing organic strawberries in Guatemala, and you can ship them up to the US. So some people want to support small family farms and local, so they would prefer to buy from their farmers market and that way you can often talk to your local farmer," says Hansen.
For more info on produce safety, a list of the dirty dozen and the clean 15 go to www.consumersunion.com
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