Pesticides Question Contd.?!
Pesticides Question Contd.?
A fella asked about the Pesticides in the Veggies so a lot of people advised to go organic... One fella said it was easy to wash off these pesticides... I'm just curious though, I mean, won't the pesticides soak up in the soil that the veggies are growing on and get into the veggies itself.. Has this been tested anywhere, or where can I find documentation about that?
Answers:
It's quite true that you can rinse most pesticides off the product. If you want to go an extra step you can use a touch of detergent or an organic soap like Dr.Bronner's. Dr.B's is really effective at removing the wax that's often used on produce! Most pesticides break used today are fairly reactive chemicals and break down quickly under the influence of sunlight, oxygen and naturally occurring bacteria. Farmers tend to like that because the older persistent chemicals also killed the beneficial insects and organisms needed to maintain soil health. They've also gotten really 'gun shy' about trans-genic plants with 'built-in' toxins ever since the Starlink corn mess a few years ago (a LOT of farmers lost big bucks over that stuff)..
Please look at the link from the EWG that the previous answerer gave and look at the amounts of stuff they found. Only in a few cases does the amount exceed 1 part per million and in most cases the amount found was measured in parts per billion or trillion. A decade or so ago these residues wouldn't have been detectable. A good analogy would be to put 1-10 drops of whatever into an olympic sized pool and that's the amounts of residue that's being detected here!
Organic does NOT mean pesticide free! Here's the EPA's list of products that can be used and maintain an organic pesticide free label.
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopestici...
What also gets overlooked these days is that plants generate their own insecticides when attacked by critters. That's part of the reason EPA allows certain chemicals to be used and still maintain a pesticide free label. Not using pesticides can actually result in produce being more toxic than if it was sprayed!
One last matter; NO ONE knows what's causing the problem with bees!! The current leading theory is that a newer class of pesticides called neonicitinoids are causing the problem but France banned them some time back and they're have problems also. Another popular theory is that GMO crops (like Starlink corn) are causing the problems but bees are disappearing in areas where these crops aren't grown. A few other theories about the topic in no particular order are global warming, magnetic field changes, global dimming (less sunlight is reaching the Earth's surface), corn syrup use to replace honey stolen from hives, mites, bacteria, virii, prions, space aliens. With what is know at this point ET really could be beaming the bees onto UFOs!
Source(s):
Vegetarians do not eat fish. A fish eater is a Piscivore. Spread the correct word!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piscivo...
Yes, it will soak up the pesticide. I am not sure where you could find documentation, but I am friends with a local organic farmer, and he showed me an article about how the residues end up in the final product. Washing alone is not enough-it will just rinse the surface pesticides. I use organic, which is way more expensive. I lightly wash the stuff I grow myself, but for any others, I wash in a solution of half peroxide, half water and a bit of vinegar or baking soda, then rinse really well. Its been in the news lately that the bee polpulation in the US is dying off, due to overuse of pesticides-that will create its own issues, because bees are what pollonize so many crops!
I absolutely believe this. Bottom line, it makes sense that a vegetable grown in 'clean' soil, using organic fertilizer and no pesticide makes as much sense as eating 'clean' minimally processed foods means for people. If you have concerns, follow your instincts. Get organic when you can, use a vegetable wash when you can't get anything else. If you live near a Whole Foods, check them out. They have information, and an amazing selection of foods and personal care that are closer to the source. Good luck!
Think of it this way. You wouldn't eat a apple that had just been sprayed with bug spray even if you ran water on it.
Organic eating tastes so much better than regular food and it is better for you. If you are still not convinced then buy or rent Kevin trudeau"s book- Natural Cures they don't want you to know about
Beebs and Saph are correct
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.
Test Results: Complete Data Set
Rank (worst to best)
Commodity
Combined Score
Percentage of Samples Tested with Detectable Pesticides
Percentage of Samples With Two or More Pesticides
Average Number of Pesticides Found on a Sample
Average Amount (in ppm*) of All Pesticides Found
Maximum Number of Pesticides Found on a Single Sample
Number of Pesticides Found on the Commodity in Total
1 Peaches 100 96.6% 86.6% 3.1 1.134 9 42
2 Apples 89 92.1% 78.9% 2.5 0.901 9 37
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86 81.5% 62.2% 2.4 0.138 11 64
4 Celery 85 94.1% 79.8% 3.0 0.413 9 30
5 Nectarines 84 97.3% 85.3% 3.0 0.576 7 26
6 Strawberries 82 92.1% 69.1% 2.2 0.843 8 35
7 Cherries 75 91.4% 75.8% 2.8 0.290 7 25
8 Pears 65 87.2% 47.4% 1.6 0.544 6 32
9 Grapes - Imported 65 85.3% 53.4% 1.7 0.291 7 32
10 Spinach 60 70.0% 31.2% 1.1 1.240 6 24
11 Lettuce 59 58.9% 33.0% 1.3 0.108 9 49
12 Potatoes 58 81.0% 18.0% 1.0 1.655 4 18
13 Carrots 57 81.7% 48.3% 1.6 0.046 6 31
14 Green Beans 53 65.4% 39.0% 1.3 0.187 6 34
15 Hot Peppers 53 55.0% 27.5% 1.0 0.290 6 51
16 Cucumbers 52 72.5% 31.7% 1.2 0.057 6 40
17 Raspberries 47 47.9% 23.3% 0.9 0.906 6 21
18 Plums 45 56.2% 10.2% 0.7 1.359 4 17
19 Grapes - Domestic 43 61.4% 21.8% 0.9 0.107 6 29
20 Oranges 42 83.3% 28.8% 1.2 0.084 4 15
21 Grapefruit 40 62.3% 22.6% 0.9 0.530 5 9
22 Tangerines 38 66.7% 33.3% 1.2 0.375 3 4
23 Mushrooms 37 60.2% 22.3% 0.9 0.158 5 16
24 Cantaloupe 34 54.9% 20.1% 0.8 0.028 4 21
25 Honeydew Melon 31 59.2% 14.2% 0.8 0.012 4 16
26 Tomatoes 30 46.9% 13.5% 0.6 0.029 5 16
27 Sweet Potatoes 30 58.4% 10.0% 0.7 0.198 3 17
28 Watermelons 28 29.4% 14.0% 0.5 0.028 6 18
29 Winter Squash 27 39.8% 12.6% 0.6 0.019 5 16
30 Cauliflower 27 72.4% 8.1% 0.8 0.004 3 4
31 Blueberries 24 27.5% 10.0% 0.4 0.327 4 11
32 Papaya 21 23.5% 5.0% 0.3 0.053 4 19
33 Broccoli 18 28.1% 3.2% 0.3 0.004 3 19
34 Cabbage 17 17.9% 4.8% 0.2 0.121 3 18
35 Bananas 16 41.7% 2.0% 0.4 0.029 2 7
36 Kiwi 14 15.3% 3.4% 0.2 0.160 3 8
37 Sweet Peas - Frozen 11 22.9% 2.3% 0.3 0.010 2 5
38 Asparagus 11 6.7% 0.6% 0.1 0.026 2 19
39 Mango 9 7.1% 0.5% 0.1 0.057 2 13
40 Pineapples 7 7.7% 0.6% 0.1 0.002 2 7
41 Sweet Corn - Frozen 2 3.8% 0.0% 0.0 0.005 1 3
42 Avocado 1 1.4% 0.0% 0.0 0.001 1 2
43 Onions 1 0.2% 0.0% 0.0 0.000 1 2
Note: We ranked a total of 42 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.
* ppm means parts per million
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Well, ecoli was in the spinach leaves now wasn't it? So it stands to reason about pesticides can get sucked up thru the soil too.
Systemic pesticides are absorbed into the plant and so can't be removed through washing. I found a lovely answer to this question on a website, so pardon me if I post it instead of paraphrasing.
http://www.now.carleton.ca/2003-06/96.ht...
and
http://www.choice.com.au/viewarticle.asp...
Personally, I don't buy organic food for the health benefits, I buy it because it is a kazillion (studies have not proven this number hehe) times better for the environment, including air and water quality. The amount that you will be exposed to from eating fresh fruit and veggies is WAY less than if you are an applicator or a farmer, and oftentimes (although I don't trust the EPA as far as I can throw them) concentrations allowable are based applicator risk. Depends on the pesticide obviously, and they wear protective equipment and may or may not ingest it... Anywho, there is my convoluted answer!
(No documentation about whether you can rinse off ALL pesticides. I can SO imagine the pesticide companies SCREAMING about that information if it got out....).