Thank you to Garrick Dee (founder of Juicing with G) for sending me his article and infographic to share with the IOE community.
“Pesticides have been a part of our lives for over 2,000 years and today over a billion pounds is used in the United States alone. Traces of these synthetic chemicals are found on every conventionally grown fruit and vegetable we eat and we should not ignore its effect on our bodies. What’s worse is that most of the pesticide used has a chemical organophosphates, an agent know to disrupt signals between the neurons in our brains that often times lead to a Parkinson’s disease.
Garrick Dee (Founder of Juicing with G)
When our diet consists of a lot of fruits and vegetables, pesticide residue can all add up in a process called bioaccumulation. That’s why it is important to thoroughly wash produce before eating them, especially if you eat a lot of raw food but even if you wash them you cannot remove every trace of chemicals on it.
Strong evidence has surfaced that links pesticide exposure to cancer, infertility, attention deficit problems in children, learning disabilities, shorter pregnancies and much more. Even with the advent of “softer” pesticides like pyrethroids and neonicotinoids, negative effects on children aren’t minimized at all.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t eat fruits and vegetables but you’ll have to be careful in choosing which ones have the most pesticide residue on it. The Environmental Working Group has been helping consumers in this area for the last few years by ranking which produce has the highest and lowest pesticide content.
This is important because not everybody would be able to afford organic as they are more expensive than conventionally grown stuff but if you know where to look, you’ll be able to buy cheaper organic products other than the retail grocery store. Places like the farmers market and co-ops. Also if possible try to buy in season, that way you’ll be able to get it at a better price.
The dirty dozen infographic shows puts this list in an easy to understand format with some interesting tidbits to go along with it. One of those tidbits is where to buy affordable organic produce. You’ll also learn how to identify organic, conventional and GMO through their labels. Make sure to scroll all the way down to see all this information.” -Garrick Dee
