When you think of fresh produce, what comes to your mind first? The odds are that you pictured a farmers market littered with stands of fresh fruit and vegetables. Or maybe you picture the produce section at your local grocery store after the simulated thunderstorm has dusted the vegetables, leaving them with an undeniably delicious looking sheen. Regardless of what you pictured, it is more than likely that you only thought of good things, when in reality, some fruits and vegetables can be riddled with dangerous pesticides — twelve, in particular. In today’s blog post, the FarmMed Market, your local source for healthy lifestyle foods and healthy food online will discuss the “dirty dozen” of the produce industry.
The Dirty Dozen
The following fruits and vegetables are all extremely different, but popular among consumer in the United States, but what is one thing that they all have in common? Each of the following fruits and vegetables is notorious for being riddled with pesticides, often times with more than one pesticide residue being traceable. Below, we have compiled some statistics that are a testament to the overuse of chemicals in farming.
- Strawberries - One-third of all conventionally grown strawberries contain 10 or more pesticides.
- Spinach - 97 percent of conventionally grown spinach samples contains relatively high levels of permethrin, a neurotoxic pesticide.
- Nectarines - 94 percent of conventionally grown nectarine samples contain upwards of two pesticide residues.
- Apples - Johnny Appleseed would be disappointed, as 80 percent of conventionally grown apples contain diphenylamine, a pesticide banned in Europe.
- Grapes - Upwards of 96 percent of conventionally grown grapes contain traceable pesticides.
- Peaches - An average of four pesticides are present on more than 99 percent of conventionally grown peaches.
- Cherries - 30 percent of conventionally grown cherries contain more than five pesticides, some of which are believed to cause cancer.
- Pears - Over half of tested conventionally grown pears contain more than five or more pesticide residues.
- Tomatoes - On the average tomato that is conventionally grown, four pesticide residues are traceable.
- Celery - Of all conventional celery samples that have been tested for pesticides, nearly 95 percent tested positive.
- Potatoes - Conventionally grown potatoes have been found to have more pesticides than any other crop.
- Sweet Bell Peppers - While sporting the least amount of pesticides out of the dirty dozen, nearly 90 percent of bell peppers contain traces of pesticides.
So How Can You Avoid Toxic Food? Shop Organic!
Organic food, as defined by Merriam-Webster is “yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without the employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides.”
Sounds pretty healthy right? Organic food is essentially food that is grown naturally. Over time, crops have begun to rely on pesticides as a result of pests, droughts, and other harsh growing conditions. While pesticides may be a beneficial tool for growing crops in harsh conditions, it can have a negative impact on your health.
Shopping for organic foods has a number of benefits, with the most important being that the food was grown via a natural process. In addition to being pesticide free, you can consume your food knowing that it is GMO-free, as well as being fresher and richer in nutrients.
Where Can You Find Organic Food?
For healthy food and drinks, we urge you to visit the FarMed Market store for organic food online. In addition to organic foods, we sell GMO-free food online, gluten-free food online, dairy-free food online, as well as vegan and vegetarian food options. At the FarmMed Market, we are dedicated to providing our customers with healthy lifestyle food at a wholesale price, because being healthy shouldn't be more expensive.
Visit our online store today to view our healthy food and drinks!