Celery’s well-liked by the health-conscious because it’s low in calories — but the stalky veggies are not low in another health concern: pesticides. Eat conventionally-farmed celery, and you’re eating the veggie found to have the most pesticide residue, according to green nonprofit Environmental Working Group‘s latest Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.
The updated guide hasn’t been officially released yet, but EWG sent out a sneak preview (PDF, or see above) for its members. In this new version, celery displaces peaches as the dirtiest piece of produce — though both were already on the “Dirty Dozen” list of most tainted produce last time around too. New inductees into the “Dirty Dozen” list are blueberries, spinach, and potatoes — which replaced lettuce, carrots, and pears.
EWG’s Shopper’s Guide’s intended to help 5-a-day eaters make the healthiest buying choices — especially when on a budget. If you can’t afford to buy all organic produce, simply start by making sure to opt for organic versions of the “Dirty Dozen” products to avoid the most pesticide residue for your buck.
Or if you can’t afford to buy organic at all, take the advice Dr. Andrew Weil gives in the video he made for the EWG’s Guide. Dr. Weil, who’s often spoken about the dangers of chemical pesticides, says about the Dirty Dozen list: “If I can’t get organic versions of those, I’m not gonna eat them.” Simply opt to buy the produce on the “Clean 15″ list instead, which have the least pesticide residue.
I’m of the opinion, though, that most readers of green LA girl really can afford to buy all organic produce, so long as they change their lifestyles a bit to avoid the kind of sticker shock Obama experienced while shopping for arugula at Whole Foods market. Pick one of the many affordable CSA programs, opt for a budget-friendly organic produce delivery service, or if you’re really pinched for cash, hit the farmers’ market a half hour before closing time, when many booths start calling out bargain deals!
I don’t really get a good feeling about where the data for these lists come from, which makes these lists confusing. Last year blueberries were not on the list, so I ate pounds of blueberries over the last year. I’m assuming if they are on the list now, the data came from the previous year, not the current, upcoming blueberry season. So if I change my buying habits now to reflect data from last year, it could give me a false impression about the food I am buying for this upcoming year and seasons, since foods seem to change order or even drop off the list from year to year (lettuce and pears were on the dirty dozen list in the past for example). If the data instead comes from some records or something about how much of x, y and z that a company is buying for this upcoming seasons, then it is a little more useful.
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Comment by M — April 29, 2010 @ 6:38 am
One thing that might help: If you visit the EWG site, the list is more comprehensive (goes beyond just the top 10). So you might try avoiding the top 20 most pesticide-polluted ones to be safer. Remember, 10 is an arbitrary cut-off point simply because it’s a round number. It doesn’t mean whatever’s #11 is suddenly safe….
Comment by Siel — June 19, 2010 @ 4:22 pm