Cheerios

Has everyone read the Consumer Reports article which describes trace amounts of weed killer found in Cheerios? what?! I didn't put too much thought into the whole thing until I saw the girls eating Cheerios for afternoon snack at school. :(

This also got me thinking about organic versus conventional growing, particularly with produce. I found this quick read article that suggests what to spend the money on, if you can. For us, it's made a huge difference that Costco now stocks so much organic produce; makes it much easier to buy larger quantities for a more reasonable cost per pound. Anyway, see the list below if you too are interested!

The 2018 Dirty Dozen Food List

According to the EWG, the following conventional fruits and vegetables have the highest levels of pesticide residues (5):

1. Strawberries: Conventional strawberries consistently top the Dirty Dozen list. In 2018, the EWG found that one-third of all strawberry samples contained ten or more pesticide residues.
2. Spinach: 97% of spinach samples contained pesticide residues, including permethrin, a neurotoxic insecticide that is highly toxic to animals (6).
3. Nectarines: The EWG detected residues in nearly 94% of nectarine samples, with one sample containing over 15 different pesticide residues.
4. Apples: The EWG detected pesticide residues in 90% of apple samples. What’s more, 80% of the apples tested contained traces of diphenylamine, a pesticide banned in Europe (7).
5. Grapes: Conventional grapes are a staple on the Dirty Dozen list, with over 96% testing positive for pesticide residues.
6. Peaches: Over 99% of the peaches tested by the EWG contained an average of four pesticide residues.
7. Cherries: The EWG detected an average of five pesticide residues on cherry samples, including a pesticide called iprodione, which is banned in Europe (8).
8. Pears: Over 50% of pears tested by the EWG contained residues from five or more pesticides.
9. Tomatoes: Four pesticide residues were found on the conventionally grown tomato. One sample contained over 15 different pesticide residues.
10. Celery: Pesticide residues were found on over 95% of celery samples. As many as 13 different types of pesticides were detected.
11. Potatoes: Potato samples contained more pesticide residues by weight than any other crop tested. Chlorpropham, an herbicide, made up the bulk of the detected pesticides.
12. Sweet bell peppers: Sweet bell peppers contain fewer pesticide residues compared to other fruits and vegetables. Yet, the EWG cautions that pesticides used on sweet bell peppers “tend to be more toxic to human health.”

In addition to the traditional Dirty Dozen, EWG releases a Dirty Dozen Plus list that contains 36 more fruits and vegetables that have high levels of pesticide residues, including hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, snap peas and blueberries.

Full article HERE