Select Clean, Pesticide-Free Fruits & Vegetables Every Time!
As earth day nears, we want to remind you to make every effort to green your space and make healthier conscious choices about the foods/nutrients you put inside your body and around it too. If you have ever met anyone at Earthy Naturals & Thingz (EN&T), we often talk to you about how what you put on your skin goes into your blood stream, sometimes even faster than what you put in your mouth. Due to this fact we may have even introduced, you to the organic Body Balm and Soap products that we carry which has the Environmental Working Group (EWG) seal on it. This blog post will focus more on being conscious on what you put in your mouth because so many foods are filled with pesticides and need to only be eaten if they are organic.
What is the EWG?
The EWG is a non-profit organization whose mission is to is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. They do this by utilizing breakthrough research and education, to help consumers make conscious choices about what they put on and in their bodies.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) not only focuses on educating people on skin care, they are very involved in how ingredients, toxicity among other things effect the environment too; especially produce. EWG recently released their 2018 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce this month which lays out some informative data that should change how you go about eating for the better this year; or at least becoming more conscious about what you put in your mouth.
Every year, the EWG compiles a thorough data analysis from the USDA and FDA on the amount of pesticides found in the United States fruits and vegetables. Their research both now and over the years has proven that after washing many conventional produces some of the chemicals that were found on them have been known to mess with the fertility in both men and women, cause diseases such as inflammatory, cancer and more.
What EWG found in 2018:
Last Tuesday, the 10th of April, the EWG came out with their 2018 list of the dirty dozen and clean 15 to share with the world. The #1 fruit/vegetable on the Dirty Dozen list this year is Strawberries; and this fruit has held the rein for 3 years now. Strawberries was one of most-sprayed produce in the United States. One – third of all conventional strawberry samples contained 10 or more pesticides (some with residue from 22 different pesticides) according to EWG. Some Strawberry samples came back with 81 different pesticides in various combinations. In addition, the EWG documented that although some Strawberries were fairly benign, others were linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental damage, hormone disruption and neurological problems. Among the dangerous varieties are:
Carbendazim, a hormone-disrupting fungicide that damages the male reproductive system, which was detected on 16 percent of recent samples. The European Union has banned carbendazim because of many safety concerns. Bifenthrin, a pyrethroid insecticide, which was found on more than 29 percent of samples, is an insecticide that the Environmental Protection Agency and California regulators have designated a possible human carcinogen. (EWG.)
This means that you must always buy your strawberries with an organic seal on it or it is not recognized as safe to put in your body knowingly. Spinach came in a close second on the dirty dozen sheet. 97 percent of conventional spinach samples contained pesticide residues. Conventional spinach had relatively high concentrations of permethrin, a neurotoxic insecticide.
Clean 15:
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Avocados were named the #1 fruit/veggie that does not necessarily need to be purchased organic because it has tested with less than 1% of pesticides. Avocados are considered 1 of the 15 “Clean 15”. This means this produce can be purchased without it being organic because it tested with the least amount of pesticides in the study. Sweet corn followed behind avocados at #2 on the list, though organic is preferred it is not necessary in the “Clean 15” category because they have no or low identifiable pesticides present.
Below is the EWGs 2018 Shopper Guide which will help you recognize pesticides in 48 fruits and veggies on the market today. You can also download the Clean 15 and Dirty 12 list for your convenience to have and take with you when visiting the grocery store or ordering your food to be delivered. Use the reference guide to pick a mix of conventional and organic produce that are best for you and your family. All it takes is a little education and knowledge (know how) to make better conscious choices about what you put in and on you and your families’ bodies. This April become more actively aware of what you are surrounding your space with; for it is so beneficial to your overall health. Don't forget to get out and celebrate Earth Day Weekend, there are a host of activities going on throughout the world to help you on the journey to be kinder to the earth.
Reference:
Retrieved on April 10th, 2018 from https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/strawberries.php
Retrieved on April 13th 2018 from https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/spinach.php
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