The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit whose mission is to protect public health and the environment, recently released the 7th edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. This helpful guide indicates which fruits and vegetables contain the highest amount of pesticide residue (“The Dirty Dozen”) and those that contain the lowest (“The Clean 15″). Why care? Pesticides are not just toxic to the bugs they’re meant to kill, they’re also toxic to us. According to the EWG’s press release, “Pesticides can be extremely toxic to human health and the environment. U.S. and international government agencies alike have linked pesticides to nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone system disruption and IQ deficits among children” [source]. Can we afford to care? Sure, buying organic (which still does not guarantee fruits and/or vegetables are 100% free of pesticides) can be more expensive than buying conventional produce; however, you can use this guide to inform your purchases so that you buy the Clean 15 in their conventional form and the Dirty Dozen in their organic forms.

Here’s the guide! Click for a PDF.

“I” = Imported; “D” = Domestic

Some key quotes from the press release:

• “Produce is ranked based on a composite score, equally weighing six factors that reflect how many pesticides was found in testing of on each type of the produce and at what levels. Most samples are washed and peeled prior to being tested, so the rankings reflect the amounts of the chemicals likely present on the food when is it eaten.”
• “Notable changes in the new guide included apples’ rank as the most contaminated produce, jumping three spots from last year to replace celery at the top of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list. According to USDA, pesticides showed up on 98 percent of the more than 700 apple samples tested.”
• “If you choose 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day from EWG’s Clean 15 rather than the Dirty Dozen, you can lower the volume of pesticide you consume daily by 92 percent, according to EWG calculations. You’ll also eat fewer types of pesticides. Picking 5 servings of fruits and vegetables from the 12 most contaminated would cause you to consume an average of 14 different pesticides a day. If you choose 5 servings from the 15 least contaminated fruits and vegetables, you’ll consume fewer than 2 pesticides per day.”

While the EWG does not make note of genetically modified produce, I figured this would be an opportune time to mention how you might also be cognizant of this factor when choosing your produce. According to “The Dirt Doctor,” you can identify GM produce in the following way: “For conventionally grown fruit (grown with chemicals inputs), the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8. Example: A conventionally grown banana would be 4011. An organically grown banana would be 94011. A genetically engineered banana would be 84011″ [source].

There is much more debate on the safety of GM produce than there is on produce laden with pesticides. Unlike 40 countries in Europe, the US’s labeling laws do not require that GM produce be identified. In fact, almost every soy and corn product in the US stems from a GM version. This means, as Fooducate writes, that “…any product you buy with soy protein (energy bars), soy lecithin (chocolates, deserts), high fructose corn syrup (beverages, sweets, snacks, breads), corn syrup, meat derived from animals eating corn & soy (which is most factory farmed meat), Doritos and Tostitos, etc… is made with genetically modified ingredients” [source]. Another reason to avoid processed junk food, eh? If you’d really prefer to avoid GM produce, Fooducate offers the following recommendations:

1. go organic
2. buy at Trader Joe’s (TJ brands) [they avoid using GM products]
3. buy at Whole Foods (365 brand) [they avoid using GM products]
4. buy Wegmans home brand (Food You Feel Good About) [they avoid using GM products]
5. look for for foods with labels such as the one below:

I’ll also add that frequenting restaurants that use only organic produce is a great way to show that organic food is important to you.

I’m sure we can all yearn for some idyllic past where fruits and vegetables were pristine and pure and we may bemoan that we have to now pay as much attention to the produce we buy as to the processed foods we know we should avoid. There’s no point in mourning! If more of us spend our money buying organic and non-GMO products, we’ll find that agribusiness will provide more of those.  They want our money, ya know? Happy mindful produce shopping!

Any other tips on shopping for organic and/or non-GMO produce?

<3,

The Cranky One

p.s. The EWG also produces the helpful Sunscreen Guide and Skin Deep cosmetic database. I would recommend perusing their site if you haven’t yet and checking out all the helpful consumer guides they produce.

A Fruit is Just a Fruit, Right?

Photo from Travelinfoo55 on Flickr here

Battle of the (Wallet) Bulge

How do your grocery stores match up?

I’ve typically bought most of my produce from Costco because I eat so much of it and was under the impression I was getting the best price.  If you see the above chart, my local ethnic grocery store consistently offers substantially lower prices than Costco.  Costco, however, consistently offers lower prices than Albertson’s. For instance, for a bag of carrots, I would save $2.00 a bag if I bought them from my local ethnic grocery store instead of Albertson’s.  Additionally, for gala apples, I would save almost a dollar per pound at my ethnic grocery store in comparison to Albertson’s.

My Money-Saving Tips

• Make a list of your staples (the foods you consistently buy) and a spreadsheet like I did above. Compare prices between at least three grocery stores and even check out your local farmers’ market! I know this is a time commitment, but I think it’s worth it.  Consider calling a friend who shops at a different market than you do and ask him or her to take note of the prices for you.  Be resourceful to save time and money!
• If you buy processed foods, particularly those marketed as health foods that you can only find at health food stores, consider buying them in bulk from amazon.com’s grocery section here, or Healthy Snacks Direct here.
• Don’t knock coupons!  Take one day a week to scour newspapers and the web for good deals and coupons.  Consider splitting the job with a friend, or swapping coupons.  Find coupons for grocery stores here, as well.
• Sign up for e-mail newsletters from your favorite stores (sign up for Whole Foods’ here) and products to stay on top of sales, score coupons and occasionally be let in on a sale before everyone else!

A note about organics:  If buying organic produce is important to you, consider the following “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables that have been found to have the highest levels of pesticide residues.  These are the produce items to consider shelling out extra dough for:

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes, imported
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Source: organic.org

A note about ethnic grocery stores (based on the store I frequent)

• Do not sell organic options
• Do not sell whole-wheat pastas or breads
• Offer lots of cool spices and seasonings you wouldn’t typically find elsewhere
• Offer some cool produce options like chayote and nopales that you wouldn’t typically find elsewhere

A General Note About Grocery Stores

• Watch for expiration dates
• Watch for sketchy items? (I didn’t think I’d have to write the above or this, but my recent price comparison trip allowed me to face the truth that grocery stores in lower income areas tend to be more lax about expiration dates and even selling items clearly marked as “Do Not Sell”

Le sigh. And yes, I brought my camera to the grocery store!

My Final Long-Winded Message?

At the end of the day, it’s not necessarily about what’s better, it’s about what’s better for YOU.  At this point in time, I care most about price.  I have cut a lot of packaged foods, even “healthy” packaged foods, from my diet simply because they are not worth the price to me.  Since I do eat at least one apple a day, I am considering shelling out the extra dough to buy organic and will also make a point to visit my local farmers’ market.  Since foods like kiwis and bananas have a shell or skin that is not consumed, I am not inclined to buy organic at this time.  Consider what’s important to you and consider how much money you could save simply by doing a little research.

In the News

• Calorie Lab‘s, “Taxing Fat People Won’t Be the Solution for Health Care” (8/17/09) here
• Calorie Lab‘s, “Two views of Orthorexia: Problem for Babies and Relationships” (8/1709) here
• Science Daily‘s, “Excessive Exercise Can be Addicting, New Study Finds” (8/18/09) here
• Mail Online‘s, “Devil’s food? The Surprising Health Benefits of the Humble Spud” (8/16/09) here

Give-Away Round Up

• Did you enter my give-away here for some Feed Granola and other loot? ;D
• Win a Lebert Equalizer here
• Win some Full Bites here
• Win some Puffins, Larabars and other loot here
• Win jam in one give-away and a load of loot in another, both here

Do you guys have any money-saving tips you would so kindly share with me?!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

<3, The Cranky One