Pesticide Loads
Here in Alamosa, we have a local food cooperative called the Valley Food Co-op. The Co-op publishes a newsletter you can pick up when you are in for your weekly herbal tea,spice and goat cheese shopping.
The Winter 2008 edition of the newsletter had a list on the back cover showing the "USDA Pesticide Ranking List." It looks like a list of fruits and veggies and their "pesticide load." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it seems to me the things highest on the list (or with the highest loads) would be better purchased organic, because somehow more pesticides are transmitted through them. Perhaps it is because of thin skin (avocados are pretty near the bottom and they have tough skins). The highest thing on the list is peaches, with a pesticide load of 100. The rest of the top ten includes apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach and lettuce.
I suppose I should do a bit more sleuthing around to find out exactly what this means. If anyone out there can enlighten me, please do!
The Winter 2008 edition of the newsletter had a list on the back cover showing the "USDA Pesticide Ranking List." It looks like a list of fruits and veggies and their "pesticide load." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it seems to me the things highest on the list (or with the highest loads) would be better purchased organic, because somehow more pesticides are transmitted through them. Perhaps it is because of thin skin (avocados are pretty near the bottom and they have tough skins). The highest thing on the list is peaches, with a pesticide load of 100. The rest of the top ten includes apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach and lettuce.
I suppose I should do a bit more sleuthing around to find out exactly what this means. If anyone out there can enlighten me, please do!
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