Pick Your Poison: Pesticide Ratings of Fruits and Vegetables

Organics for urban dwellers. It seems like the majority of us have to choose: convenience or good quality organics.  I have a friend who got so fed up with the local shops that every summer she uses a big part of her yard as an organic garden patch and eats mainly from there, as long as she can.  Positively dreamy for foodies like me who would sacrifice quantity for fresh and delicious produce.  I get hungry just thinking about food that fresh. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE, organic produce.  People who say that they can't tell the difference have not had fresh, quality organics.  You simply cannot compare the taste of organic local food.  Whole Foods does an amazing job getting tasty organics to Torontonians.  I really wished I lived walking distance to Whole Foods.  A shop called "Fresh From the Farm" as well as "Organics On Bloor" are great shops as well.  I hear the organics at Highland Farms in the north end of Toronto is supposed to have a decent selection of fresh organics.

I have given up shopping at 4 different stores to get some decent quality organic foods.  Even with all that hassle, I still felt like I had to "pick my poison" by  eating conventional produce simply because the taste or the freshness of the organic options at my local grocery stores were so inferior.   Besides all that driving around is anti-green and getting around on foot so geographically is impossible with my toddler.

Very frustrating.  At least I have some control over my eating destiny by purchasing items lowest on the pesticide ranking that is the freshest and tastiest as a reasonable compromise when life gets to hectic.

Getting organics in our home has required us to be more organized and committed.  We try our best to make planned shopping trips twice a week to Whole Foods and a local farmers market, this is hard to do with small kids in tow and this will improve as my mobility increases as my children get older and more tolerant to travelling with my be subway.  It helps to network with like- minded organic friends to share the tasks of group shopping.

Here's to informed choices.  I have this printed and attached to my cloth shopping bags.

This list is compiled by the Environmental Working Group.

Ranked Highest to Lowest:

RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE  SCORE
1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65
11 Spinach 60
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 55
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 46
19 Oranges 46
20 Grapes-Domestic 46
21 Cauliflower 39
22 Tangerine 38
23 Mushrooms 37
24 Cantaloupe 34
25 Lemon 31
26 Honeydew Melon 31
27 Grapefruit 31
28 Winter Squash 31
29 Tomatoes 30
30 Sweet Potatoes 30
31 Watermelon 25
32 Blueberries 24
33 Papaya 21
34 Eggplant 19
35 Broccoli 18
36 Cabbage 17
37 Bananas 16
38 Kiwi 14
39 Asparagus 11
40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41 Mango 9
42 Pineapples 7
43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44 Avocado 1
45 (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)

Published: Aug-29-08 | 1 Comment | 0 Links to this post

What if it's not really organic??? Gasp.

I am putting one toe on my organic soap box.
 
I try to live organically .  I really try.
 
It is way more expensive.  It is way more inconvient to find goods in my area.  I clean eco/ethically and that also means more effort.
 
I serve organic snacks to my friends.  I often get the raised eyebrow   "What if those grapes are REALLY not actually organic?"
  
I can only answer "What have I got to lose?"  It is worth the money and the inconvenience even if there is some might be some dishonesty out there. 
 
At the end of the what does the money in the bank and a sparkling clean house mean if my children are am polluted with toxins, pesticides, collorants and additives.
 
No, I am not rich, not by a long shot.  But I am willing to make sacrifices of my own lifestyle so we can be as ethical and organic as we can.  
 
I am not preaching, just explaining because some people look at me like I have two heads when they see organic products in my home.   I accept that some people will always think I am buying fool's gold. 
 
I encourage people to challenge their assumptions about who is fooling who these days. 
 
The Toronto Star has an excellent 4 part series about sewage fertilizer used in Ontario.  If you eat in this provice, you owe to yourself to read the series.  http://www.thestar.com/article/460264
 
Ignorance is not bliss.
 

Published: Aug-17-08 | 1 Comment | 0 Links to this post

Sunscreen Controversy number....

Every parent I spoke to this week is befuddled with the news that there are new concerns about sunscreen ingredients that could make them harmful, especially to children.  So I am deciding to post my simple view on this after much reading of opinions on the internet.
 
It seems every season I have to dump $200 of unexpired premium quality sunscreen products in the garbage.  I buy the best I can afford and I like to keep several types handy for stroller, diaper bag, camp bag, purse etc.  It easily adds up.
 
This year is no exception.
 
The industry concerns this summer are raising issues with the ingredients used in sunscreens that penetrate skin.  Chemical VS Mineral sunscreens.
 
In short, penetration of these ingredients is potentially risky since it can release free-radicals into the body.  Free-radical damage and sunburns are the entire point of wearing sunscreens so this is counter productive to wear sunscreens that leak into our bodies this way.   Plus there are other concers of sunscreens containing other nasties like preservatives, chemical fragrance and toxins.
 
(If you want more technical detail, here's a very good link:
 
So I went on the search for a new set of "mineral" sunscreens and discovered Lavera organic sunscreen.  I didn't find this type on the original Safemama list of "approved" sunscreens but I tested it out for myself and found it very acceptable.
 
1) It does not contain the currrent list of nasties.
2) It offers organic ingredients where possible
3) It does not contain nano micro-particles (particles of anything so small no matter what it might be, it's no good to have it on your skin because it is small enough to penetrate into the body through the skin)
 
So far Lavera is mild smelling, protects well, goes on reasonably easy, hasn't burned my eyes when using on face, after it is on for a short while, it is not sticky and after I've worn it for a few hours it doesn't get that sour yukky old sunscreen odour.  It's not horribly shiny and they have options of a pump or tube.
 
Definately recommend it this summer. 
By the way: I am in no way affiliated with any company or manufacturer. 
 
Just little old green me who cares about little old you whoever you are.
 
 
 

Published: Aug-17-08 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Little Green Being - The human being behind the seed

 

Once upon a time, long long ago, a radical little eco-vegan graduated from the University of Toronto.  Time passed and the eco-vegan faded into a eco-vegetarian and the slippery slope of the career world made the little eco-veggie forget why she was the way she was at all.

Then she saw "Fast Food Nation".  A watershed moment.  Suddenly, all those values and instincts came rushing back and Little Green Being, the dusty old seed she had forgotten in envelop in between the pages of a really good book, was irrevocably unforgotten.

In 2008, the seed was finally planted in blogosphere and out I sprouted.  It was watered with the news of epidemic lack of eco-ethics and warmed with the sunshine in the form of words of Dr. Randy Pausch.  If it weren't for those warm sunny words, I might have drowned in the flooding of despair of the global eco-ethical state.

So here's to  following my green dreams, sometimes the will be foggy but always well fertilized.


Published: Aug-02-08 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post