Mustard Seed Market
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- Choices and Changes!
- www.drgreene.com/21_2154.html; www.organicearthday.org/go/DrGreeneRX
- www.horizonorganic.com/raising/prescription.html to download the complete prescription.
You’re probably hearing a lot about organic foods lately and maybe wondering what it’s all about. Buying organic is not only good for you and your family but for the planet as well. When you buy certified organic you can be sure that the food was grown without the use of toxic and persistent petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetic engineering or irradiation. Livestock must be produced without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, cloning, and fed only 100% certified organic feed. But the very first step of organically produced food begins with the SOIL. A farmer develops an intimate relationship with the soil, feeding and nourishing it: “to feed the plant which feeds the animal which feeds the people”. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.” There is an abundance of choices, and making changes can be overwhelming, so we are offering you some help: The Dirty Dozen – A Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce and Dr. Alan Greene’s Organic Rx. These two guides can assist you in making choices and changes about your food purchases.
The Dirty Dozen: a shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce When you’re grocery shopping, it’s easy to find labels and pick foods that help you reduce cholesterol and saturated fat, avoid antibiotics, or steer clear of artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. But when it comes to pesticides, consumers have been left in the dark. Now there’s help. The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce lists the 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables that are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides and those 12 fruits and vegetables that consistently have low levels of pesticides. If you are concerned about pesticides in your diet, this handy wallet card can help you choose produce that lowers exposure to pesticides for you and your family. For the most contaminated items, we suggest substituting organically grown produce whenever possible. When this is not an option, we still recommend eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables but use this guide to buy those that typically have fewer pesticides.
What’s the Difference? An EWG simulation of thousands of consumers eating high and low pesticide diets shows that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 90 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 15 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 12 least contaminated will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day. Less dramatic comparisons will produce less dramatic reductions, but without doubt using the Guide provides people with a way to make choices that lower pesticide exposure in the diet.
Why Should You Care About Pesticides? There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides whenever possible.
Will Washing and Peeling Help? Nearly all of the data used to create these lists already considers how people typically wash and prepare produce (for example, apples are washed before testing, bananas are peeled). While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.
How This Guide Was Developed The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2004. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing the rankings (www.foodnews.org/methodology.php) is available as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have been tested (see accompanied chart).
Dr. Alan Green’s Organic Rx Dr. Alan Greene has become one of the world’s most trusted and beloved pediatricians. His acclaimed book, From First Kicks to First Steps (McGraw-Hill, 2004), is an inspiring resource for parents around the world. It’s no wonder that Intel named him the Children’s Health Hero of the Internet. A practicing pediatrician and father of four, Dr. Greene has devoted himself to freely giving real answers to parents’ real questions—from questions about those all too common childhood conditions to those that address the most rare childhood illnesses.
To quote Dr. Greene: “Almost every day someone asks me, “What are the most important foods to buy organic?” Every bite of food is either an investment in your body’s vitality or a debt your body is taking out - or a combination of both. To make your investments really count, for yourself, for your family, and for the planet, I’ve created Dr. Greene’s Organic Prescription - the top ten items (okay, 11) where I believe we can make the biggest difference.”
He has put them in an order so if you only want to make one change, you can choose number 1. When you’re ready, move to number 2, and so on. In creating his organic prescription, he’s taken into account reducing the negative effects of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and chemical fertilizers. He crafted his list with an eye toward our children inheriting a cleaner, healthier planet: decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing depletion of non-renewable resources, decreasing toxic chemicals in our air and water, and decreasing the uncontrolled spread of genetically modified organisms—all while converting chemically killed dirt into rich, living, productive cropland. #1: Milk, #2: Potatoes, #3: Peanut Butter, #4: Baby Foods, #5: Catsup, #6: Cotton, #7: Apples, #8: Beef, #9: Soy, #10: Corn, Bonus Item: Wine.