WhatFinger


Remember this the next time you hear the food scare of the month

Yearly Food Scare: Not To Worry



Yearly Food Scare: Not To WorryOne high-profile document intended to drive consumer choices is the Environment Working Group (EWG) Dirty Dozen report listing of fruits and vegetables it claims have the highest levels of pesticide and residues. The EWG is an American non-profit environmental organization that specializes in alleged research and advocacy in a number of areas, including toxic chemicals. Each year since 1991, the USDA has been publishing the results from a large-scale pesticide residue monitoring program called the PDP. Each year, a different set of crops is chosen and samples are purchased from regular stores and tested. Year after year, the results of those studies confirm the safety of the food supply. Year after year the EWG misrepresents the data to say otherwise in their dirty dozen list. 1

EWG paints organics as if they do not have pesticide residues. This is false

Here's the most recent set of dirty dozen after this sales pitch promotion from EWG “EWG helps protect your family from pesticides! Donate $15 today and EWG will send you our Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce bag tag FREE to say thank you.” Nearly 70 percent of non-organic fresh produce sold in the US contains residues of potentially harmful chemical pesticides, according to EWG's analysis of the latest test data from the federal Department of Agriculture. 2 A single sample of kale, collard and mustard greens had up to 20 different pesticides. Kale remains in the third spot on the Dirty Dozen list, now joined by collar and mustard greens as being among the produce items with the highest pesticide load. After being tested for the first time since 2012 and 2011, respectively, bell peppers and hot peppers are also included in this year's list in the 10th spot. More than 90 percent of samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines, and leafy greens tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides. Hot peppers and bell peppers had the most pesticides detected, 115 pesticides in total and 21 more pesticides than the crops with the second highest amount—kale, collard and mustard greens. 2 Here is the savior! Organic standards prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, among other things. Eating organic food reduces pesticide exposure and is linked to a variety of health benefits. EWG states, without a reference that 'nearly 70 percent of non-organic fresh produce sold in the US contains residues of potentially harmful chemical pesticides.' 3 EWG paints organics as if they do not have pesticide residues. This is false.

Support Canada Free Press


So, just because it’s organic doesn't mean food is pesticide free

Many consumers believe that by buying organic they are eliminating exposure to pesticide residues. This erroneous concept is often encouraged by some of those who market organic products or those who advocate for organic. There is a long list (1,700 products) of the materials allowed on organic published by the Organic Material Review Institute (OMRI). The pesticides on this list are definitely real pesticides (they kill pests) and so they have to be registered for use by the EPA like any other pesticide. 4 So, just because it’s organic doesn't mean food is pesticide free. EWG does not list concentration levels, just the fact that certain 'bad' substances are detected. Here's an example of why concentrations are not listed. In 2011 apples were on the dirty dozen list. Why were they dangerous? Because of trace amounts of pesticides. How high the amounts? For the 2011 scare, the amount of pesticide detected was 2.5 percent of the EPA tolerance dose. 5 How bad is 2.5 percent? University of Texas Professor Frank Cross highlights findings from a number of studies showing that the EPA's risk estimates overstate pesticide exposure by as much as 99,000 to 463,000 times actual exposure. As a result, standards are actually tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—times more stringent than necessary to protect human health. An occasional exceedance of a few parts per million makes no difference.” 62 EWG type of bad news could probably be said of every kind of produce available in the grocery store, according to a recent study analyzing the USDA's annual pesticide data program. According to the study, a child weighing about 45 pounds would have to eat 5,291 serving of blueberries, 1,890 servings of peaches, and 7,240 servings of carrots to exceed 'the experimental dose level at which no adverse effects are observed. 7

Most of the media pick up on the EWG organic sales pitch and parrot EWG's remarks without doing any checking of their own

So should one get concerned about the bad actors in food? Is this reason to alarm folks? Well, one reason might be the zeal to convince folks to buy organic. “When given a choice, more consumers are choosing organic fruits and vegetables or using EWG's shopper's guide to find an easy affordable way to avoid toxic chemicals,” said Sunya Lunder, and EWG senior analyst. 8 If you read the content put out by EWG, which has a close relationship with the organic food industry, you may be tempted to believe that the EPA approves pesticides quite easily. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pesticide registration process mandated by federal law is extensive, covering a broad spectrum of environmental and public health considerations, including as the EPA states, “whether there is increased susceptibility to infants and children from exposure to pesticide.” 9 Moreover, these conclusions are often later validated by independent studies. 10 Another item about pesticides: We get much more natural pesticides than synthetic pesticides in our diet and this has nothing to do with 'conventional' or 'organic' growers. Bruce Ames and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, report that about 99 percent of all pesticides in the human diet are natural pesticides from plants. All plants produce toxins to protect themselves against fungi, insects and animal predators such as man. Tens of thousands of these natural pesticides have been discovered, and every species of plant contains its own set of different toxins. 11 While the Dirty Dozen may attract attention from concerned consumers, it doesn't use the same rigorous methods for measuring risk that food scientists typically do. A report by the world Health Organization and United Nations found that the Dirty Dozen list results in consumer perceptions about fruits and vegetables that goes against dietary advice to eat more of them. 1 Most of the media pick up on the EWG organic sales pitch and parrot EWG's remarks without doing any checking of their own. Remember this the next time you hear the food scare of the month.

References

  1. Steve Savage, “How wrong is the latest dirty dozen?”, appliedmythologyblogspot.com, May 16, 2013
  2. EWG's 2021 shopper's guide to pesticides in produce,” ewg.org, March 17, 2021
  3. David Lightsey, “The dirty dozen list: science based or agenda driven?”, acsh.org, March 24, 2021
  4. Steve Savage, “An unlikely pair: heavy metals and organic produce,” redgreenand blue.org, September 27, 2010
  5. Joe Schwarcz, Is That a Fact?, (Toronto, Canada, ECW Press, 2014)
  6. Angela Logomasini, “The dangerous demonization of our food,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, August 4, 2012
  7. Robert Krieger, “Perspective on pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables,” Department of Entomology, UC Riverside, CA
  8. Sara Sciammaco, “Apples top EWG's dirty dozen,” ewg.org, April 22, 2013
  9. Cameron English, “Skin in the game: how having a baby influenced my thinking abut pesticides and food safety,” acsh.org, March 29, 2021
  10. Carl K. Winter, “Chronic dietary exposure to pesticide residues in the United States,” International Journal of Food Contamination, July 10, 2015
  11. B. N. Ames and L. S. Gold, “Paracelsus to parascience: the environmental cancer distraction,” Mutation Research, 44, 3, 2000


View Comments

Jack Dini -- Bio and Archives

Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology.  He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.


Sponsored