Best Foods to Eat Organically

Interesting article here:

http://climate.weather.com/articles/organicfood.html?page=2

Excerpts:

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According to the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., peaches are the "dirtiest" fruit around, with the highest likelihood of containing pesticide residue of the 44 conventionally grown (in other words, non-organic) fruits and vegetables they reviewed. Other produce found often to contain traces of pesticide include apples, sweet bell peppers and pears.

Quote:

Deciphering the true benefits of buying organic rather than conventionally produced produce remains difficult. While some non-organic fruits and vegetables are loaded with pesticide residue, according to EWG data, others are not. Plus, prices for organic foods typically run at a premium of 20 percent to 30 percent over conventional food... So what's a consumer to do? The answer is simple: Shop wisely. By purchasing organic versions of those fruits and vegetable most likely to contain pesticides in their conventional form, you can reduce your risk of ingesting potentially harmful chemicals -- and avoid feeling the hit in your grocery budget.

EWG's list of the produce most likely and least likely to be contaminated by pesticides draws on data from nearly 43,000 tests collected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005, according to the EWG Web site. Fruits top their list of the most consistently contaminated produce, accounting for seven of the top 10:

Peaches. According to EWG data, 96.6 percent of peaches sampled were found to contain detectable pesticides, the most of any fruit or vegetable studied.

Apples. Researchers found 50 different kinds of pesticides among the apples sampled, according to EWG data.

Strawberries
Cherries
Imported grapes
Pears

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Among vegetables, those most likely to expose consumers to pesticides are:

Sweet bell peppers. Researchers found 64 different kinds of pesticides among the peppers sampled, according to EWG data.
Celery. EWG says 94.1 percent of samples were found to contain detectable pesticides.
Lettuce

Quote:

According to EWG's data, the produce least likely to be contaminated by pesticides, and thus safest to buy conventional versions of, includes more vegetables than fruit. Most have skin or a peel that further protects from potential pesticides. Topping the list with least traces of pesticides are:

Onions
Frozen peas and corn
Asparagus
Cabbage

The fruits least likely to have traces of pesticides are:

Avocados
Mangoes
Kiwis
Bananas
Pineapples

Quote:

For those who drink a lot of milk, particularly families with small children, she also advises buying organic milk to avoid the added hormones and antibiotic residues found in conventional milk.

My assumption would have been that the peach was the "dirtiest" fruit pesticide-wise because of the fuzzy nature of its skin making it easier for pesticide dusts to cling to it.

But, if that were the case, I'd think that kiwi would fall into a similar category. It must have more to do with the number of pests and diseases the fruit is prone to than the physical nature of it.

I was a little surprised by the specification of imported grapes too. No mention of any other imported fruits, yet there have been rumors for years about the heightened use of pesticides in imported produce.

It seems that the tropical fruits are the ones to be less strict about in the produce aisle while the typical lunchbox fruits are the ones to buy organically.

Edited to add:

Here's the EWG's full list of produce and pesticide levels:

http://www.foodnews.org/index.php

Looking on their full list, it seems imported grapes scored a 68 on their pesticide tests while domestic grapes scored 46. Again, grapes are the only produce on the entire list where the specification is made between imported and domestic.

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An older thread on similar subject..

http://www.able2know.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=103618

Maybe this one will fly...

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Eating my mango with even more enthusiasm now!

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The first peasches were sour little wild fruits from Asia. The Chinese began propogation and selective breeding about 1000 years ago. Peaches are attacked by all sorts of pests because of the high ethylene gas production on "drops" Ethylene attracts all sorts of boring insects and in order to keep the fruit marketable, weve gone to using many pesticides (primarily the organo chlorine-Guthion ). The earliets use of pesticides was to splash either petroleum or other kind of oil. We still do this with peaches and , unless the farmer wants to totally accept a bug eaten fruit , or only sell canned peaches, then the use of oils is gonna be used whether its "organic" or not.

A peach, like many fruits and veggies, is a "factory fruit" out of equilibrium with its environment. Organic peaches are tough to bring to market.

I love a good yellow freestone peach. However, I think Ill just use a detergent to wash the fruit. We use A combination of a quick alcohol bath followed up by a detergent soak and good rinse. According to a U Cal DAvis study a whole bunch of years ago,This will get rid of 99.94% of residual pesticides, and Im not sure that chronnic dosage has been calculated at the PPQ level.

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These sorts of articles only fuel my desire to own 2 acres of land where I can devote 1/2 of that to growing a large portion of my own food, and the other half to having two or three small animals..

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Home Depot has six to eight foot peach trees for nineteen ninety nine..

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farmerman wrote:

The first peasches were sour little wild fruits from Asia. The Chinese began propogation and selective breeding about 1000 years ago. Peaches are attacked by all sorts of pests because of the high ethylene gas production on "drops" Ethylene attracts all sorts of boring insects and in order to keep the fruit marketable, weve gone to using many pesticides (primarily the organo chlorine-Guthion ). The earliets use of pesticides was to splash either petroleum or other kind of oil. We still do this with peaches and , unless the farmer wants to totally accept a bug eaten fruit , or only sell canned peaches, then the use of oils is gonna be used whether its "organic" or not.

A peach, like many fruits and veggies, is a "factory fruit" out of equilibrium with its environment. Organic peaches are tough to bring to market.

I love a good yellow freestone peach. However, I think Ill just use a detergent to wash the fruit. We use A combination of a quick alcohol bath followed up by a detergent soak and good rinse. According to a U Cal DAvis study a whole bunch of years ago,This will get rid of 99.94% of residual pesticides, and Im not sure that chronnic dosage has been calculated at the PPQ level.

The best peaches I've ever had were while visiting my father when he and his wife were living in Valdosta, Georgia. They were the size of grapefruits and ripened on the tree to perfection before being picked.

Same goes for the Vidalia onions there. Supermarket imitations don't even come close.

Good suggestion about the rinse formula, Farmerman. I wonder if that's all that is contained in the expensive "fruit rinses" that are now sold in the grocery stores.

Can you go into more detail about "a quick alcohol bath"? Is that undiluted, and do you dunk the fruit into a vat of it or just wipe a soaked cloth over them? Does it need to set for an amount of time in the detergent to be effective or is it literally a quick in and out dunk? What's the ratio for the detergent bath?

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Peaches were slim on the land in Santa Monica and coastal northern california.
Dys, on the other hand, has a peach gaining ground here.

I couldn't be more for individual gardens, with hopes that some folks pick heritage fruit trees re their locality.

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My chian-smoking, pastry and fatty foods loving grandma passed away last year at 102. Her philosophy was imple -- "do whatever you want and don't worry about it".

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shewolfnm wrote:

These sorts of articles only fuel my desire to own 2 acres of land where I can devote 1/2 of that to growing a large portion of my own food, and the other half to having two or three small animals..

Shewolf, you'd love this family's story... They're doing it in downtown Pasadena on a quarter acre of land.

http://www.youtube.com/user/dervaes?ob=1

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NickFun wrote:

My chian-smoking, pastry and fatty foods loving grandma passed away last year at 102. Her philosophy was imple -- "do whatever you want and don't worry about it".

Nick,

The difference is that for at least 60 of those years of her life, the food chain didn't include all the pesticides, polutions and hybridized mass marketed food we eat now.

Think about what's accumulating in the bodies of her grandkids while they are eating that stuff for decades.

Eating organic, isn't about the type of food diet, or how it is processed. It's about what happens to the food while it is being grown, before it is consumed.

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BBB's favorite peach
My favorite peach is the Indian Free or Indian Blood free. It's hard to find and is only available in August.

Polly (Univ. of Iowa-1932), the hardiest of the white peaches (to -20F!), is medium-sized, sweet and tasty, and still a favorite for cold climates. For some tasters, the unique white (and red!) peach Indian Free (or Indian Blood Free - origin obscure) is still unsurpassed among the white fruits. The intense aroma and tart-sweet flavor of a fully tree-ripe Indian Free has to be experienced to be believed. It needs 700 hours of chill and requires another peach (or nectarine) as a pollenizer.

September 28, 2005
Voluptuary in a Velvet Glove
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Rarely does anyone see peaches labeled by type: yellow, white, local and doughnut are usually as far as it goes. But the Indian blood peach, a velvet-skinned late-season variety, is worth seeking. Its burgundy flesh, shading to gold, is deeply flavored and juicy.

Goldbud Farms in Placerville, Calif., ships Indian bloods to the Orchard, 1367 Coney Island Avenue (Avenue J), in Midwood, Brooklyn. They will be available for three weeks for $8 a pound. Delivery within 75 miles is free on orders of $50 or more: (718) 377-1799.

A similar-looking peach, the Indian Red, is too astringent to eat, even when ripe. But it is delicious when made into DaVero Estate Indian Red peach preserves from Sonoma County. A nine-ounce jar is $9 from (888) 431-8008 or davero.com.

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NickFun wrote:

My chian-smoking, pastry and fatty foods loving grandma passed away last year at 102. Her philosophy was imple -- "do whatever you want and don't worry about it".

unless you live in a community property state..... then be discreet...

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Butrflynet wrote:

My assumption would have been that the peach was the "dirtiest" fruit pesticide-wise because of the fuzzy nature of its skin making it easier for pesticide dusts to cling to it.

But, if that were the case, I'd think that kiwi would fall into a similar category. It must have more to do with the number of pests and diseases the fruit is prone to than the physical nature of it.

But you peel kiwis, and just eat peach skin. I'd imagine they measure what you'd actually ingest.

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bumping...

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i don't peal kiwis. or peaches, or pretty much anything. if i see organic and it's not 3 times as expensive as regular produce, i'll buy it. otherwise i don't give a rat's arse.

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