Monday, April 9, 2012


Pesticides within our fruits and vegetables

 Fruits and vegetables infested with pests


These images  above show the different kinds of bugs, and worms  on fruits and vegetables. These  images also indicate one of the reasons why farmers use synthetic chemicals to crops since they do not want to see their produce to go to waste.

I chose the video above because it demonstrated the type of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides. Peaches was  known as the number one fruit with the most pesticide residue. This video also provided interesting and useful points regarding ways to wash produce. It also mentioned that by simply washing your produce is not enough , the combination of vinegar and water is needed to wash away most of the residue. It is said that in each serving of fruits or vegetables consumers ingest nine pesticides. 
 Since the EWG knows people do not have that much money to buy every food organic ,The Enviornmental Group(EWG) has come up with a list called the "Dirty Dozen".The EWG is non-organtional group which focuses on public health and has derived a list of the most "dirty"and "clean" fruits and vegetables. The fruits and vegetables in the group the "dirty" dozen have the most pesticide residue  in them than the fruits and vegetables in the Clean 15. The enviornmental group recommends consumers to buy items that are considered to have the most pesticide residue organic.
"Data from the Pesticide Data Program reveals conventional produce with the highest percentages of positive (insecticide residue) findings were:celery(96%), pears (95%), apples (94%), peaches(93%),strawberries(91%),oranges(85%),spinach(84%),potatoes(81%),grapes(78%),cucumbers(74%)" (Crinnion 8).
-The data derived from the Pesticide Data Program shows the fruits and vegetables with the highest percentages of incenticide residue. The highest vegetable with the highest percent is celery,peaches come in the second highest with a percentage of 94%. This shows shocking results how the food in which people consume have high amounts of pesticide residue in them. These fruits and vegetables are known to be the most vulnerable to residues since they have soft skin,whereas the fruits and vegetables with thicker layers have less exposure.
http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.csun.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1c653a3d-d76b-47d6-8dea-3e6f66cdb1bf%40sessionmgr15&vid=2&hid=15 (used quote)

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