Hard Agricultural Truths
Let me start, right away, by revealing the hard truths about big industrial agriculture, and the governments that subsidize and supports them.
General Farming Pesticides + GMO
Regular agricultural farming techniques rely on pesticides (and all the other “cides” I define below). Even if a farmer is not using pesticides, there is no telling what residual is already in the soil they are farming, or in the general environmnet.
These days, Big Ag has genetically modified some plants so that they thrive with the application of certain pesticides that kills off all other plants. This is the GMO foods that some people are so against. While I am not anti-GMO foods in general, after all humans have been genetically modifying food since forever, I am very concerned about eating food modified to accept pesticides in their environment.
Organic Farming Pesticides
ScientificAmerican writes, It’s not the use of pesticides, it’s the origin of the pesticides used. The continue, Organic pesticides are those that are derived from natural sources and processed lightly if at all before use. This is different than the current pesticides used by conventional agriculture, which are generally synthetic.
- Organic farming, just like all other forms of agriculture, use pesticides and fungicides to prevent crop destruction. In fact, there are 20+ chemicals allowed in organic farming (1).
- Just because pesticides are labeled natural or organic, does not make it safe. I often use car oil as an example: oil is a naturally occurring substance, but consuming it is toxic.
- Pesticides approved for organic farming does not mean these pesticides do not harm the environment.
- Even if a farmer is not using pesticides, there is no telling what residual is already in the soil and general environmnet.
Governmental Pesticide Roles
Appropriate pesticide use relies on governmental regulations, inspections, and consequences. Few governments (including the USA) puts enough funds toward these regulatory agencies, and the regulations are often self-regulated, or waivers are given to big influential agricultural companies. So this one area, I do not believe, the government is effective.
Getting Big Ag Data is Hard
Based on how difficult it is to gather data (see my post of meat processing plants and data,) or how hard it is to get reports on chemical companies or big agricultural conglomerates, it is not surprising many do not have faith in the data these companies do provide. Thus, I do not rely on the companies own data for this post. Instead, I turn to what I consider more reliable sources like: FAO, Consumers Reports, science sites, and OurWorldData (all the charts) for this post.
“Cides” Defined
The use of the suffix “cides” means the word is denoting a person or substance that kills (1).
Pesticides
OurWorldData writes that the UN defines “pesticides” as: insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, disinfectants and any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or substances which may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids or other pests in or on their bodies.
Herbacide
ScienceDaily writes, A herbicide is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill certain targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often based on plant hormones. These are commonly called weedkillers.
- Roundup is a weedkiller that lost a recent court battle and, according to the NYT was to pay $10B to settle cancer suits.
Insecticides
Wikipedia writes, insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively.
Fungicides
Wikipedia notes, fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores.
Bactericides
Wikipeda describes this term as, a bactericide or bacteriocide, sometimes abbreviated Bcidal, is a substance which kills bacteria. Bactericidesare disinfectants, antiseptics, or antibiotics.
EPA + USDA Reports
In fact, according to the EPA, more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the US each year. We know that the government has policies on limits for chemicals that can be applied to our food. I checked The USDA Pesticide Data Program, which tests for pesticides on food, but the they only lists 450 types of pesticides, and many not on the list have been assessed to be okay for human or animal consumption.
At the same time, the EPA reports that between 1,800 and 3,000 farmers and farmworkers are annually sickened with acute pesticide-related injuries or illnesses. So to my mind this indicates a problem and supports choices to only eat organic foods.
Organic
Organic farming to me means the farmer controls insects, weeds, and plant diseases without synthetic chemicals. This means they have to follow a more integrated pest management plan using natural methods: crop rotation, healthy soils, and limited to no tilling. (Sound familiar? See my post on Regenerative Agriculture).
- ConsumersReports (CR) reviewed the data and found that the vast majority of organic produce had very low or no pesticide residues
Pesticides + Food
Is Eating Organic Better?
According to a study in Nutrients Journal, eating organic food reduces pesticide exposure and is associated to a variety of health benefits. Specifically, they write, significant positive outcomes were seen in longitudinal studies where increased organic intake was associated with reduced incidence of infertility, birth defects, allergic sensitisation, otitis media, pre-eclampsia, metabolic syndrome, high BMI, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But more studies are needed.
Can you peel the pesticides away?
The quick answer is “only in some cases”. Specifically, ConsumerReports writes, some pesticides penetrate beyond the skin or peel and into the flesh of the fruit or vegetable, while other pesticides can be taken up by the plant while it grows.
Can you wash or soak the pesticides away?
For all food, organic or not, be sure to wash all raw plant food under cold water for up to 30 seconds. This can remove some pesticide residue according to studies. For some foods, it is suggested you soak the food. But know it may change the taste of the food.
- Apples: water and baking soda for 15 min.
- Cabbage: salted water + vinegar for 20 min.
The Pesticide Dirty Dozen
Here is the 2020 list from EWG of the most pesticide laden fruits + veggies. This means, if you can only afford to buy some organic food, make sure these are the ones you choose.
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Hot Pepper
The Pesticide Clean Fifteen
Here is the 2020 list from EWG of the cleanest fruits + veggies. This means, if money is tight and you cannot afford organic all the time, these are the cleanest foods to buy right now. (EWG also note that a small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from genetically modified seeds. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid genetically modified produce.)
- Avocado
- Sweet corn
- Onions
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Frozen sweet peas
- Eggplant
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Cantaloupe
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Cabbage
- Honey Dew Melons
- Kiwi
My Story + The Big Question
My Story
Currently I do not grow anything with pesticides. I use mulch, weeding, soap and water to wash out bug infestations, or pulling plants. The insects and birds, underground creatures and other mammals munch away on their portion of the food, leaving me enough for my family. I know my yard is organic and I pay attention to what my neighbors add to their yards, just in case.
Eating organic, pesticide free food makes me feel better about my cooking. But in stores, I am well aware I pay a premium for this food, as it is obviously more expensive. Luckily, I make enough money to buy good, quality food and I have the time to cook.
However, those of us with limited income, or experiencing financial hardships, have limited funds to eat healthily. As a result, some of us get double whammed; not enough money to purchase quality foods, but cheaper and affordable foods ups the chances of us getting nutritional-related diseases like high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, etc (1, 2).
The Question
So one of the ongoing questions I have is: Why is the government subsidizing big agricultural, industrial corporations to make food that is GMO, pesticide laden, environmentally harmful, and unhealthy, while ignoring smaller, healthier, pesticide free and ethical farming families?
The government often subsidizes food items that are often turned into processed foods that are high in fat and sodium, meat and dairy products, refined grains, and high-fructose corn syrup. The issue, using eggs as an example, is described by MotherJones this way.
- So we have a genuine quandary here: A farmer who’s just scraping by while doing the right thing by his land and his birds, charging a price that makes the whole concept of alternative food systems seem hopelessly elitist. And I would add their food is more expensive, say $6 to $8 USD for a dozen eggs.
- Meanwhile, at my local Walmart in Boone, North Carolina, a dozen eggs will set you back just $1.18. Those 10-cent eggs, of course, are produced in vast, fetid factories, sucking in huge amounts of environmentally ruinous corn and concentrating much more manure than can properly be absorbed into surrounding farmland.
Because this is bothering me so much, a future post will be on governmental subsidies of our foods and how that pushes us to poor diets in an effort to fill bellies. But let’s talk about that another time.
The best we can all do is focus on organic foods if they are on the “dirty list”when we can, at least buy pesticide-free when the choice is available available, and grow our own should we have the land and time.
—Patty
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