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Published on Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Vegetables: The Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen

[HEALTHY]

Vegetables: The Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen
There are killers in our food supply and we allow it to be so. The pesticides that are in our fruits and vegetables are killing us, just like they kill insects. The amount that is in our fresh food is frightening.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released the list of foods that are high in pesticides. The list is compiled of 48 foods looked at and more than 35,000 samples taken. There are lists that have the highest levels of pesticides shown and there are lists for the lowest offender as well.

The lists help consumers by alerting them to possible high residues of pesticides. The list also has the food that had the lowest levels and these are called the Clean Fifteen. The highest levels are called the Dirty Dozen.

With this in mind, move over apple, you no longer wear the crown of highest pesticide residue. The strawberry has come in to take that spot. Apple has held the crown for the past five years and now must hand its crown to the newest offender, strawberry.

These pesticides drift in the wind and can go to nearby schools and daycare facilities. The search for natural and organic ways of farming is on the rise because of this need to grow and produce more organic food. 

Here is the list for the best candidates to buy organic if possible. They go from highest to lowest, with the last one by no means the healthier one.

1. Strawberries
2. Apples
3. Nectarines
4. Peaches
5. Celery
6. Grapes
7. Cherries
8. Spinach
9. Tomatoes
10. Sweet Bell Peppers
11. Cherry Tomatoes
12. Cucumbers
Now we also have the Clean Fifteen which has low residue and gives us hope that there is a solution to the pesticide issue. Buying organic is better for your body because of the lack of residue, but at least these have less residue and do not necessarily have to be organic.
1. Avocadoes 
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples

4. Cabbage

5. Frozen Sweet Peas

6. Onions

7. Asparagus

8. Mangoes
9. Papayas
10. Kiwis
11. Eggplant
12. Honeydew Melon
13. Grapefruit
14. Cantaloupe
15. Cauliflower
With the lists in mind, some sweet corn and some papayas are grown from genetically engineered seeds. These seeds have been modified so there is no need for pesticides because the food is not digestible to the insect. It makes one wonder what it does for our system. Organic may be the way to go when buying corn or papayas.

Genetically engineered is not new, just newly used in food growth. We have bred dogs for thousands of years to achieve certain goals. In order to enhance the food’s genes, scientists use the desired characteristics and move the desired gene from one plant or animal to another.

Genetically altered plants have been around since the 1990s. The process is really just moving the desired genes to the plant that needs changing. The plant is then altered and now has the desired genes necessary for survival.

These lists are meant to be a warning of exposure, not an excuse to not eat your vegetables.


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