| Mon Nov. 8, 2010 1:30 AM PST
You know the Environmental Working Group [1]'s super-helpful list of the most-pesticide-laden fruits and veggies [2]? Well, there's a Big Ag lobby group [3]called the Alliance for Food and Farming that's trying to debunk it. And the USDA just gave the lobbyists $180,000 [4] to aid their smear campaign, reports The Atlantic [5].
So exactly who's behind the Alliance for Food and Farming? According to SourceWatch [6], its board of directors includes honchos from the California Strawberry Commission, the California Tomato Farmers, the Produce Marketing Association, and the California Association of Pest Control Advisors, among other industry groups. The AFF's main argument: "Promotion of the 'Dirty Dozen' list actually makes the work of improving the diets of Americans more difficult because it scares consumers away from the affordable fruits and vegetables that they enjoy."
Riiiight. Considering that the EPA freely admits [7] that pesticides can cause "birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects," it's totally boneheaded to suggest that raising consumer awareness about pesticides is making Americans less healthy. What's more, it's not like the Environmental Working Group is suggesting you give up on produce entirely and stock your fridge with Mountain Dew instead. In fact, EWG explicitly states that the list isn't meant to discourage people from eating their veggies. From the FAQ [8]:
Here's a refresher on the EWG's "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15":
So exactly who's behind the Alliance for Food and Farming? According to SourceWatch [6], its board of directors includes honchos from the California Strawberry Commission, the California Tomato Farmers, the Produce Marketing Association, and the California Association of Pest Control Advisors, among other industry groups. The AFF's main argument: "Promotion of the 'Dirty Dozen' list actually makes the work of improving the diets of Americans more difficult because it scares consumers away from the affordable fruits and vegetables that they enjoy."
Riiiight. Considering that the EPA freely admits [7] that pesticides can cause "birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects," it's totally boneheaded to suggest that raising consumer awareness about pesticides is making Americans less healthy. What's more, it's not like the Environmental Working Group is suggesting you give up on produce entirely and stock your fridge with Mountain Dew instead. In fact, EWG explicitly states that the list isn't meant to discourage people from eating their veggies. From the FAQ [8]:
Do all these pesticides mean I shouldn’t eat fruits and vegetables?The bottom line: The more you know about your food, the better. Period.
No, eat your fruits and vegetables! The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. Use EWG's Shopper's Guide to reduce your exposures as much as possible, but eating conventionally grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.
Here's a refresher on the EWG's "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15":
Got a burning eco-quandary? Submit it to econundrums@motherjones.com [9]. Get all your green questions answered by visiting Econundrums on Facebook here [10].
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