Many people, including in the mainstream, have heard of the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen for organic produce.
Basically, the list is designed to help shoppers avoid the produce with the most pesticide residues while opting for cheaper non-organic options on the “Clean 15” and other produce with fewer pesticide residues.
The problem with this list is that it only focuses on pesticide exposure and food budget of the consumer.
But my approach on this blog has always been not just what’s best for consumers’ health and consumers wallets but also what is best for the planet and the health of everyone on it.
By misleading consumers into thinking it’s “okay” to eat non-organic produce for everything except the dirty dozen, the EWG is giving everyone a clear conscience and ignoring:
- The pesticide exposure and overall health of farmer workers. Here’s an example, albeit an anecdotal one: A friend of mine grew up in Central California to a family of Mexican immigrants. Every single one of his relatives over the age of 40 — grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles — has one form of cancer or another.
Onions are one of the “Clean 15” because fewer numbers of pesticide are used in their production and because you can peel away the outer layers of the onion before using them for cooking. But the workers exposed to the pesticides that are used day in and day out are still at significant health risk.
- The impact of pesticides on the planet. Some pesticides may wash off more easily or be easier to peel away (bananas, onions, avocadoes), but pesticides don’t just damage your health or the health of farm workers. They damage the animals, soil, and ecosystem where they are used. By opting for organic whenever possible, you are reducing damage to humanity and the planet as a whole.
- The total cost of food production. You may think that you are saving money by not buying organic, but at what cost? Billions of dollars are spent on agricultural practices that ultimately will cost billions to clean up. National health spending as a result of chronic diseases and cancer costs trillions of dollars a year, far more than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Small, local, and family-owned farmers are increasingly being driven out of the market by big, industrial giants who create monopolies on supply practices and pricing. Your family may save an extra $50 a month by not buying organic produce, but what about the financial impact on local farmers?
- Genetically modified organisms. Just because certain non-organic produce has fewer pesticides, it doesn’t mean that it’s just as safe or healthy as its organic equivalent. The vast majority of corn in the United States, for example, which is number two on the “Clean 15,” is GMO. An organic label is currently the only way to know for sure that your produce is non-GMO since GMO labeling is strictly voluntary.
- The message it sends to big corporations when you “vote organic.” The more organic produce you buy, the more you “vote” for companies to change their practices. The greater market share organic farmers and businesses garner, the more big corporations will listen to what consumers want. If big companies know that people are only buying organic when it comes to the Dirty Dozen, then they’ll only produce organic for those 12 crops. If they know people are sticking with the status quo on the Clean 15, then they’ll have zero incentive to change their habits.
In these ways, the Environmental Working Group is undermining its own message. While I am always keen to find innovative strategies to convince mainstreamers to do what is best for their health, their wallet, AND the planet, this particular strategy could do more harm than good.
By buying as much and as many varieties of organic produce that are available (and affordable!) for your family, you are telling the agricultural industry:
- We will not tolerate the billions of pounds of pesticides contaminating our water and our soil and damaging our health, our children’s and unborn babies’ health, and the health of the ecosystem and all the creatures that have evolved harmoniously within it;
- We will not tolerate the treatment and exposure of farm workers to hazardous materials day after day, year after year;
- We will not tolerate genetically modified organisms;
- We will not tolerate the expense their practices are costing every one of us over the long-term when future generations are left to clean up and make do with whatever they’ve inherited.
