While there is no shortage of “buzzwords” in the food and nutrition arena, the topic of the use of pesticides tends to be a recurring theme. Most people know that we need to eat more vegetables and fruits for health, but there are lingering concerns about pesticides used to grow this produce. What do we really know about pesticides, food and safety? There is a lot of misinformation surrounding this issue, so let’s learn more about the science, philosophy and practice of growing produce in today’s world.
A farm, the most natural place around?
When you visualize how plants generally grow in nature, it’s fundamentally different from the practice of farming. In farming, we take a single commodity and grow it on a large scale, all in one location. Wild foliage tends to grow in smaller patches, surrounded by other diverse plants. When we extract and grow a single commodity, we make this plot of land much more vulnerable to pests without the wild ecosystem to surround it. So, since we can’t feed the world from wild onions growing sparsely in the wilderness, we must work to keep our valuable agricultural commodities safe and thriving — to feed the world.
This is an important framework to consider when evaluating farming, food and safety today, including the need for pest control as part of it. There are many approaches to pest control, from the use of pesticides (traditional or organic), to what’s called “integrated pest management” or “IPM.” This is an approach which controls pests by taking advantage of existing ecosystems, such as “good bugs” eating “bad bugs” or even using pheromones, which confuse the mating cycles of the pests and reduce the amount of damage they can do. Some farmers even plant flowering crops around food crops to attract pests away from their food-producing plants.
Safety: is it all relative?
We tend to think of things as good/bad, safe/unsafe. While this may be true in many situations, when we evaluate the safety of foods and chemicals or ingredients that go into/onto foods, we have to think a bit differently. Take water, for example. Water is technically a “chemical” known as di-hydrogen monoxide, composed of hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Water is essential for life, needed in moderate quantities for human survival. However, too much water can lead to death. For example, consider the case of an intense marathon runner who replenishes with water alone while losing sodium through sweat.
This is a good example of the thinking behind “toxicology”– the branch of science leveraged when pesticides are evaluated, even naturally-derived ones (which may be used in organic farming). At a certain level of exposure, they could do harm. However, the allowable uses are set well below any threshold of causing harm (generally tends to hundreds of magnitudes lower) in an effort to ensure safety even with repeated, high-level intakes of produce sprayed with pesticides.
What can you do?
Even knowing that pesticide residues are highly tested and regulated, you may still feel concern. Many times, solutions to seemingly complex problems are shrouded in simplicity. When it comes to pesticide residues, many people don’t realize that thorough washing — at least 30 seconds under cool running water — can remove a majority of residual pesticides on the skins of fruits and vegetables. Peeling, removing outer layers, and scrubbing root vegetables with water can reduce them even further.
Additionally, as produce is stored, pesticides degrade naturally and levels reduce passively. Tests have shown that the use of produce washes, soap, or other detergents is no more effective at reducing pesticide residues than water alone. Also, organic produce does have, on average, lower pesticide levels than conventional produce. However, remember that both types are still well below the threshold for safety. As the old adage goes, “the dose makes the poison!”
Tip: the best place to buy organic foods & snacks is at Vitacost.com!