People food for thought Part XVI; Organic food
In the previous entry titled "Cooking with fresh ingredient Part II", I wrote that since Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution campaign;bring
fresh food to school lunch menu, I have started noticing many more
celebrity chefs are working on their own project to encourage people to
eat fresh food not processed food.
Also, as I have written in the previous entry titled "Raw feeding 911 Part VII", first lady Michelle Obama has started organic garden at the White house, and hope to encourage people to eat fresh food more. According to cbs news article (For the full article, please click here), the organic garden has 55 kinds of vegetable,berries,and herbs.
With this big fresh food movement, I think more and more people seems to take a moment and review what they really are eating and what they really are providing to their families and make an effort to provide fresh, healthy,delicious food to their family and furriends.
When we go to grocery stores, I see wide variety of fresh produce,fresh herbs etc with choice of organic vegetables,organic herb,organic eggs,organic milk etc..
Many people would assume that anything organic is better than conventionally harvested vegetables,herbs,eggs etc..
Recently, I came across quite interesting article about food you do not have to buy organic. Can you name a few that might be in the list of "Food you do not have to buy organic"?
Before revealing the list of food, let's take a look at the definition of "Organic".
What is organic food?
USDA define term "Organic" as following.
Organic meat,poultry,eggs,diary products come from animals that are given no antibiotic or growth hormone. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticide;fertilizer made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge;bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.
According to USDA website, before organic products are shipped to stores, certified inspectors would visit the farmers to make sure they are following all the rules and regulation to be able to offer as "organic food", also, farmers must be certified to produce organic food for the public.
You can read more on organic food at USDA website here.
Pesticides and fresh produce..
According to article written by Alex Formuzis and Sara Sciammacco, analysts at environmental working group synthesized data collected from USDA and FDA between 2001-2009,and produce was ranked based on the score given and weighing six factors that reflects how many pesticides were present in the sample produce that was tested, and what level.
Samples were washed,peeled before testing. Therefore, numbers of the pesticide in the test reflect the amount of chemicals at present when you actually eat those produce.
This sample testing list can help us make a smart shopping choice because you have rough ideas as to what food you should buy organic when/if you can,and what organic food you do not have to buy.
Alex and Sara write that if you consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables 5 days in a week from their "Clean list", it will reduce the amount of pesticide consumed by 92%. Also they write that if you consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables 5 days in a week from their "most contaminated list", you will be consuming 14 different kinds of pesticide a day.
To read full article written by Alex Formuzis and Sara Sciammacco,please click here.
Clean 15 list..
Clean 15 list is the list of fruits and vegetables that testing has found lowest amount of pesticide at present after being washed/peeled.
Dr weil website shows the list of "Clean 15". Top 5 in the "Clean 15" list goes..
** Onion
** Sweet corns
** Pineapple
** Avocado
** Asparagus
For the full list of Clean 15, please click here.
Dirty dozen list..
Dirty dozen list is the list of fruits and vegetables that testing has found high amount of pesticide at present after being washed/peeled.
Dr weil website shows the list of "Dirty dozen". Top 5 in the "Dirty dozen" list goes..
** Apple
** Celery
** Strawberry
** Peach
** Spinach
For the full list of "Dirty dozen" list,please click here.
Pesticide and human health..
Now you know that which food are most likely to have high number of pesticide at present when they were washed and peeled.
Many people know that pesticide is the chemical to kill insect and,we know that ingesting chemicals is not good for our health. Even a small amount a day, it can add up in the long run.
Therefore, many people would try to eat organic food as much as possible but what the health risk of ingestion of pesticide will be?
According to Environmental Pesticide Agency (a.k.a. EPA) states laboratory study has shown that pesticide can cause health problem in human such as birth defects,nerve damage,cancer and other effects that would occur over long period of time.
Therefore, there is a regulation of the use of pesticide to manage and limit the exposure to pesticide.
To visit the Environmental Pesticide Agency website,please click here.
When we go to grocery stores, some of the fruits and vegetables we buy are organic, but I was surprised to see that many of the staple or frequent purchase fruits and vegetable for our house was in the "Dirty dozen list".
Now we know what food we should always buy organic if we could, smart shopping choice seems much easier to make.
However, I would think that best way to minimize the potential exposure to pesticide is to start growing fruits and vegetable on your own. That way, you can control the amount of pesticide,and fresh picked vegetables have more vitamins than store bought vegetable and overall, it is much healthier choice for your family. And, fresh picked vegetables/fruits are much tastier.
Strawberries...
Not only that, kids can get involved in the vegetable garden chore such as watering,harvesting,and possibly help you cook. Kids can learn where the vegetables are coming from,and they would be most likely interested in trying out the new kinds of vegetables they grew in your garden.
Our family grew many vegetables and,as a kid, I remember helping them watering,harvesting,cooking with my mother and, it was great experience.
Do you have vegetable,herb,fruits garden?
If you have one, what do you grow in your garden?
Also, as I have written in the previous entry titled "Raw feeding 911 Part VII", first lady Michelle Obama has started organic garden at the White house, and hope to encourage people to eat fresh food more. According to cbs news article (For the full article, please click here), the organic garden has 55 kinds of vegetable,berries,and herbs.
With this big fresh food movement, I think more and more people seems to take a moment and review what they really are eating and what they really are providing to their families and make an effort to provide fresh, healthy,delicious food to their family and furriends.
When we go to grocery stores, I see wide variety of fresh produce,fresh herbs etc with choice of organic vegetables,organic herb,organic eggs,organic milk etc..
Many people would assume that anything organic is better than conventionally harvested vegetables,herbs,eggs etc..
Recently, I came across quite interesting article about food you do not have to buy organic. Can you name a few that might be in the list of "Food you do not have to buy organic"?
Before revealing the list of food, let's take a look at the definition of "Organic".
What is organic food?
USDA define term "Organic" as following.
Organic meat,poultry,eggs,diary products come from animals that are given no antibiotic or growth hormone. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticide;fertilizer made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge;bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.
According to USDA website, before organic products are shipped to stores, certified inspectors would visit the farmers to make sure they are following all the rules and regulation to be able to offer as "organic food", also, farmers must be certified to produce organic food for the public.
You can read more on organic food at USDA website here.
Pesticides and fresh produce..
According to article written by Alex Formuzis and Sara Sciammacco, analysts at environmental working group synthesized data collected from USDA and FDA between 2001-2009,and produce was ranked based on the score given and weighing six factors that reflects how many pesticides were present in the sample produce that was tested, and what level.
Samples were washed,peeled before testing. Therefore, numbers of the pesticide in the test reflect the amount of chemicals at present when you actually eat those produce.
This sample testing list can help us make a smart shopping choice because you have rough ideas as to what food you should buy organic when/if you can,and what organic food you do not have to buy.
Alex and Sara write that if you consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables 5 days in a week from their "Clean list", it will reduce the amount of pesticide consumed by 92%. Also they write that if you consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables 5 days in a week from their "most contaminated list", you will be consuming 14 different kinds of pesticide a day.
To read full article written by Alex Formuzis and Sara Sciammacco,please click here.
Clean 15 list..
Clean 15 list is the list of fruits and vegetables that testing has found lowest amount of pesticide at present after being washed/peeled.
Dr weil website shows the list of "Clean 15". Top 5 in the "Clean 15" list goes..
** Onion
** Sweet corns
** Pineapple
** Avocado
** Asparagus
For the full list of Clean 15, please click here.
Dirty dozen list..
Dirty dozen list is the list of fruits and vegetables that testing has found high amount of pesticide at present after being washed/peeled.
Dr weil website shows the list of "Dirty dozen". Top 5 in the "Dirty dozen" list goes..
** Apple
** Celery
** Strawberry
** Peach
** Spinach
For the full list of "Dirty dozen" list,please click here.
Pesticide and human health..
Now you know that which food are most likely to have high number of pesticide at present when they were washed and peeled.
Many people know that pesticide is the chemical to kill insect and,we know that ingesting chemicals is not good for our health. Even a small amount a day, it can add up in the long run.
Therefore, many people would try to eat organic food as much as possible but what the health risk of ingestion of pesticide will be?
According to Environmental Pesticide Agency (a.k.a. EPA) states laboratory study has shown that pesticide can cause health problem in human such as birth defects,nerve damage,cancer and other effects that would occur over long period of time.
Therefore, there is a regulation of the use of pesticide to manage and limit the exposure to pesticide.
To visit the Environmental Pesticide Agency website,please click here.
When we go to grocery stores, some of the fruits and vegetables we buy are organic, but I was surprised to see that many of the staple or frequent purchase fruits and vegetable for our house was in the "Dirty dozen list".
Now we know what food we should always buy organic if we could, smart shopping choice seems much easier to make.
However, I would think that best way to minimize the potential exposure to pesticide is to start growing fruits and vegetable on your own. That way, you can control the amount of pesticide,and fresh picked vegetables have more vitamins than store bought vegetable and overall, it is much healthier choice for your family. And, fresh picked vegetables/fruits are much tastier.
Strawberries...
Not only that, kids can get involved in the vegetable garden chore such as watering,harvesting,and possibly help you cook. Kids can learn where the vegetables are coming from,and they would be most likely interested in trying out the new kinds of vegetables they grew in your garden.
Our family grew many vegetables and,as a kid, I remember helping them watering,harvesting,cooking with my mother and, it was great experience.
Do you have vegetable,herb,fruits garden?
If you have one, what do you grow in your garden?
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