Eat Smart: Reducing your exposure to pesticides in …



Eat Smart: Reducing your exposure to pesticides in produce

Iinformation from King Co:

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The subject of pesticide residues in or on foods is complex and controversial. Pesticide residues are in many foods that are conventionally grown, and in much lesser amounts in foods grown organically (which may use approved organic pesticides or contain trace amounts of conventional pesticides from the environment). The federal government regulates pesticides to ensure that the U.S. food supply is safe. As new studies…are released… pesticide tolerances are revised…. This is an ongoing process. Growers and importers must meet current tolerance limits set by the federal government and thus feel that any remaining residues found on their fruits or vegetables are insignificant and safe. Yet many people remain concerned about exposure to even trace amounts of these pesticides in their foods.

To help you identify fruits and vegetables with higher and lower pesticide risk scores, the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County has developed a Shopper’s Tips for Buying Fruits & Vegetables wallet card.

In general*

• Fleshy fruits and thin-skinned vegetables are the most likely to have higher pesticide residues in USDA tests of conventionally-grown produce.

• Thick-skinned fruits and vegetables, or ones with outer skins that are not consumed, such as bananas, citrus fruits, onions and pineapples, consistently have very low pesticide residues in their edible portions.

So what can you do to minimize your exposure to pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables? Here are some tips:

• Buy organically-grown fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

Organic produce tends to have much lower pesticide residues than conventionally grown produce. But organic foods are often more expensive. If you can only buy a limited amount of organic produce, buy those fruits and vegetables ranked in the higher risk section on the Shopper’s Card.

• Choose U.S. grown produce.

If you can't find organic fruits and vegetables, try to buy produce that is grown in the U.S. Imported produce tends to have higher pesticide levels. Buying locally grown produce is also a good choice. Another option is to grow your own pesticide-free produce. Start a vegetable garden in your backyard or join a community garden.

• Always wash fruits and vegetables to remove dirt and residues.

Thoroughly wash all produce under running water. At least two studies have found that washing produce under tap water for at least 30 seconds reduces most pesticide residues. No significant additional benefit is achieved from using specially-marketed “veggie wash” products. For produce with a thick, edible skin such as apples, potatoes and cucumbers, use a small scrub brush to clean the outer layer.

There are several levels of USDA organic certification…

1. 100 percent organic – All ingredients… must be 100% organic.

2. Organic – At least 95% of ingredients must be organic.

3. Made with organic ingredients – At least 70% of ingredients must be organic

Name ___________________

Period _____ Table _____ Score ____/19

Organic Foods

[pic] Understand vocabulary related to organic foods

[pic] Name an advantage and a disadvantage of growing

foods organically

[pic]Give advice on shopping for organic food

Use these Greek and Latin word segments to build a guess for the meanings of each word listed in the chart below. (We’ll fill in the actual definitions later.)

themi, thethemai (Greek) to put ven (from Latin venire) to come

re (Greek) back, again cide (from Greek coedo) to strike, to kill

con, com, co (Latin) with, together sid (from Latin sedeo) to settle or sit

syn, sym (Greek) with, together tion (Latin) the result of, being

Use the information from class and the page back to answer the following questions:

1. Does everyone agree about the need for organic foods? _____________________

2. List at least one advantage and at least one disadvantage of organic foods.

advantage(s) __________________________________________________

disadvantage(s) ________________________________________________

3. Eating organic foods is one way to reduce your exposure to pesticides. List 2 more

ways. a. ___________________________________________________________

b. ___________________________________________________________

4. What does it mean when a label says, “Made with organic ingredients”?

_____________________________________________________________

5. Circle the 3 foods below with the highest pesticide residues.

lettuce beans oranges cantaloupe peaches carrots

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[pic]hopper’s Tips for Buying Fruits & Vegetables

Based on the U.S. EPA’s

*Based on United States Department of Agriculture data and using the Environmental Protection Agency's dietary risk characterizations

Essential Learnings:

Reading 1.1: apply reading strategies including word root, prefixes, suffixes

Reading 1.2: increase vocabularies relevant to different contexts

Word Guessed Meaning Definition

synthetic

________________________________________________________________________________

residues

________________________________________________________________________________

conventional

________________________________________________________________________________

pesticide

________________________________________________________________________________

herbicide

_____________________________________________________________________

irradiation

(or ionizing radiation)

_____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

residues

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