The Dirty Dozen
You may have heard of Monsanto’s Dirty Dozen. Monsanto was the OG chemical producer and creator of devastating chemicals that are commonplace in everyday products. These common chemicals are carcinogenic, genetically modified, and injure the body on a cellular level, and are slowly poisoning our food supply.
Among their creations are saccharin (Sweet and low), aspartame, Agent orange, Dioxins, DDT, the atomic bomb, nuclear weapons, petroleum-based fertilizers, “Terminator” seeds, and Glyphosate- otherwise known as round up.
It is common in the US to spray fields of crop with glyphosate prior to harvest for 2 reasons: 1. The plants produce 20% more crop as an attempt to save itself from the chemical, producing more harvest and 2. Dead crops are easier to harvest.
In an effort to minimize contact with the dirty dozen and other harmful pesticides such as fungicides and insecticides, scientists have studied crops to determine how much adsorption of these chemicals is actually taking place. Unfortunately, the mass amount of crop you pick up at the grocery store contains these invisible, tasteless chemicals. Studies have linked these chemicals to organ damage, tumors, infertility, autism, deformities, infection, neurological damage, and more.
There is one way to avoid these insecticides – to buy ORGANIC. Organic means the crop is grown with minimal genetic modification and is not sprayed with fungicide, insecticide, or pesticides. ORGANIC means it is as close as possible to God’s design. Of course, it gets really expensive to buy everything organic, so identifying what to focus on while shopping helps. Oranges and bananas have thick outer shells that do not consume as many chemicals, so buying organic is not as crucial as the other fruits & veggies on the Dirty Dozen list.
A new list of The Dirty Dozen Fruits & Veggies exists from testing to help consumers identify which crops to buy organic and which adsorb the most chemicals. Below are the results and information.
The Shopping Dirty Dozen of Fruits & Veggies
- Strawberries – 33% of all strawberries contained 10 or more pesticides. 1 sample contained 22 pesticides.
- Spinach – 97% contained pesticides, including high concentrations of permethrin. Permethrin kills neurons.
- Nectarines – 94% contained at least 2 and up to 15 pesticides.
- Apples – 90% of apples that pesticides, including European banned diphenylamine.
- Grapes – More than 96% of grapes contain an average of 5 pesticides.
- Peaches – 99% of peaches contain an average of 4 pesticide residues.
- Cherries – The average cherry contains five pesticides, including carcinogenic iprodione.
- Pears – More than half of all pears contain high concentrations of about 5 types of pesticides.
- Tomatoes – The average tomato includes 4 pesticides and can contain up to 15.
- Celery – 95% of celery contains up to 13 variety of pesticides.
- Potatoes – More pesticide residue, chlorpropham in particular, by weight than any other crop.
- Sweet Bell Peppers – 90% of sweet bell peppers contain pesticide residue.
I understand that science and information can be overwhelming at times, but making small steps toward you and your family’s health goes a LONG WAY in the long run. Finally, I hope you can make a mental note or screenshot the attached photo to remember these on your next shopping trip.
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Have a beautiful week!
With Joy, Audrey
