Healthier Food for Us and the Planet

It's simple - food grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers is better for our health and protects our water and soil fertility.

Certified organic foods are safer for consumers because they're largely free of residues of pesticides that may harm the brain, or cause cancer and disrupt our children's delicate hormonal systems. Organic's also safer for farm communities and wildlife because these pesticides aren't released into the local environment, where they can contaminate water and kill birds and fish. And organic crops are not genetically engineered.

Green Guide readers often ask, "Which are the fruits and vegetables most likely to contain pesticide residues?" We've selected a list of 12 (left), including baby foods. Many of these foods contain several different pesticide residues that may collect in the body when consumed over time. And one serving of peaches can actually exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's daily safety tolerances for a young child.

In addition to organic, another healthy label is Integrated Pest Management (IPM), in which farmers use least-toxic pesticides only as a last resort. Also look for locally grown food, which is less likely to be treated with post-harvest pesticides. Farmers' markets are a great resource for all three!

Why Eat Lower on the Food Chain?

* Some toxic pollutants, such as DDT, dioxins and PCBs, rise in the food chain from plants to animals, collecting and concentrating in animal fats, particularly that of predator fishes (see Which Fish?).

* Red meat and fatty dairy foods have been linked to increased risk for health problems such as heart disease.

* Consumption of infected beef is believed to have caused over 90 deaths from new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of "mad cow."

* Industrial-scale animal agriculture consumes water and grains that could feed people, and produce huge amounts of waste.