Debunked: Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ List

Mick West

Administrator
Staff member
http://www.openmarket.org/2011/08/11/environmental-working-groups-dirty-dozen-list-debunked/

The EWG published of the "dirty dozen" non-organic foods to avoid, because they have the highest levels of pesticides. What they fail to mention is that the levels are still 100x below any dangerous levels.

It's a common trick amongst psuedoscientists - ignoring the the actual levels, and implying that ANY of a substance is bad, and hence the highest levels must be really bad. It's the exact same thing done with EMF/EMR and smart electrical meters.

Just because boiling water is dangerous, it does not mean the same is true for warm water.

Everything is toxic at some level.
 
The scientists who wrote that study might be just paid shills, or had their lives threatened if they didn't produce the desired results.
(CT speak) :eek:
 
This is merely a point of disagreement. Some people believe that these levels are safe while others don't. The Environmental Working Group is providing a list for people who wish to make a choice.
 
An interesting scenario is which choice is healthier over all....
"not eating any blueberries because I can't find them organically"
, or ....
"maybe I should eat blueberries because they add to a healthy diet, even though there is a tiny bit of pesticide residue".

??

About choices and smart decisions.....

 
There's also a cost issue, with organic food costing 2-3x as much as non-organic. For many people their money is better spent elsewhere.
 
Yes, it's a cost/benefit issue to be sure. Some people must avoid certain pesticides. For example, my former boss would anaphylax if he ate conventional apples. I witnessed this myself when he bought apples in an organic labelled section at Whole Foods that were actually conventionally grown. The quickness and intensity of the reaction was amazing.

As far as "tiny bits of pesticide residue" goes, this is a bit misleading as well as few people are going to eat only conventional blueberries and organic everything else. The truth is, we are exposed to large numbers of chemicals from all sorts of sources, be it food, skin products, or airborne chemicals. We have little idea about the long-term effects of them singly, and no idea what they do in the complex combinations we use them in.
 
Then organic food itself is not without dangers....
http://www.cgfi.org/2002/06/the-hidden-dangers-in-organic-food/

According to recent data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control CDC), people who eat organic and “natural” foods are eight times as likely as the rest of the population to be attacked by a deadly new strain of E. coli bacteria (0157: H7). This new E. coli is attacking tens of thousands of people per year, all over the world. It is causing permanent liver and kidney damage in many of its victims. The CDC recorded 2,471 confirmed cases of E. coli 0157: H7 in 1996 and estimated that it is causing at least 250 deaths per year in the United States alone.

Consumers of organic food are also more likely to be attacked by a relatively new, more virulent strain of the infamous salmonella bacteria. Salmonella was America’s biggest food-borne death risk until the new E. coli O157 came along.
Content from External Source
Not saying this report is 100% accurate, just pointing out that Organic itself is not with risks and possible dangers.
 
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