You’ve probably heard of the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozenâ„¢ and Clean 15â„¢ guide for buying produce.
The Dirty Dozen are fruits and vegetables that have the highest amount of pesticide residues. The clean 15 are those fruits and veggies that have the lowest amount of pesticides.
(In case you are unsure, farmers use chemical pesticides to kill off the pests that try to eat their crops)
The EWG’s guide is for shoppers who want to reduce their exposure to toxic pesticides as much as possible. It advises us to buy organic for the items on the dirty dozen list. Since the clean 15 are the least contaminated produce, it’s fine to buy those conventionally-grown items.
New in 2012, the EWG has added two crops to the Dirty Dozen and it’s now called the Dirty Dozen Plusâ„¢! The plus category includes green beans and kale/collard greens also called leafy greens.
Theses two crops are being doused with highly toxic organophosphate insecticides which are harmful to the nervous system. Organophosphates are currently not banned from agricultural practices so they are still being used as a pesticide.
Although the EWG did not add sweet corn to the Dirty Dozen’s Plus category, they still advise us that some sweet corn sold for human consumption is produced with gentically modified organisms (GMO) seeds.
GMO’s are used in as much as 80% of conventional processed food according to the NON-GMO Project. Biotechnology lobby groups are winning the war on keeping these food items that are contaminated with GMO’s hidden from the public.
The Non-GMO Project explains that,
Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In nearly 50 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs. In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale. Increasingly, Americans are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO experiment.
Yet another matter where money wins over health!
So, if you want to take matters into your own hands and choose to opt out, you can click here for a current list of crops that may be contaminated with GMO’s.
And according to the EWG, if you want to stay away from GMO’s, buy organic sweet corn.
Another thing to consider is that commodity crop corn used for animal feed is produced with GMO’s. So when that cow eats the GMO infested corn, the GMO’s become part of  the cow.  Then the cow, now full of GMO’s, is sacrificed for your dinner and we are technically eating the GMO infested beef. That’s one reason why it’s best to eat beef from grass-fed cows only!
Eating fruit and vegetables is one of the best things you can do for maintaining a healthy diet! Try to stick with the clean 15 when you buy produce at conventional grocery markets. And click here for tips on how to buy organic when you’re on a tight budget. But, either way – clean or dirty – it’s better to eat fruit and veggies than to throw down a greasy processed double bacon cheese burger and fries!
If you’re concerned about the build up of toxins in your body from contaminated produce and processed foods produced with GMO’s, consider taking some detoxification products. This will assist your body to help naturally eliminate these harmful chemical toxins and other foreign elements.
+Ashley Steinbrinck writes regularly about natural health and happiness for Natural Healthy Concepts. Visit the site today to browse a wide selection of herbal nutritional supplements, vitamins and homeopathic medicine.
