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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Down To Earth

Eat well - be well

We're not scientists, or food experts, or gardening gurus - but we know what's good and we know what's bad.  And this is what we know for sure: reducing the toxins we put in our body has worked well for us up to this point, and we'll continue to live by something we can all agree on on -  pesticides and other toxins are bad for the environment and bad for our bodies.


Making healthy food decisions is as easy as being creative, being resourceful and being patient.  And it makes life a lot easier when you have convenient tools, such as the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) 2010 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides.  Now available as a PDF download or an iPhone app, this guide is the result of EWG bringing together scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers to pore over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and EWG's own laboratory tests to expose threats to public health and the environment, and to find solutions.

Here's a little taste of the findings:

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), common growing practices make these crops the most likely to contain pesticide residues: Peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, grapes (imported), carrots, and pears.

The EWG also reports that the fruits and vegetables least likely to be contaminated with pesticides are: Onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.



Down To Earth

The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.