Eating with a Conscience

It’s the time of year many of us are buying berries, so it’s worth knowing what can come with non-organic strawberries. They consistently top the dirty dozen list for good reason. Of the 72 pesticides with established tolerances for the crop, 65 are linked to chronic health problems including cancer, 29 are acutely toxic to farmworkers, and 28 are toxic to bees, which strawberries depend on for pollination.

Between 1992 and 2010, California alone recorded 237 farmworker poisoning incidents tied to strawberry production, and pesticide illness is widely underreported, so that number is almost certainly low.

There’s no way to know which of those 72 pesticides were used to grow any given container of berries unless you know your farmer personally. Your local farmers market is a good place to start, though it’s worth asking them directly. The USDA organic label isn’t perfect, but you can at least know those 72 pesticides aren’t part of the picture.

Beyond Pesticides has a full breakdown of what’s actually on your strawberries at Eating with Conscience.