{"id":137308,"date":"2024-04-18T20:00:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T20:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/?p=137308"},"modified":"2024-05-07T17:33:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T17:33:49","slug":"we-found-unhealthy-pesticide-levels-in-20-of-us-produce-heres-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/we-found-unhealthy-pesticide-levels-in-20-of-us-produce-heres-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"We Found Unhealthy Pesticide Levels in 20% of US Produce \u2013 Here\u2019s What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
Consumer Reports recently conducted its most comprehensive review of pesticides in 59 US fruits and vegetables. Here the organization shares what it found<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div> April 18, 2024 | Source: The Guardian<\/a> | by Catherine Roberts of Consumer Reports, with graphics by Aliya Uteuova<\/p>\n<\/div> W<\/span>hen it comes to healthy eating, fruits and vegetables reign supreme. But along with all their vitamins, minerals and other nutrients can come something else: an unhealthy dose of dangerous pesticides.<\/p>\n Though using chemicals to control bugs, fungi and weeds helps farmers grow the food we need, it\u2019s been clear since at least the 1960s that some chemicals also carry unacceptable health risks. And although certain notorious\u00a0pesticides<\/a>, such as DDT, have been banned in the US, government regulators have been slow to act on others. Even when a dangerous chemical is removed from the market, chemical companies and growers sometimes just start using other options that may be as dangerous.<\/p>\n Consumer Reports, which has tracked the use of pesticides on produce for decades, has seen this pattern repeat itself over and over. \u201cIt\u2019s two steps forward and one step back \u2013 and sometimes even two steps back,\u201d says James E Rogers, who oversees food safety at Consumer Reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>