the 'dirty dozen' versus the 'clean fifteen': is organic food really better?

every spring, when the environmental working group (ewg) posts the latest “ dirty dozen ” list — produce with the highest pesticide residue — many people wonder, ‘should i eat organic?’ after all, the group says, quoting a study from harvard, eating chemical-drenched fruits and vegetables not only offsets their beneficial effects , but the chemicals can be harmful to our health.

for example, some peppers imported to the u.s., says the group, contain enough contaminants — some of them banned in the european union — to harm the nervous system. (canadian peppers grown in hothouses are virtually pesticide-free .) and the pesticide dacthal, banned in europe in 2009, is most frequently found on collards, mustard greens and kale and has been classified by the u.s. environmental protection agency as a possible carcinogen.

the environmental working group’s business is “selling alarm”

joe schwarcz, the director of mcgill university’s office for science and society ,  wouldn’t.

in fact, croplife canada, which represents canadian manufacturers, developers and distributors of pest control, points out that the group does not take into account the actual pesticide residue left on the food or the potential exposure risk. they use the example: “a child could eat 181 servings of strawberries in one day without any negative effect from pesticide residues … even at the highest allowable residue.” it goes on to note that 99.9 per cent of fresh produce in canada, local or imported, test well below the limits set by health canada — in fact, 89.3 per cent of canadian-grown produce have no detectable pesticide residue.

the ewg itself acknowledges the importance of eating lots of fruits and vegetables, organic or not. it even posts a “ clean fifteen ” list of produce with little to no pesticide residue.

the many myths of organic food

a popular myth is that organic farmers do not use pesticides. they do, but they’re derived from natural sources, such as vinegar, soaps or sulfurs. what they can’t use are synthetic pesticides, according to organic alberta , including the herbicide glyphosate (trade name round-up), which some studies have linked to an increased risk of cancer.

keith currie, vice-president of the canadian federation of agriculture , and an eighth-generation dairy and cash crop farmer in simcoe, ontario, says it’s not necessarily the chemical, but how the chemical is used.

so if we shouldn’t worry about eating conventional produce, and it tastes just as good as organic, and it’s just as nutritious, why do some experts maintain organic is better? because of how it’s grown, says tia loftsgard, executive director, canada organic trade association .

protecting organic farms from the chemicals next door

organic farmers work hard to earn and maintain their certification , but they can often play a losing game if synthetic chemicals from the conventional farm next door drift across on wind and rain. health canada , however, does monitor all pesticide residue, including from organic farms. if the contamination is greater than the maximum allowable, it’s investigated to find the source of the contamination.

she also says canada’s organic sector, along with conventional farmer groups and consumers, are fighting health canada and agriculture and agrifood canada for abandoning “safety assessments and transparency for new gene-edited foods, which will have dire consequences not only to the organic sector’s ability to farm organically, but also to consumers’ right to know what they are eating …”