Living Maxwell

Better Choices

5 Reasons to Eat Organic Apples

In a previous post, I wrote that milk is the most important organic product that a family can buy.

But milk is by no means the only item that people should be concerned about.

The worst offender on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list are apples.

Forbes magazine recently did an excellent piece talking about five reasons to eat organic apples, and I wanted to share the highlights with you and provide commentary. To read the full article, click here.

Reason #1 – The average conventionally grown apple has more pesticide residue on it than any other fruit or vegetable.

Data from the Environmental Working Group showed that 98% of 700 apples tested had pesticides on them and that 48 different pesticides appeared. WOW!!!!

48 different pesticides are being used on apples. This I did not know.

Reason #2: We are not quite sure what some of those pesticides do to humans or the environment.

Well, I’d say we have a decent idea what these pesticides are doing to humans and the environment. And it’s not good.

The Forbes article cites a pesticide called Paraquat that is regularly sprayed on apples. Paraquat is made by Syngenta and is under scrutiny for a possible link to Parkinson’s diseases,

Interestingly enough, Syngenta also makes a toxic herbicide called Atrazine, which has been found in 94% of our water supply.

The Pesticide Action Network reports that Atrazine has been linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, and cancer.

Furthermore, Professor Tyrone Hayes, Endocrinologist at the University of California, reported from his research that frogs exposed to Atrazine were turning into hermaphrodites.

To learn more about how chemicals are ruining our water supply, I strongly recommend that you watch the documentary called Flow – trailer is below.

Reason #3: Farm owners and workers like to live and work in safe environments too.

Unfortunately, we don’t think enough about the health of farm workers when deciding to buy organic or not. Yet, this must become a consideration.

Many of these people have no alternative but to work in these highly toxic fields because they must feed their families. This comes with serious consequences, however.

According to research published in the Environment Health Perspectives, pregnant women who are exposed to organophosphate pesticides have a very, very high probability of having kids who suffer from ADHD.

Reason #4: Apples are one of the country’s favorite fruits – and eating more organic apples could immediately impact farming.

Apples are the third most consumed fruit in the U.S. and account for over 350,000 acres. Yet, only 6% of the apples we grow are organic.

If we can alter our consumption habits, we can make a serious dent in the amount of pesticides being sprayed on our land and we’ll encourage conventional farmers to switch to organic.

There is no force more powerful than using the basic principles of supply and demand to enact change.

Reason #5: Organic apples don’t cost an arm and a leg, and are a great snack.

I agree with this one wholeheartedly.

One complaint that I hear all of the time is that organic is too expensive. Yet an at average price of $1.50 per pound, organic apples are great way to keep the body healthy.

And the health benefits of apples are numerous. It has been reported that the phytonutrients in apples can help regulate blood sugar, and apples also can play an important role in preventing heart disease.