Whenever I think about a lot of the food that I ate growing up, it isn’t overly pleasant. It was the standard American diet with all of the processed, fast food that most of the country still consumes today.
Fortunately, my childhood took place before the emergence of GMOs (mid-90s) and growth hormone milk (late 80s), so I escaped some of the really bad things when my body was in its crucial stage of development.
One food that I fondly remember eating, and loving, at family dinners was potatoes. And it wasn’t just the insides of the potatoes. I particularly loved eating the skins. Yet, little did I or my parents know just how toxic they were.
When many people think of the most important foods to be eating organic, potatoes do not immediately come to mind as quickly as apples, grapes, or spinach do. But they should and here’s why.
THE PROBLEMS WITH CONVENTIONAL POTATOES
1) According to the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, 35 different pesticides have been found on conventional potatoes.
And out of these 35:
– 6 are known or probably carcinogens
– 12 are suspected hormone disruptors
– 7 are neurotoxins
– 6 are developmental or reproductive toxins
The chemical that is found on 76% of all conventional potatoes is chlorpropham, an herbicide that is used to stop the growth of weeds and to inhibit potato sprouting.
Not only is this chemical toxic to honey bees, but according to the Extension Toxicology Network, chronic exposure of laboratory animals to chlorpropham has caused “retarded growth, increased liver, kidney and spleen weights, congestion of the spleen, and death.”
2) As a root vegetable, potatoes absorb all of the pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides that are sprayed above the ground and then eventually make their way into the soil.
With potatoes, however, the chemical treatment is quite extensive.
During growing season – They get treated with fungicides
Before harvesting – They get sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines
After being dug up – They get sprayed again to prevent them from sprouting
3) Quite often, the most important information about a food is what growers or “insiders” have to say about it.
Jeff Moyer, farm director at the Rodale Institute and former chair of the National Organic Standards Board, has been quoted as saying “I’ve talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals.”
ORGANIC POTATOES ARE THE ANSWER
Needless to say, when I eat potatoes, I only eat organic potatoes because organic production does not allow for the use of all of these toxic chemicals.
Please share this post with your friends and family, so they can be purchasing the safest potatoes possible.
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help i pourched huge potatos planted 30 foot long row in my organic soil one pototo came up. organic store said we purched them from a whole sailer .
What’s up,I read your blog named “The Health Risks of Eating Conventionally-Grown Potatoes” on a regular basis.Your story-telling style is witty, keep up the good work! And you can look our website about proxy list.
What are your thoughts about organic seed potatoes versus conventionally grown seed potatoes?
Read these posts with interest. The big problem is the world is money mad, we need to make as much as we can as fast as we can and the consequences will not effect us but hey were rich . Look at your meat production Growth Hormones / Steroids it’s all around us . We want fast food it’s made yea lets add a load of chemicals in the process . Have you noticed cancer is on the increase Well i rest my case . Bill / UK
Way back in 1979, I had a friend who grew up in Idaho. One day we had them over for dinner, which included some baked potatoes. I love eating the skins, and when he saw me, he was horrified. He told me, “I would never eat potato skins!” When I asked him why, he just said, “Because I grew up on a potato farm and I know what goes on them.” Of course, in 1979, the idea of organic vs. non-organic wasn’t even around, so I kind of just figured maybe it was the cow poop he was referring to. I didn’t ask. But now I realize what he meant, and I find myself worrying a little about the 45 years of eating lots of non-organic potatoes and the effect on my body as a I am aging. Thanks for the info. The statements by “anonymous” may simply be “astro-turf” efforts–paid folks to try to convince us to ignore the truth about conventional and processed foods and pharmaceuticals.
Hi Anonymous
Do you have any farming cousins based in tje UK following the same methods and where can I buy their potatoes? 🙂
Pototes grown from natural soils ( never applied pesticide) had shown positive for chemicals related to those found in non- organic potatoes. Had studies conducted to compare similarities?
So my bf thinks that just b/c we live in Oregon, non organic potatoes do not contain many harmful pesticides and he thinks I’m stupid for trying to prove him wrong.
Hi Shandel,
He doesn’t think there are pesticides sprayed in Oregon? Well, you are not stupid. I can assure you of that.
Live well,
Max
Max,
Two things, I think you owe May a better answer. If this happened I suspect it is more prevalent than we suspect. You seem to really know how to investigate, you info was really specific. At least you should try and see how often this happens. People could make a lot of money stating it is organic when it is not
Keep in mind that organic does not equal chemical/pesticide-free; in fact, organic chemicals and pesticides often have to be sprayed much more often in order to be effective and are about as safe/toxic to humans consuming them as inorganic chemicals. of course, organic is better for the environment – no doubt. organic chemicals are not necessarily better for people. this article reads too one sided; the issue is much more gray than black and white.
When you demonize organic (chemicals being as bad, or used more often) please provide links
I have a question. … If potatoes sprout does it mean they are good to eat/ organic?
rU4real: If that is your point, that you never believe…then I suppose you would never buy Kellogs’ cereal when they say it is “good for you” or buy Good Year Tires because they “could save your life”? EVERYONE is selling something; be smart enough to read the info and make up your own mind. It may actually be true and YOU had something to gain! Just a thought-
I tend not to believe information from people that stand to gain from the information they are providing. If organic so so good for you haow come a bunch if people died from an outbreak of echolie with organic spinach. And organic food is regulated by the same USDA that we cannot trust with the regular non organic food
E coli is a bacteria in natural fertilizer, poop. The fact there was an outbreak of infections comes from not properly washing the food before preparing/eating. If washed properly, no worries.
This article is highly misleading. What you fail to mention is the levels of pesticides that are found on potatoes. You fail to understand the first rule of toxicology which is that the dose makes the poison. Pesticide residues are constantly monitored by the government and are found to be orders of magnitude below what is not represent a level that would do any harm to humans.
In addition organic farming uses its own set of pesticides fungicides insecticides herbicides etc. these are often just as toxic if not more toxic than conventional alternatives.
In short you do not understand what you’re talking about and should refrain from trying to scare the public in order to make a living.
I doubt you know what you’re talking about , there is a general consensus that not enough data is available to support you’re view. Not to mention there are no studies to show how children are affected by these “safe levels.” Pesticides are not safe even in low amounts, your body is flooded with pesticides and over the long term we don’t know if they are the cause of certain cancers.
Unless I buy them at the Farmer Market , I do not eat Potatoes in the US
the Organic ones are very expensive. A Bag is over $10, at the Market I pay 50% less
How do you know what the farmer at the market used? Even if organic, they are still using chemicals. This whole issue is confusing. What is safe levels, what is not, etc.
Yup, that’s the goal of all farmers! Poison the world and feed them everything that will make everyone sick cause we as farmers don’t eat what we produce! Imagine that!
no way around it organic is more expensive because it is not government subsidized like grain and corn is. Not everyone has access to organic food and since we are no longer an agri nation, it is rare to find anyone with space to put a garbage bag anywhere to grow food. Both look at it as simplistic but it is not. If we have such a hunger problem in america organic is not the answer.
I don’t understand why people don’t grow their own potatoes. You can take a black garbage sack and grow them in that. We have plots where we grow potatoes. My 8 & 10 year old planted them and have kept them watered all summer. We should harvest at the end of September. A couple of my daughter’s plants finally died, so we dug some potatoes up and they are purple marbled potatoes, very pretty and delicious.
I love reading for posts!
Has anyone even tested all these organic foods? I’m just curious if they all pass.
Do you know if this applies to Canada as well?
I am SO tired of hearing that people “can’t afford” to eat organically. In the last 3 years my (not wealthy) family has gone from eating conventionally (unhealthy) to almost 100% organic. Does it take a little work? Of course. But we have not changed our food budget. No one ever complains about spending $3.99 for a package of Oreos, but they are outraged that you suggest they spend the same for 5 lbs. of organic potatoes. It’s important to us so we make it happen!
Cathie…. my kids don’t eat any junk, no pop, cookies, juice, crap or anything, I make all my meals from scratch using whole foods, ice cream is from frozen fruit on the sale rack that we freeze, I buy oats, quinoa, millet, rice etc. in 50lb bags (some of those are organic), I buy half a cow from a farmer, and 20 chickens a year from a farmer if we don’t raise our own. My husband makes $100,000 a year but about $70,000 take home. We remortgaged last year and paid off all our credit card debt FROM trying to eat organic the last 18 years and using holistic health. Yes I grow my own big garden but we have winter for half the year. I grow microgreens inside but that drives up my hydro bill. This time last year in January/February my hydro bill was $950 ($350 of which I get charged for delivery)- now that I’m trying to do laundry and dishes in the stream & reading by candlelight- and our heat off – ok not quite but we are bundled up in wool sweaters and slippers using minimal electricity our hydro bill is FINALLY “down” to $217 ($86 of which is delivery). fwiw that doesn’t include our hot water tank and heat in the winter as we have that hooked up to the outdoor wood stove AND my ‘smart’ meter isn’t working properly so I’m 6 cents cheaper on my electricity usage than most. MOst people here have $500 – $800 bills PER MONTH. I make my laundry soap and all purpose cleaner, bar soap from scratch. I shop thrift stores for my kids clothes. I can tell you that with kids 15,12, and 8 who love fruits and veggies and have appetites of adults that to feed a family of 5 organic is impossible right now for us, summer maybe with our own produce, but winter? no way. We don’t eat bread but make our own biscuits and tortilla wraps from scratch for pennies. When I make potatoes for dinner I use min. 8 lbs and there might be a bit leftover for the next day. Rice pilaf? 4-5 cups of rice at a time – no left overs. A giant pot of soup made with homemade broth? Gone by the end of the day and we still had something else for dinner. My 8 yr old can eat 3 bowls of porridge for breakfast LOL (btw my kids are athletic and not over weight) My kids no longer do any sports programs because I can’t afford lacrosse, ball hockey, karate, horseback riding lessons or roller derby any longer like other families. Our trampoline, pool and old snow machines were used and off kijiji like our bikes and scooters. My kids spend a great deal of time outdoors playing sledding or fort building etc. We are insurance poor between life, property and business! We try to stick a little bit away for their school fund. We have pets so yes we have pet food bills and I use holistic medicine for first aid so I have animals in great health with near zero vet bills – but guess what? I can’t afford the $90 bag of healthy dog food anymore. Now that everyone is making their own dog food (btdt) sourcing supplies has driven up the cost of conventional butcher/processing plant cases of chicken backs and beef bones/offal etc. so that isn’t cheaper anymore and impossible to source organic. I don’t even have a budget, it’s ‘how low can we go’ and let’s NOT spend anything unless absolutely necessary. We don’t have cable or video games or gaming systems of any kind, in fact we still use a vcr/dvd combo! and netflix for $7.99 a month which we rarely use. Internet we need because I home educate my kids. Cell phone is bare bones- and no my kids don’t have them even the almost 16 yr old who works at the farm down the road for his own money. I sell eggs to offset the chicken feed costs. So NO NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD ORGANIC even if you want to and know you should. Please don’t insinuate that it is easy because I can assure you IT IS NOT! There are some things I try to still get organic but our grocery bills were $2500 a month or more (organic butter, meat, produce, veggies, nuts, seeds, nut butters, sprouting seeds) and we were living outside our means to do so. Even NON organic almond butter? $17 for a half pint!! I grind my own – still expensive! fwiw 1 pound of beef isn’t going to feed my crew no matter how much I try and stretch it. 1 8lb chicken is devoured in a meal and broth its made out of it TWICE. Despite what I know I can NOT afford organic produce at a $1.25 an apple or $2.50 a mango or avocado or $2 for orgnaic grapefruit and it is hard to eat non organic potatoes known how toxic they are. Anyhow bottom line depending on where you live it just isn’t that easy even when you know how toxic conventionally grown produce and meat . I don’t know how other families are surviving and managing to put their kids in all sorts of sports, new designer clothes and shoes and processed lunches and eating out every day (which we do not) but I am learning every trick in the book and tracking every expenditure, micro categorizing so we know exactly where the money is going every month to find a better way to survive on less. We don’t go out on dates, we don’t go to the cinema, haven’t been on a trip in 4 years, there are no luxuries, no frills but… that being said it’s been a fabulous learning experience for my kids as we get a handle on our debt and finances and start living within our means… life is amazing and we want for nothing – except affordable organic food or as it USED TO BE CALLED – real food. LOL 🙂
ps. the $219 hydro bill is NO dishwasher, no hot water tank, no heat, no water cooler, no dehumidifiers, no air purifiers, no dryer, washer is on cold, minimal light bulbs, and everything unplugged unless in use. I take a hydro read at 9am and 9pm every single day so we know what we are using. I have used a device in the wall to track how much each appliance uses. All conveniences – gone. Doable but it is hard and I still can’t afford organic anymore. You get used to it and in the end it is worth it to save $750 a month on hydro!!
ah dang it. I’ve been eating pop chips and all the wrong potatoes long ago. I quit it because of carbs but now I feel safer reading this report. Organic is really the thing I need to look for everytime I purchase.
the problem is the families being able to afford the organic potatoes which is not an option for most families. when people scare people they forget to realize the most of these people can’t go organic they can’t afford it half of the people in United States can’t even afford to buy nutritious food because the majority of the time fruits and vegetables are way too expensive. So don’t scare the young families until you can make those organic fruits and vegetables affordable to everyone.if you go to the store you will see the 20 pound bag of organic potatoes runs about $5 then if you look at the conventional potatoes a five pound bag can run you about 4 bucks.
Hi Melissa,
If you interpret my “informing” the public about what is really going on as “scaring” people, then my blog isn’t for you.
Organic is more expensive, and that is why people need to be informed about the risks of conventional food -> so they can pressure their elected officials to support organic more and make it more affordable for everyone.
And in no uncertain terms will I stop informing people about the truth of what is really going on.
Live well,
Max
Hi Max,
A friend just sent me this link to your article on potatoes.
For many decades we have been raising certified organic potatoes in Aroostook County, Maine’s ‘Potato Empire.’
I believe your article is accurate.
Contrary to the experience of ‘Anonymous’ from the ‘generational potato farm family’, in this area it is common for conventionally-grown potatoes to receive two post-harvest treatments. The skin of conventional potatoes are often sprayed with with a fungicide, like “Mertect” as the potatoes are conveyed into the potato storage. Additionally, after harvest is complete, storages containing processing (chip or fry) or tablestock potatoes are gassed with sprout inhibitor to prevent potatoes from breaking dormancy and sprouting.
Of course you are correct that organic potatoes have no need of these chemical inputs and are therefore free from residues. As organic farmers we enjoy and our family eats everything we grow.
Jim Gerritsen
Wood Prairie Farm
Bridgewater, Maine
http://www.woodprairie.com
Hi Jim,
Thanks so much for your comment, and it is always great to hear from a long-time organic farmer who can tell people what really goes on on a farm. The conventional potato situation is pretty scary, to say the least.
Also, I was very pleased to see your name attached to the petition to the USDA about what is happening at the NOSB. The crackdown against organic within our own government is something that must change.
Thanks for being an amazing organic advocate. We are lucky to have people like you.
All the best,
Max
The non-organic fungicide you mention, Mintezol, is apparently also used therapeutically to treat several conditions, and may even have anti cancerous properties!
This sounds very similar to the multitude of chemicals found in organic fungicides, such as the myriad of strong tasting herbs and other plants.
Who knows, maybe some agricultural CHEMICALS are designed to mimic natural substances!!
love ur site
“It’s just so ridiculous that we process our commercial potatoes so they don’t sprout! Why? Purely for aesthetics. It makes no sense.”……………………. Well, no. When potatoes sprout they make high levels of solanine which really is a poison and can kill or make you very ill after only one plate. Always keep potatoes in the dark and if they have gone soft or have sprouted do not cook or eat.
@ May,
so if the potatoes brown does that mean that they are non-GMO? I shop at local farmers markets in my area and they use less if not any pesticides etc. I noticed that these potatoes brown within 10 min or so and they sprout 4 days after I buy them, so is that good?
Thanks
Hello Max,
I just want to caution you to the fact that i had purchased ORGANIC potatoes at a grocery store (their brand) and when i was cutting them up i noticed that they kinda had the same coloring as mcdonalds french fries and that unsettled me, so, i decided to leave a 1/4 potatoe on the counter just to make sure that it would BROWN to ease my mind! I was making mashed potatoes and would not know if i didn’t leave it sit on the counter to brown! 4hours later the potatoe looked just like if it was just peeled and cut!!!! I couldn’t believe that it DID NOT brown!!! So, i made it a point to contact the people who supposedly watch over Organic food and made an official complaint and gave them all the info. They are suppose to investigate things and get back to me! I’m am left SHOCKED!!!! and discouraged!
Hi May,
I am sorry that you had such a negative experience.
While I do not doubt some of this info, some of this is misleading and grand-sweeping. I am a member of a generational potato farm family.
We do not, nor do we know of other farmers, that spray ANYTHING after digging. That would only increase the break down of the potato itself, making it very difficult to sell. The sugars and core temp of the utmost importance while in storage (post digging) and the climate is our biggest issue. Believe it or not, the potato is highly sensitive to temps – both heat and cold temps are damaging. I cannot imagine a farmer increasing their own stress levels by spraying their potatoes directly with anything. But, again, I can only speak for our own farm and our farmer friends.
Secondly, we work with a state organization that tests our soil and takes samples of our harvest. Every single year, we do this. We want to do this.
Finally, when using any type of spray, we use the absolute minimum amount because its VERY expensive and an unpleasant farming task. There are years were we do not have to use ANY at all – those are the great years where Mother Nature provides us with mild temperature and proper rain.
And, if it matters, my family tends to live in into their 90’s (knock on wood) and no one has passed of cancer of any type. (knock on wood again, please). I knew my great, great grandmother and attended her 100th birthday party when I was a wee-one. She for several more years.
I do not mean to dispute you. And I wouldn’t be surprised if some farmers do all that you mentioned. But, if possible, please be a little more careful not to group us all together. Some of us are environmentally as careful and conscious as we can possibly be while trying to survive what’s been coined as ‘a dying breed’.
Thank you for allowing me to speak freely. May you have a Happy Holiday!
Thanks for sharing, Anonymous. I appreciate your input and am always happy to hear a different perspective.
Live well,
Max
Dear Max, I am so happy that you wrote about the potatoes because I know it since some time and people did not believe me.
Do you have any information how the situation is in New Zealand?
Please let me know. Thanks NINA
Hi Nina,
I am sorry but don’t have information about New Zealand. If I come across anything, I’ll let you know.
Live well,
Max
Wow you really tell it straight but there is another issue looming and that is transgenic potatoes. Monsanto cleverly marketed back in the late 90’s a transgenic potato labeled as “New Leaf” , they touted them as the “environmentally responsible” choice because their “built-in pest protection” allows farmers to decrease pesticide use. Because of consumers concerned with health issues companies like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and the company the makes Lays chips, Fritos, stopped purchasing potatoes that were genetically modified so they were taken off the market in 2001. So what is next for Monsanto and the GMO controversy!
It’s just so ridiculous that we process our commercial potatoes so they don’t sprout! Why? Purely for aesthetics. It makes no sense.
I agree, Mike!