washing non-organic produce

[findingmywayback]

@runaway887 Not sure how that relates to my point that avoiding pesticides is not "extremely granola".

Again, I don't even use sprays, but it's annoying how hostile this sub is to basic crunchiness when it's supposed to be the sub for crunchy moms, as if there aren't ten other subs for mainstream parenting. That's all.

 

[runaway887]

@findingmywayback My comment was in response to you falsely equating taking extra measures beyond a vigorous water wash with caring about whether you eat pesticides or not.

I’m sorry you experience hostility, but taking the granola identity, which is being exploited by the organic food industry, and sharing it as fact is what a lot of people choose this sub over a dedicated granola sub to avoid. This will always be a challenging space because what draws people to this sub is not uniform, but as a biologist and a science communicator I can’t watch people share misinformation about things like food safety and not (politely) say something.

 

[godislove99]

@runaway887 Re: "Multiple studies have found no higher pesticide contamination risk from non toxic organic produce."

I think there are lots of reasons to buy organic, especially for the health of the farm laborers and the environment/ecosystem health.

How pests are managed varies from farm to farm. Like you say some organic farmers just use different chemical pesticides/herbicides, but there are also farmers who manage pests using plastic sheeting or greenhouses and no spray. Then you have restorative and biodynamic practices and farmers who don't use spray but also can't afford the Organic sticker on their produce.

I'm not an expert but I have worked on a number of farms. One of them was conventional tomatoes, zucchini and cantaloupe. My cousin developed a rash all the way up her arms from handling the produce (after it had been washed) after only 2 weeks of work. I got a nasty GI bug a few weeks later. That same farm then became one of the top organic producers I would see in grocery stores in Nova Scotia (Nightengale farms from ON). Suffice to say their organic produce is probably not doing any one any favors (they probably have 'organic' pesticides like you mentioned). I imagine the mega organic farms supplying costco etc. are the same.

I also try to buy organic when I can though I wonder about the difference between these organic pesticides and conventional ones. At least I'm not supporting Monsanto and i know my food is non-GMO when I buy organic

Probably everyone here already knows the Best organic food is purchased directly from the farmer/rancher or from a company that can vouch for those relationships and the quality of the farm. Not only for pesticides avoidance, but because farmers that properly ammend their soil grow food with more vitamins and minerals (and flavour!)

Long post! I'm hungry! Any other crunchy moms WOOFed before? Iykyk

 

[thedisaffected]

@nolongerchaff Wash with baking soda with filtered water

 

[lpadr009]

@nolongerchaff To be honest, I just don't buy the dirty dozen unless it's organic.

 

[raykelley]

@nolongerchaff When I have time - I soak in baking soda and water then rinse. Otherwise I scrub real good with Castile soap, peel it, and hope that's good enough

Edited to add that the water here is heavily contaminated with PFAS... So I wonder just how much soaking my produce is poisoning our food I buy reverse osmosis water for drinking and cooking but I'm not about to buy 2 gallons just to wash down the drain...

 

[shiney77]

@raykelley where did you find info on PFAS in your water? i've been wanting to check mine, but actually found it somewhat hard to look up.

 

[raykelley]

@shiney77 Oh it's public knowledge where I'm at. Been all over the news for years for this town. Actually my entire state is pretty bad but the little town I'm in is REALLY bad. They also keep issuing out warnings for that 1,4 dioxane stuff here... Sometimes things get so bad that they offer FREE reverse osmosis water for town residents...

There's also this but I can't remember if it says anything about PFAS. I don't think it's been updated since 2021 though

https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/

 

[dbd]

@nolongerchaff I like Trader Joe's fruit and veggie wash. I agitate the produce in a large bowl filled with water and a squirt of solution. It is only a few bucks at TJs. Amazon also has it marked up here with reviews if you want to look into it https://a.co/d/g1lmOzm

 

[gakuseidon]

@nolongerchaff Sprouts sells an organic produce spray that removes a ton of stuff, I prefer it to the vinegar/baking method. I do two cycles of a generous spray & shake for ~1 minute, and then I rinse in RO water. For large produce like tomatoes, apples, etc I just use soap TBH (but not castille because it leaves a weird taste/residue)

 

[kristeen]

@nolongerchaff I douse everything in hypochlorous acid, organic or not.

 

[ikon]

@nolongerchaff I soak in baking soda water then rinse extensively.

 

[marke2]

@nolongerchaff You should also be aware that organic produce, especially berries, is full of tiny bugs and insects. Take a strawberry, bang it on black paper, and you can watch bugs run out of it. I've done it, and taken a video of them.

Most of the EWG "Dirty Dozen" non-organic version is also full of bugs. There's a reason why they use pesticides on them.