{"id":12669,"date":"2011-06-10T12:13:54","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T18:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=12669"},"modified":"2011-06-10T12:13:54","modified_gmt":"2011-06-10T18:13:54","slug":"my-dirty-dozen-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/my-dirty-dozen-list\/","title":{"rendered":"My Dirty Dozen List"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Environmental Working Group (EWG<\/a>) puts out a “dirty dozen<\/a>” list each year based on a criminally misleading interpretation of the USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service, PDP pesticide residue data<\/a>. \u00a0The data actually demonstrates that the pesticide residues on foods are virtually all lower than the strict tolerances that have been set by the EPA. \u00a0What the EWG completely ignores is the information on what chemicals the pesticide residues represents, what level was detected, and what is known about the toxicity \u00a0or ecological effects of that chemical (kind of a large omission). \u00a0They also fail to mention that each year only 18 or so commodities are tested, so whether a certain fruit or vegetable ends up on the “Dirty” list is really mostly a function of having been included in the PDP study in the first place. \u00a0To make matters worse, EWG treats every “detection” the same, even though the risk associated with different residues can easily vary by a factor of 10 million or more. \u00a0The press generally covers this nonsense in a completely uncritical fashion, and the net effect<\/a> is that Americans consume less fresh produce and that only exacerbates our obesity-promoting diet.<\/p>\n

I thought it would be good to post my personal list of dangerous foods based on more than 30 years of experience with food and agriculture. \u00a0I am generally very confident in the safety and quality of the global food system, particularly the American food industry, but there are foods that I definitely avoid! \u00a0Here is the list:<\/p>\n

1. Bean sprouts or any other kind of sprouts<\/p>\n

2. Organic corn chips<\/p>\n

3. Foods sweetened with “fruit juice concentrate” from China<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Nutmeg from India<\/p>\n

5. Foods containing transfats<\/p>\n

6. Peanuts from Africa<\/p>\n

7. Organic, “ready to cook” meals<\/p>\n

8. Raw milk<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0Agave nectar<\/p>\n

10. Artisan breads with whole wheat “berries”<\/p>\n

11. Brazil nuts<\/p>\n

12. Raw peanuts in the shell<\/p>\n

Here is my logic for each of these commodities. (Click the page link below to continue)<\/p>\n

Skull image from\u00a0Simon Strandgaard<\/a>.
\n<\/p>\n

\"bean<\/a>
Bean sprouts: a candidate for the "dirty dozen?"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1.\u00a0Bean sprouts<\/h3>\n

It is no surprise that the source of the recent, disasterous German E. coli outbreak was bean sprouts<\/a>. The growing conditions for making\u00a0bean sprouts<\/a> (and other sprouts) are perfect for growing human pathogens like\u00a0E. coli<\/em> or\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>, and the presence of manure and\/or compost on Organic farms simply increases the chance of contamination. \u00a0Remember that it was a farm in transition to Organic that caused the spinach-based outbreak in the US a few years ago. \u00a0I would only eat sprouts if they were well irradiated.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Nutmeg from India<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of moist conditions and poor storage,\u00a0nutmeg produced in India is often contaminated <\/a>with the fungus,\u00a0Aspergillus flavus<\/em>.\u00a0This fungus produces one the the most toxic substances known to man –\u00a0Aflatoxin<\/a>. \u00a0It is this toxin that I am trying to avoid for several items on this list.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Organic corn chips<\/h3>\n

Corn damaged by insects is often infected by the fungus Fusarium moniliforme <\/em>which makes the mycotoxin, Fumonisin. \u00a0Consumption of Fumonisin by pregnant women has been linked to higher rates of neural tube defects in their children. \u00a0Conventional corn is now much less likely to be contaminated <\/a>because it is protected by the GMO, Bt trait. \u00a0Organic growers cannot use this trait, so their corn is much more likely to be contaminated.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Foods sweetened with “fruit juice concentrate” from China<\/h3>\n

Many people trying to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup and processed sugar believe that products with “fruit sweeteners” are better. \u00a0These now mostly come from China with no adequate system to check for old, nasty\u00a0organophosphate<\/a> insecticides that are widely used on crops like apples and pears in China. \u00a0This is a source of pesticide residues that even I am concerned about.<\/p>\n

5. Foods containing transfats<\/h3>\n

When the press and food manufacturing industry over-reacted<\/a> to a linkage between “saturated \u00a0fats” and heart disease, there was widespread use of “partially hydrogenated soybean oil” which turns out to be far, far worse for our hearts because it is a form of fat that never occurs in nature. \u00a0I have been avoiding this fat for at least 25 years before it was widely recognized as dangerous.<\/p>\n

6. Peanuts from Africa or Asia<\/h3>\n

Fortunately there are few exports of peanuts from Africa or Asia. \u00a0These crops are frequently contaminated with Aflatoxin<\/a>. \u00a0Liver cancer is a leading cause of death in those regions because of this mycotoxin. \u00a0Fortunately, the Gates Foundation is funding the development of a fast and cheap test <\/a>so that people can detect the contamination and avoid it.<\/p>\n

7. Organic, ready to heat meals<\/h3>\n

Conventional herbs and spices can be irradiated<\/a> so that they don’t carry pathogenic bacteria into the recipes where they are used (these are dried outside with no protection from bacterial or fungal contamination). \u00a0For well cooked foods this is not an issue, but in the fast-growing, “ready-to-cook” segment, these ingredients are mixed in long before heating by the consumer, giving the bacteria time to grow. \u00a0That is an excellent recipe for food poisoning.<\/p>\n

8. Raw milk<\/h3>\n

Drinking raw milk<\/a> is like playing Russian Roulette. \u00a0Sooner or later the drinker will get severely ill. \u00a0It is particularly dangerous for children. \u00a0Louis Pasteur figured this out in the 1880s and there is no good reason to stop “pasteurizing” milk.<\/p>\n

9. Agave nectar<\/h3>\n

A major Foodie fad is to eat foods sweetened with “Blue Agave Nectar.” \u00a0It makes a nice story because it has a lower glycemic index and that makes it easier for a diabetic to control their blood sugar. \u00a0It turns out that you get more than the sweetener, you get carcinogenic compounds <\/a>which, as a leading toxicologist puts it, “light up the rat bladder cancer screen.” \u00a0I think I’ll stick with sugar.<\/p>\n

10. Artisan breads with whole wheat “berries”<\/h3>\n

Wheat can be infected with Fusarium head blight<\/a> and that fungus often makes the mycotoxin called vomitoxin or DON. \u00a0The US and Canadian grain elevators do a good job of diverting most of the bad grain to alternative uses or to an incinerator, but grinding the wheat to make flower also does a good job of diluting what gets through that filter and getting DON down to levels that don’t effect anyone. \u00a0The practice of using whole “berries” in artisan breads means that you can get enough vomitoxin in one piece of bread to make you sick.<\/p>\n

11. Brazil nuts<\/h3>\n

Brazil nuts are a wild crop which grows in the rain forest. \u00a0The local indigenous people collect nuts that have fallen to the ground. \u00a0The problem is that you don’t know how long the nut was laying in the mud before it was collected. \u00a0One Brazil nut can easily contain enough aflatoxin to kill you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

12. Raw peanuts in the shell<\/h3>\n

Peanuts can also be infected with Aspergillus flavus<\/em> and contain aflatoxin. \u00a0In the US peanut industry, the peanuts are shelled and then the exposed nuts are sent down a line through a beam of \u00a0infrared light. \u00a0If they fluoresce, a puff of air removes them from the line and they are discarded. \u00a0The same is done with Almonds and pistachios. \u00a0With peanuts “in the shell” there is no such screening step. \u00a0It is not worth the risk to eat them.<\/p>\n

You probably noticed how many of these dangerous crops involved aflatoxin. \u00a0For people in the US and Europe, there isn’t much risk, but fortunately, there is a way you can reduce the risk even further. \u00a0When eating something that might have traces of aflatoxin (e.g. nuts, peanut butter), be sure to include a green vegetable with the meal. \u00a0The chlorophyll that makes it green binds with aflatoxin <\/a>so that you don’t absorb it in your digestive system and it is just peed out. \u00a0So, one of the best ways to reduce a REAL<\/strong> risk is to eat the very vegetables that the EWG wants to scare you away from eating.<\/p>\n

Bean sprouts image from little blue hen at Flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/a>. My website is Applied Mythology. My email is savage.sd@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a “dirty dozen” list each year based on a criminally misleading interpretation of the USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service, PDP pesticide residue data. \u00a0The data [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":12677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[3653,5013,5014,1214,4726,5015,20,5016,3937],"yoast_head":"\nMy Dirty Dozen List • Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/my-dirty-dozen-list\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/my-dirty-dozen-list\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Dirty Dozen 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