Skinny Bitch_ Ultimate Everyday Cookbook - Kim Barnouin [12]
Locating a Farmers’ Market Near You
To find a farmers’ market or a certified-organic farmer near you, there are a number of great websites to visit:
LOCAL HARVEST: A kick-ass resource, Local Harvest gives you access to a nationwide community of family farms, small farms, farmers’ markets and other local and organic food sources near you. The website features products of the month, farm events, and produce subscriptions to get your fresh fruits and veggies dropped off on your doorstep. www.localharvest.org
FARMERS MARKET: This resource offers a detailed directory of farmers’ markets across the country, with a basic blog on socially conscious thinking and products. www.farmersmarket.com
EAT WELL GUIDE: This site gives the conscious consumer the opportunity to find farms, farmers’ markets, and restaurants within a one-mile to two-hundred-mile radius, on a global scale! Check out the fun and energetic Green Fork blog, designed to keep you up-to-date on sustainable trends. www.eatwellguide.org
LOCAL FARM MARKETS: This website gives similar access to a nationwide directory of local farmers’ markets with cool resources for being a smart consumer. www.localfarmmarkets.org
THE DIRTY DOZEN
To buy, or not to buy, organic. Just another one of life’s conundrums. You have a hard enough time finding socks to match, now you have to concern yourself with which produce goods are best purchased with the shiny organic sticker? I know, you need a hug.
Well, I am going to make it really easy for you. Are you familiar with the Dirty Dozen? It’s the Environmental Working Group’s high-profile list of the fruits and veggies that are the most toxic when grown “conventionally” (non-organically). To give you an idea of just how high the risk is, I have also included a score below each. The score indicates how many samples of each good on a scale of one to one hundred, have been found to be pumped with pesticides. The higher the score, the uglier its chances. No ifs, ands, or buts: these are the ones you need to buy organic.
PEACHES: This plump, delicious fruit is sprayed on a weekly basis, from March until harvest, with an assortment of pesticides and fungicides. It is considered the worst on the Dirty Dozen list, according to the EWG. Pesticide Rating: 100
APPLES: Talk about taking a bite out of crime. Around forty pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are approved for use on apples. Pesticide Rating: 93
BELL PEPPERS (Red and Green): Growers add their own concoction of toxic spices from among fifty approved chemicals and insecticides, typically sprayed two to six times on the pepper crops during their growth cycle. Pesticide Score: 83
CELERY: The FDA suspects that celery is the most likely candidate for pesticide residue, due to its ability to absorb a number of toxins through the soil and groundwater. And if the FDA suspects it, then you know it’s dirty. Pesticide Score: 82
NECTARINES: Ouch. Nectarine trees take a beating for several months with various pesticides, fungicides, and petroleum-based horticulture oils. Pesticide Rating: 81
STRAWBERRIES: Ms. Shortcake would not be a happy camper. More than sixty-five different pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides are registered for use on these babies. Pesticide Rating: 80
CHERRIES: Let’s skip the cherry on top. Cherries are naturally attractive to insects and pests, and susceptible to viruses and fungal diseases. Yummy! Pesticide Rating: 73
KALE: Newer to the Dirty Dozen list, kale has been found to have ten types of pesticide residue, post-rinse. Yikes. Pesticide Score: 69
LETTUCE: Leafy greens are considered to be contaminated with the most potent pesticides used on food—fifty of them to be exact. Pesticide Score: 67
GRAPES (Imported): The USDA mandates that all grapes imported from Chile be fumigated with methyl bromide when they arrive at the U.S. ports. What a welcome! Pesticide Rating: 66
PEARS: Pear crops bear more than fifty nasty chemicals. Pesticide