Just in case you wanted to know...

Complements of a [concerned and heavily informed] 'Shanghai Mama'...

Top Fruits And Vegetables To Buy Organic

These are the cut-n-pasted combined "top" lists from two organizations. Funny how they weren't exactly the same produce on each list, but oh well! This is reflective of the U.S. farming but from all I can gather, having spoken with Professors and Environmental activists in China is that the pesticide usage in China closely mirrors the U.S. However, even more concerning, is that there are a range of additional blackmarket (cheaper, "illegal" whatever that means here) synthetic chemical pesticides being used in place of the "regular" pesticides (which you'll see below still have some risks). Green Food Label ensures that only "legal" synthetic pesticides are used. A label such as OFDC from an Organic Certifying agency will ensure that no synthetic pesticides are used whatsoever, AND that the product is not from a Genetically Modified seed source.

Packaged products from the European Union are never GMO as their laws require manufacturers to put the GMO status on the label if it is. The GM foods listed below are not usually a problem in China. China is only now beginning to allow GMO staples such as rice, soybeans andcorn into the food supply intended for humans (though I understand that GMO foods have been grown a while for animal feed.) Some of the crops listed I feel ARE safer in China, such as Pears and possibly Apples, too...for sure the Chinese pears are much hardier,grow very easily wild, and are less fragrant than U.S. Bartlettpears, which require a lot more bug control. This list is not meant to "scare" anyone off of eating fruits andvegetables (the health benefits of eating plenty of fruits and veggiesprobably outweighs the risks of the contaminants) . Rather, this is meant to be a guide to what might be more important to buy Organic if at all possible, and why. By way of exclusion, if something does not appear on these lists, such as Avocados, it is considered a low-risk food no matter how it is grown. Out of this entire list, we are able to get all except Grapes and Bananas organic though not all are available all seasons and somethings like Raisins go out of stock for weeks on end.

And I have to disagree with the Bananas, this is why they do not appear on the first list, I think. Bananas are sprayed heavily but only after they are packed on the ships, not during the growth phase...so washing the outside carefully is adequate, the pesticide does not travel to the interior unless the peel is damaged or migrates on one's hands if left unwashed. ~Liora

List #1
Peaches, Apples, Pears, Winter Squash (gourds, pumpkins), Strawberries, Green Beans, Grapes, Strawberries, Raspberries, Spinach, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Cantaloupe, Bell Peppers, Cherries, Celery, Apricots

WHY to buy only organic of the following:
Peaches: Summer's blushing fruit contains high residues of iprodione,classified as a probable human carcinogen by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) and methyl parathion, an endocrine disruptorand organophosphate (OP) insecticide. Methyl parathion has causedmassive kills of bees and birds. According to Consumer Reports, singleservings of peaches "consistently exceeded" EPA's safe daily limit fora 44-pound child.
Apples: Apples may contain methyl parathion. Both fresh apples and baby foodapplesauce can also contain chlorpyrifos, an OP which has caused largebird kills. CORE Values IPM apple growers are trying to phase out OPs.
Pears: Pears, both fresh and in baby food, can also come with methylparathion, as well as the OP azinphos-methyl, which is toxic to freshwater fish, amphibians and bees.
Winter Squash: Dieldrin, a chlorinated, carcinogenic insecticide, exceeded the safedaily limit for a young child in two-thirds of positive samples. Another potent carcinogen, heptachlor, also showed up. DDT and itsbreakdown product, DDE, were detected in baby food squash.
Green Beans: Green Beans can contain acephate, methamidophos and dimethoate (threeneurotoxic OPs), and endosulfan, an endocrine-disruptin g insecticide,which showed up in baby food, too. Acephate disorients migratingbirds, throwing them off course.
Grapes: U.S. grapes contain methyl parathion and methomyl, a carbamateinsecticide listed as an endocrine disruptor; imports may containdimethoate.
Strawberries: The enhanced red color of strawberries comes from the fungicidecaptan, a probable human carcinogen that can irritate skin and eyes,and is highly toxic to fish. While the lethal soil fumigant methylbromide doesn't show up on the fruit, it has harmed California farmworkers, and depletes the ozone layer.
Raspberries: Watch out for more than thorns! These berries can contain captan,iprodione and carbaryl, a suspected endocrine disruptor that has alsobeen found in plum baby food.
Spinach: Permethrin, a possible human carcinogen, and dimethoate dominatespinach's toxicity ratings, but CU notes that residue levels have beendeclining as U.S. farmers reduce use of these insecticides. DDT hasbeen found in spinach, which leads all foods in exceeding safetytolerances.
Potatoes: Pesticide use on potatoes is growing, CU warns. They may containdieldrin and methamidophos, and children eating potatoes risk gettinga very high dose of aldicarb, CU says.

---- -from another site:
Note: In an update to its 1999 report, Consumers Union announced two more foods high in chlorpyrifos or other pesticide residues: tomatoes and cantaloupe.

High-Pesticide Food: Bell peppers
Main Nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy Alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, romaine, lettuce

High-Pesticide Food: Cherries
Main Nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy Alternatives: Oranges, blueberries, raspberries, kiwifruit,blackberries, grapefruit

High-Pesticide Food: Mexican cantaloupe
Main Nutrient: Vitamins A and Cand potassium
Healthy Alternatives: U.S. cantaloupe grown from May toDecember, watermelon

High-Pesticide Food: Celery
Main Nutrient: Carotenoids
Healthy Alternatives: Carrots, broccoli, radishes, romaine lettuce

High-Pesticide Food: Apricots
Main Nutrient: Vitamins A an C and potassium
Healthy Alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, oranges, tangerines

http://www.checnet. org/healthehouse /education/ quicklist- detail.asp? Main_ID=241andhttp://www.care2. com/greenliving/ 242.html

______ _another site I found does not cut and paste well, it depends on the formatting too much to look good but here goes anyway!

http://www.kidsorga nics.com/ 10%20Most% 20Important% 20Foods%20to% 20Eat%20Organic. h\tm

(Listed in order of importance)LIST #217 Most Important Foods to Eat Organic

1. Baby Food. The very young are extraordinarily susceptible topesticides. Here are some organic baby food brands, Earth's Best, Tender Harvest, and Healthy Times, which are available for your baby's safety and health. Or better yet, make your own baby food by cooking and pureeing organic produce. See "Make Your Own Baby Food".
2. Strawberries. Enjoy them while they are in season from local organic farms or buy frozen organic strawberries from your local whole market.
3. Rice. Domestic rice is splattered with mega-doses of pesticides, and now, the chemicals companies are producing "pharm" rice used to produce and store pharmaceuticals. Buy organic rice where you can find it and store it in an airtight container. It stores very well.
4. Green and Red Bell Peppers. Super sources of Vitamin C, but wrought with pesticides. Buy organic, or, better yet, grow your own. Seeds of Change has a plethora of organic seeds, and pepper plants prove to be a hardy bunch!
5. Got Milk? We hope not, at least, not from conventionally raised cows. Today's commercial brands are loaded with antibiotics and growth hormones. Make sure your milk and other dairy is from organically- fed cows without the extra rBST, rBGH and antibiotics. If you are feeding your child goat milk, and/or goat products, be aware that our science community has now genetically mutated a goat to spin silk in her milk. See the New Scientist article.
6. Corn. Corn is typically not a scale tipper when it comes to pesticide residues. But, take into account that 75- 90% of all domestic corn has been genetically- modified, that the average American eats 11 pounds of it, that most cooking oils include corn oil, and that most everything is sweetened with corn syrup, and suddenly, buying organic corn and corn products, makes more than a little sense.Eat local organic corn in season and freeze some for later, or, leavesome kernels to dry, and plant them in the spring.
7. Bananas. This tropical favorite has a short window of ripeness and a very long distance to market (quick, how many local banana farms does your town have?). All of which adds up to a lot of heavy chemical dousing along the way.
8. Green Beans. Over 60 different pesticides are used on greenbeans. Even beans used in baby food have been found to be contaminated.
9. Peaches. Nothing beats a peach. Until you realize that theyoften have the highest rates of illegally-applied pesticides. Isn't that just peachy . . .
10. Apples. A decade after the dangers of Alar were exposed, apples are still soaked in pesticides. Put only organic apples in your pie.
11. Cherries. Cherries, so expensive, so rich, so fabulous, . .. so heavily doused in poison. Make sure that the cherries in your Cherries Jubilee or Bing Cherry Ice Creams are as clean and wonderful as they were meant to be.
12. Celery. Why would anyone think of spraying the heck out of that innocuous little stem vegetable?! But they do. Stay organic, the taste of organic celery will amaze you and make you a celery-nibbler once again.
13. Apricots and Grapes. Apricots, Peaches and Grapes, what would summer be without them? Less toxic! Keep conventionally grown fruits and veggies, and their pesticide residuals, out of your system or minimize them with a vegetable rinse, such as the one by HealthyHarvest.
14. Soybeans. If you are not yet a label-reader, it is time to start. Everything you buy, from bread to cookies to crackers to margarine to dry mixes, has some sort of soy product in it. Most soybean in the USA is genetically- modified. So, why the fuss over modified soy? Monsanto, in an effort to increase the use (and profit potential) of Round-Up Ready, spliced the herbicide into soybean plantDNA. No matter what you or I do, we can never wash RoundUp Ready herbicide off the soybean--ever. It is "permanently imbedded".
15. Potatoes. Mashed potatoes are delicious and worth the calories, unless they're laden with pesticides or have been genetically- modified. When genetically modified, potatoes impair the immune system and shrink the brain, liver and heart. So, mash a clean, real, organic potato and forgo the new-fangled monstrosity. Got soft, green-sprouting organic potatoes? Don't toss them, bury them!
16. Raisins. Concentrated little grapes, concentrated levels of pesticides. Many years ago I heard them called "Poison Pellets" and that has always stuck with me.
17. Cucumbers. Ever wonder why this delicious crisp vegetable was losing its appeal on your palate? Yep! The answer is, once again, pesticides. The answer to pesticides, is, once again, go organic, or grow your own. :)

I guess I'm not the only one concerned about things like this, especially here in China. :) Anyone want to help me buy a farm? It looks like we'll need a lot of land...

USE BLEACH:
I have been told by a couple of people, my mom included, that to solve the veggie/fruit problem as far as icky contaminants, is to fill the sink up with your veggies, etc and lots of water and then add a dab (about 1 tablespoon) of bleach. I'm not sure if it works for the pesticides as well, but it's definitely supposed to be an effective way to get rid of other distasteful and potentially harmful contaminants, ie, feces, bacteria, etc.