What is the ‘Dirty Dozen’ and Why Not To Trust It
Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a list of the dirtiest fruits and vegetables based on the level of pesticides they have. However, do we have to worry about these “toxic pesticides” or even the list as a whole? Keep reading to find out.
About Environmental Working Group
The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit organization that advocates in the areas of toxic chemicals and subsidies. They are also funded by organic organizations such as Organic Valley that can lead to speculation of bias. Secondly, many of their board members sell dietary and detox products. Sarah Schlichter, a registered dietitian, explains that the Dirty Dozen list can "actually induce more fear in consumers about consuming fruits and vegetables and detract from the ability to meet recommended fruit and vegetable consumption.”
The Environmental Working Group uses data conducted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create the list. The USDA conducts samples of pesticide restudies on 10,000 food samples and publishes them. The Environmental Working Group sees the foods with the post residues and adds them to the list.
Limitations to the Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen uses fear mongering and is based on faulty science. Toxicologist Carl Winter explains that “It is unclear how the EWG could make such a statement since the methodology used to rank the various fruits and vegetables did not specifically quantify consumer exposure to pesticide residues in such foods.” The EWG’s ranking doesn’t state the specific toxicity levels of any the foods. Researchers at The University of California stated that children would have to eat “hundreds of thousands of servings of fruits or vegetables laden with pesticides” for any major health effects. As stated before, the Dirty Dozen envokes fear in costumers and does not count pesticides in organic foods. Keep buying produce and do what seems safe to you. You can learn more about specifics on data below.
https://www.agdaily.com/insights/dirty-deception-ewg-dirty-dozen/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensavage/2018/04/10/the-inconvenient-truth-about-the-environmental-working-groups-dirty-dozen-list/?sh=61fe8412562a
https://www.verywellfit.com/updated-dirty-dozen-list-5118491
Goodman, Steven. "A dirty dozen: twelve p-value misconceptions." Seminars in hematology. Vol. 45. No. 3. WB Saunders, 2008.
