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Should I Be Afraid of the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen”?

Should I Be Afraid of the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen”?

Sensational stories of pesticide-tainted foods circulate every year, but be aware of the “spin.” Every agricultural chemical must be approved for use on each specific crop – with stringent regulations. Both environmental (EPA) and public health agencies (FDA) scientists establish exponentially safe tolerance levels for human ingestion, fieldworker safety, with stringent intervals between application and harvest to minimize post-harvest residues. The U.S. Department of Agriculture randomly tests fruits and vegetables for chemical residues and produces an annual summary.

Modern technology can detect residues of one part per billion or smaller, but what is the true risk? We can easily measure residues so insignificant that they pose no scientific risk to humans. It is reassuring to have such a sensitive safety net, but USDA, FDA, and The Center for Disease Control have constantly reminded us that minute detectable traces pose very little risk.

These agencies are actually checking for the rare cases where residues exceed legal tolerance, so they can take quick action to remove questionable product from our food supply. For example, apples topped the “Dirty Dozen” list, however USDA findings showed only 1 in 744 (0.0013%) were out of tolerance. Scary stuff or data manipulation?

The annual “Dirty Dozen” list comes from an organic advocacy group who portray trace residues as a mandate to purchase organic produce – with no scientific basis. Now, I certainly do not oppose organics, and consumers deserve freedom of choice. Unfortunately organics are less readily available and often cost a premium, so they are not a viable option for a large segment of consumers.

The Environmental Working Group is free to advocate organics, however they do a disservice to the general public by creating paranoia about their “Dirty Dozen” products. Instead of complimenting farmers on their high level of compliance, EWG portrays scientifically insignificant residues as potentially harmful. They use a USDA report that reflects good regulatory compliance by farms to create consumer apprehension over the most valuable elements of a healthy diet. Such misleading information can trigger avoidance of fruits and vegetables.

Alliance for Food and Farming: Read Actual USDA Pesticide Report, Not Re-Interpretation

Simply rinse in clean water before eating. Remember what you already know is true – fresh fruits and vegetables are good for consumers, whether they’re organic or conventional.

Let’s try to simplify. All pesticides are poison, but the toxicity danger is in the dose. If you do a chemical analysis of coffee, or even organic milk you can detect minute traces of shocking things. Municipal drinking water often has an arsenic tolerance level of 10 parts per billion. However these are all considered scientifically harmless in the small doses we ingest. The important thing to remember is eating fresh fruits and vegetables has undeniable health benefits and have been proven to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.

Of course all consumers, and especially parents, need to be reasonably concerned and informed. But don’t be overly influenced by special interest groups like Environmental Working Group – or me either for that matter!  Go to the established health authorities for sound scientific recommendations. Read more.

Experts now recommend half of your food consumption should be fruits and vegetables. Our farms are proud that America’s food is among the safest in the world, and our regulatory agencies work hard to maintain that standard – with irrefutable health benefits. So please enjoy your safe fruits and veggies with confidence!

Newly bred hybrids in field trial – each tagged for specific evaluation

No, I’m not talking about seafood. I’m referring to the fact that strawberries have eight sets of chromosomes – compared to two sets in humans. Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside, and every strawberry has about 200 seeds.

However each seed can be genetically different, so commercial strawberries are never grown from seeds. For the purposes of genetic improvement they are carefully crossbred in a controlled laboratory environment. And with all the variables, strawberry breeding takes on a whole new level of difficulty!

Not only is the task genetically complex, but also the desired results can vary depending on the priorities of different segments of the industry. Nurserymen want plants with vigorous growth characteristics (lots of runners) and the endurance to withstand the ordeal of transplanting.

Growers want early fruiting, a compact bush for ease of harvest, high productivity, and no runners (so the plant’s energy goes toward fruiting instead of vegetative growth). Everyone wants disease resistance, good cosmetic qualities (shape, internal & external color, size, etc.), and most important of all is FLAVOR and aroma. Good looks sell ‘em, but flavor is what brings consumers back for more.

Plants in a protected greenhouse are tagged after cross-pollination

Traditionally breeding has been an “educated” process of matching specific parent varieties with known desirable traits to see if the offspring exhibits improvement. Even with very selective breeding, only about 3% of hybrid seedlings exhibit enough promise to advance to a second year of trial.

Farmers want to enhance the money gene

Every year, tens of thousands of seedlings are generated in environmentally controlled conditions, they’re grown to maturity, and the resulting fruit is evaluated. With some luck, a good commercial variety is patented after seven to ten years of controlled field-testing. Our latest release, named Winterstar™ ‘FL 05-107’, was first bred in 2005 – and it will be in some stores beginning in 2013.

Fortunately science is constantly improving, and after a great deal of work and collaboration, researchers have completed a mapping of the strawberry genome. Now that doesn’t mean anyone is rushing to do genetic modification in strawberries.

However it does mean that we are rapidly increasing our understanding about which part of the DNA toolbox controls specific traits. With marker assisted molecular breeding we can now begin to target specific traits such as flavor – without disrupting another beneficial trait such as disease resistance. This will speed up the process and allow scientists to breed better commercial varieties with fewer dead-ends. However we’ll keep making lots of plant crosses and growing lots of seedlings, because you never know when you’ll find a golden needle in the haystack!

In the post-game analysis of the good, bad, and ugly Super Bowl ads, the classiest candidate was certainly Paul Harvey’s appreciation of farmers. Both Dodge Ram trucks and the Future Farmers of America (FFA) deserve our applause for that beautiful production. You can see the actual spot below or by clicking here.

Every view raises another dollar for FFA, so watch it all day!

Paul Harvey says it more eloquently, but as I wrote at Thanksgiving – if you ate food today, thank a farmer. In a nation where less than 2% of the population feeds all the others, everyone is reliant on this hard-working group. Dependency on foreign oil is certainly problematic, but dependency on foreign food is downright frightening – both economically and strategically. So the American farmer needs consumer support in the marketplace. Look for “Grown in U.S.A.” on the label – almost 50% of our fruits and vegetables are currently imported – making American produce an already endangered species.

I must also add that the FFA is an amazing organization. They teach leadership skills, personal confidence, public speaking, and so much more while making it FUN. A couple of years ago they shortened their name from “Future Farmers of America,” and I hope it was not because young folks were stigmatized by being characterized as “farmers.”  FFA is a proud, well-educated, and full-of-energy group – just what we need for our future leaders.

As increasing world population is driving unprecedented food demand, our demographics show a frighteningly increasing average age of American farmers (more than 40% are now over 55) – compounded by a declining interest in younger generations to enter this demanding profession. FFA is instrumental in changing this “graying” of American agriculture, and we support them with donations, scholarships, and awards every year. Florida strawberries are also bucking this trend. Over half of our Board of Directors are in their 30’s with most representing second, several third, and even 4^th generation farms. In just the few short years I have been here, it is exciting to see the children of former Board members now providing the key directions for our organization.

Thank you, Mr. Harvey, for reminding everyone why God made farmers!