Pesticides are a hotly debated topic. If you’ve ever spent five minutes on social media, you’ve probably heard someone say that conventional fruits and vegetables are toxic and “kill us,” that Cheerios are “covered in glyphosate,” and that we’re “killing ourselves.” You’ve probably heard this statement before. We should use the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists to guide our produce purchases.
On the other hand, there are people like me. For this post, we partnered with CropLife Canada to tell a candid story about pesticides.
For years, I have posted unsponsored social content about claims about organic foods, glyphosate and other pesticides, and the Environmental Working Group. Also, I recently spoke in the national media here in Canada about how organic fruit is better because the pesticides on conventionally grown fruit are not removed by washing (and they are). We reported on research that appears to be
It’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of spreading the truth about agriculture and pesticides. Also, most of the photos you see in this post were all taken by me on farm tours. There’s nothing like meeting a farmer in person, seeing how their farm is run, and being able to ask questions directly.
I would like to steer you away from the mass hysteria surrounding pesticides and provide some real facts. You have the right to decide what foods are right for you and your family, and we want you to make decisions based on accurate information.
What are pesticides?
Today we will be talking about agricultural pesticides, which is a collective term for herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides.
Herbicides suppress weeds that can overwhelm crops by competing with them for nutrients in the soil, water, sunlight, and space.
Without herbicides, crop fields would become fields full of weeds. If that happens, farmers won’t be able to grow as much food as they need.
Fungicides help prevent microorganisms that cause plant diseases such as mold, rust, and late blight. All of these can devastate crops, which is why the Irish potato famine happened. Without the invention of fungicides, farmers today would have lost about 60% of their potato crops.
On a similar note, I’ve heard from Dave Asprey, a particular nutrition “guru,” that coffee and peanuts should be avoided because they contain mold called “mycotoxins.” Maybe.
Mycotoxins are prevalent in some countries and are harmful to human health. However, mycotoxin problems in Canadian (and American) crops are very rare. This is because Canadian farmers use fungicides to prevent infection on food crops. How about that?
Pesticides, as the name suggests, are pesticides that prevent insects from destroying food crops by spreading diseases or eating the crops themselves.
The thought of chemicals in your food may sound scary, but you should resist the urge to cringe at the word “chemical.” Instead, we need to understand what the chemical is, how it is regulated and monitored, how it is used, how much of it is in our food, and whether it is at levels that are harmful to health. You should ask how much you need to take to reach.
Nutrition requires nuance. Nuance requires you to ask these questions. Random fear-based declarations such as “Strawberries are loaded with pesticides” or “Cereals are loaded with glyphosate” do not provide us with useful information. They aim to sensationalize the science-based and precise process of developing, testing, applying, and monitoring pesticides.
Here are three myths about pesticides.
Myth #1: Farmers spray pesticides on their crops.
There seems to be a widespread belief that conventionally grown crops are simply covered in pesticides. In fact, my social feeds were filled with comments making this claim, and nothing could be further from the truth.
First of all, when we repeat this myth, we are painting farmers as greedy, unintelligent people who deliberately poison our food to make money. That is a very insulting and inaccurate statement.
Being a farmer means making a living through uncertainty, hard work, and a true love of growing things that nourish your community, while doing your best to protect the environment. Without farmers, there would be no food. Let’s respect them and their work.
It is neither economically advantageous for farmers nor legal to overspray crops. Pesticides are expensive, so farmers don’t go out into their fields and orchards and run free sprayers. Not even close. Pesticides are also strictly regulated. Crops are monitored by authorities for pesticide levels. If the level is too high, the crop will not sell. Farmers don’t want that either.
It’s the 21st century. Most commercial farmers use precision agriculture using software, drones, and sensors to determine exactly where and how much pesticide is needed in each row of each crop. These systems ensure that our crops are as safe as possible for us and the environment.
I think there is very little room for guesswork in agriculture today and our romantic notions of what agriculture is like have been destroyed. It’s not a guy with a pitchfork and a checked shirt riding a tractor with wheat in his mouth. Rather, it’s like a man or woman who adopts the latest technology to increase yields, reduce waste, and minimize environmental impact.
Myth #2: Organic foods do not contain pesticides.
Organic farmers use pesticides for exactly the same reasons as conventional farmers: to minimize pests and crop damage and increase yields.
Organic farmers are not allowed to use most synthetic pesticides, but they are allowed to use “natural” pesticides, some of which are more toxic than synthetic pesticides. Organic crops may also require more pesticides per acre than conventional crops due to the lower efficacy of permitted pesticides.
This means that some foods that are certified organic may still contain trace amounts of synthetic pesticides. This does not mean that either type of food is unsafe to eat.
The fallacy of appealing to nature is often used in the marketing of organic foods. This manifests as the perception that organic food is more “natural” and therefore “better” or “healthier”.
None of that is true. When we buy and consume organic or conventional foods, there are literally minute amounts of pesticide residue in either food. It is measured in parts per billion.
What infuriates me is that so many people make such a fuss that our food is loaded with toxic pesticides and then drink alcohol, which is actually a toxin, in potentially toxic amounts.
As a nutritionist, my problem with people who denigrate conventionally grown foods, besides the fact that they use poor or non-existent data, is that they are trying to help others buy what they can afford. It is to discourage people from buying and eating crops within the range.
Only 1 in 10 people consume enough fruits and vegetables to begin with. We are told that non-organic produce is poisoning us, but if we can’t afford organic produce, we end up eating less produce or not eating it at all.
This is unacceptable.
Myth #3: The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen show which foods contain dangerous levels of pesticides.
As a new nutritionist, I regret recommending the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen to my clients. I think the more you know, the better the outcome.
I’ve talked a lot about EWG since then, and nothing I’ve said about it has been complimentary.
EWG is an activist organization. This is primarily supported by the organic food industry, which, by coincidence, appears to have EWG recommending the product over its conventional counterpart.
Their “research” involves setting their own “safety limits” for pesticides on food that are many times lower than the government’s scientifically proven safe limits. According to government standards, it is virtually impossible to consume enough food for pesticides to reach unsafe levels.
For example, you would have to eat about 280 apples every day over your lifetime to have health concerns related to pesticide residues. With that many apples, the shopping cart is almost full. I wish you the best!
Use this pesticide residue calculator to determine how many servings of your favorite fruits and vegetables you need to eat to get close to safe limits for pesticides.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) tests and monitors imported and domestically produced foods for pesticide residues and compares the results to maximum residue levels (MRLs). MRLs are set far below the documented safety levels for each pesticide, ensuring that consumers can consume food without any risk.
That being said, detecting pesticide residues in food does not mean that the food is “poisonous” or “toxic.” If any residue is present, the amount is small. The dose makes the poison.
Some “studies” use urine samples to prove that the pesticides we are ingesting are harming us. The detection of pesticides in a person’s urine does not mean that the person is poisoned or that a harmful amount of the pesticide has been ingested.
What we eat and drink is excreted in the urine. Finding pesticides in your urine means your body is removing them in its normal way. Prescription drugs, vitamins, hormones, Tylenol, beet red, and metabolic byproducts of food and alcohol can all be found in urine.
It is also important to understand that the MRL also takes into account the amount of each pesticide that we may consume during our lifetime.
CFIA also conducts an annual Children’s Food Project, which tests food for infants, toddlers, and children under 15 for pesticide residues.
A recent report found that 99 per cent of Canadian food, and 94 per cent of food imported into Canada, is well below MRLs for pesticides and contaminants including lead and mercury.
Organic foods are not safer than conventional foods. A 2011 study found that consuming organic produce did not reduce the risk of pesticide exposure.
Pesticides help lower food prices and increase access to food. These help farmers grow higher yields on smaller plots of land and free up more land for animals and birds.
Farmers are not using more pesticides on food crops; rather, the opposite is true. Pesticide application and monitoring methods have evolved over time, resulting in less pesticide use than ever before.
It is a deeply misguided and privileged view to shine a light on health on the organic food industry while demonizing conventional farmers and pesticide manufacturers. If you would like to learn more about how pesticides are helping farmers grow safe, healthy and affordable food, check out CropLife Canada’s resource “What’s the deal with pesticides?” This comprehensive guide explains the science behind pesticides, their role in sustainable agriculture, and how they help farmers protect their crops while ensuring food safety for consumers. We’re digging deeper.
