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A comment on Traces of 122 different pesticides in 12 most polluted fruit and veg products. Parent comment

Re:Traces of 122 different pesticides in 12 most polluted fr... by Nicksil on Saturday October 02, 2021 @05:50PM (#28732388)
>the (magnitude of) risk isn't certain yet, but it's unlikely zero, given our history of poorly quantifying the harmfulness of a variety of substances. a reasonable hedge is to buy organic for the dirty dozen and non-organic for other produce. eat less processed sugar regardless, whether you replace it with fruit or not.

If the goal is to reduce ingestion of substances applied to crops, then what you describe is not a reasonable hedge as both "organic" and conventional crops use pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. You're better off saving your money by buying conventional produce than spending extra money on the purchase of the same thing.

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Re:Traces of 122 different pesticides in 12 most polluted fr... by marcorx on Saturday October 02, 2021 @06:58PM (#28732875)
The residue of pesticides in food is significantly lower, at least in EU. [1]

Some useful points:

- EFSA reports show that conventional agriculture exceeds the approved maximum residue levels more often and by a higher margin

- A study in Sweden reveals a significantly higher (70x) exposure in conventional food vs organic

[1] https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-...

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Re:Traces of 122 different pesticides in 12 most polluted fr... by thrwn_frthr_awy on Saturday October 02, 2021 @06:03PM (#28732508)
It’s not about reducing substances–it is about substances that are healthy.
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Re:Traces of 122 different pesticides in 12 most polluted fr... by Nicksil on Saturday October 02, 2021 @06:13PM (#28732582)
>It’s not about reducing substances–it is about substances that are healthy.

I agree that such substances should not post a risk to human health, but there is no argument that organic crop products are any better for humans than conventional products.

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