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Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

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81–90 of 196 posts

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#81
post #23

This is part of the reason I really want to move out of the U.S. Other countries are much more strict with what they allow in their food. I understand that I can pay more for organic produce and meat, but for a supposedly first-world country, you'd think decent produce would be a given.

I was under the impression organic farms just use organic pesticides.

From what I have read organic farming regulation allows plenty of bad stuff to be used.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#82
post #23

This is part of the reason I really want to move out of the U.S. Other countries are much more strict with what they allow in their food. I understand that I can pay more for organic produce and meat, but for a supposedly first-world country, you'd think decent produce would be a given.

Oh yeah. Well in Europe one reason the food tastes so good is there's running water there. In USA you only get brine unless you're on a farm, or collecting rainwater.

What are you talking about? There's plenty of rivers in the US.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#83
post #58

I can't wait until vertical farming becomes cheap enough to overtake traditional farming methods. Pesticide use will be a thing of the past while all of our food is grown locally in controlled environments. Optimizing for food taste instead of pesticide or weather resistance. Not to mention the reduced carbon footprint (due to transportation), significant decrease in water usage, and increased efficiency.

The excuse to legalize all these pesticides and genetic food was to feed the hungry in the 3rd world. What actually happened is we are eating it, the companies are making more money and kids are still starving in many parts of the world.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#84
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes me sad that we need ultrasonic washers for fruit and vegetables.

For most of agricultural history people didn't eat raw vegetables at all, and only some raw fruits. Before the advent of modern agriculture night dirt was a common fertilizer and a serious vector for disease. It's still unsafe to ear raw fruits and vegetables in parts of the world with bad sanitization. I know a few people who have gotten seriously ill consuming fresh pressed fruit juice in North Africa.

It's a nice anecdote, but I've lived and travelled in various African countries and never been sick from consuming fruit, vegetables or pressed juice. I'd be much more worried about eating poorly butchered and stored meat. The idea people throughout history didn't eat raw fruits and vegetables is also quite wrong.

Again, after living in rural communities, they largely eat what they can get - which includes a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. Of course meat is important, but no more important than nuts, berries, tubers etc.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#85

I'm no fan of communism, but one thing I think communism did better is that allotment gardens and and small cottage gardens where much more attainable under communism for poor people. So even poor people could grow their own food. I live in Ontario where the price of real estate is bonkers. If you own land, you can't even build a shed without there being a main building. And you can't build anything under 800 sqft. T…

Germany and Switzerland have allotment gardens today; communism isn't required.

In the US we had victory gardens during times of war rationing. I personally grow one still today, but not everyone has the space, time and inclination to learn how to grow plants and preserve a harvest.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#86
post #57
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad analogy. Cultivating more resistant humans would raise a bunch of ethical questions.

That's the point of the analogy. Use of pesticides in some part allows us to have stable and cheap access to food. There are similar ethical arguments to be had about restricting pesticides.

Most wealthy westerns only see/know abundance. Pesticides, GMOs, these things prevent famine in most of the world.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#87
post #23

This is part of the reason I really want to move out of the U.S. Other countries are much more strict with what they allow in their food. I understand that I can pay more for organic produce and meat, but for a supposedly first-world country, you'd think decent produce would be a given.

Stay. Vote and help change the system.

If you remain a US citizen while living outside the US, you can still vote in US elections.

That way you can vote with your feet and your ballot.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#88
post #23

This is part of the reason I really want to move out of the U.S. Other countries are much more strict with what they allow in their food. I understand that I can pay more for organic produce and meat, but for a supposedly first-world country, you'd think decent produce would be a given.

So you'd rather everyone pay more for food based on your personal preferences? Even though there's a lot of evidence that these foods are entirely safe...

Yes, it's perfectly safe to spray poison, which is meant to kill living beings, onto food. Absolutely. Common sense is wrong, of course. Poison is safe. Any evidence suggesting otherwise is obviously just fabricated.

Gasmasks, used when applying insecticides manually, are just for show. Laws outside of the US, which prohibit certain use of chemicals, are just random.

Common sense prevails yet again.

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#89

As an Austrian I would never touch the food that comes out of the US. Never. The title alone makes me raise an eyebrow, because from my perspective this isn't just obvious , but well known.

The title of this is plain ridiculous. The primary "health benefit" of eating food is that you dont die of hunger. Are all american vegitairians dead ;) Or do people live of meat and petrolchemicals?

Re: Pesticide residues could negate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables

#90
post #58

I can't wait until vertical farming becomes cheap enough to overtake traditional farming methods. Pesticide use will be a thing of the past while all of our food is grown locally in controlled environments. Optimizing for food taste instead of pesticide or weather resistance. Not to mention the reduced carbon footprint (due to transportation), significant decrease in water usage, and increased efficiency.

>Not to mention the reduced carbon footprint (due to transportation)

it takes something like 2.5 MWh per square meter per year to raise plants indoors

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