Now we're not supposed to eat blueberries??? Goll darn it.....

[a kennedy]

Blueberries, beloved by nutritionists for their anti-inflammatory properties, have joined fiber-rich green beans in this year’s Dirty Dozen of nonorganic produce with the most pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental health organization.

In the 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, researchers analyzed testing data on 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables conducted by the US Department of Agriculture. Each year, a rotating list of produce is tested by USDA staffers who wash, peel or scrub fruits and vegetables as consumers would before the food is examined for 251 different pesticides.

As in 2022, strawberries and spinach continued to hold the top two spots on the Dirty Dozen, followed by three greens — kale, collard and mustard. Listed next were peaches, pears, nectarines, apples, grapes, bell and hot peppers, and cherries. Blueberries and green beans were 11th and 12th on the list.

A total of 210 pesticides were found on the 12 foods, the report said. Kale, collard and mustard greens contained the largest number of different pesticides — 103 types — followed by hot and bell peppers at 101.

And here’s the list of the worst…..

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/health/dirty-dozen-produce-2022-wellness/index.html

[getagrip_already]

1. grow your own if you can.....

They are finniky with soil ph but not difficult to grow... if you have dirt to grow them in that is. And yeah, you will get them all at once if the birds don't eat them first.

[Phoenix61]

4. Sad story. I bought a ph tester because of that.

It kept reading a high ph so I kept trying to lower it. My poor blueberry bushes were looking really bad so I paid the $35 to get a real soil test. I had dropped the ph to 3.5. F$@$:g POS ph tester. I can’t believe they didn’t die. I’ve slowly got the soil back up to around 5 and they are much happier.

[Emile]

5. They love acidic soil. I put pine needles around my three bushes and

tilled in sand too. They said they wouldn't grow around here, but I proved them wrong! Much better than store bought!

The hardest part is keeping the birds from eating them and covering the blooms before a late frost.

[walkingman]

2. We simply cannot feed the world without using pesticides. Not enough

laborers and too many people. It's a feedback loop - grow more by using pesticides and GMOs and treat more disease.

[Sanity Claws]

3. Organic blueberries should be okay

Organic is more expensive but you can limit your organic purchases to the produce that tend to have the most pesticides.

[piddyprints]

6. Organic blueberries are ok.

They all taste like cardboard compared to the organic blueberries we grow. Ours thrive on neglect and produce berries for the entire month of June.

[hlthe2b]

7. Organic fruit is small and sucky, IMO. Even if you pay an arm and a leg at Whole Paycheck...

So, I will eat nonorganic because I think it is highly likely the health benefits of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables (even nonorganic) far outweigh the small increase in health risks from pesticides. Available studies support this, even if not fully conclusive.

[Pluvious]

8. The other problem with this wonderful berry is...

… how very high its sugar content is

A good friend of mine had to cut them out of his diet, being borderline diabetic 😟

[wnylib]

9. Uh-oh. I rely on blueberries in my morning cereal

to keep the arthritis aches and pains at bay.

In summer, I but them up locally at the farmer's market, where most produce is organic, and freeze them. By mid to late winter, I run out and buy non organic ones at the supermarket. Guess I'll have to switch to the expensive organic ones at the grocery store, along with apples and other produce.