EWG publishes a yearly guide to pesticide intensity and potatoes have never made the list but my own bias is to be most wary of foods that grow in toxic soil. Here in NYC organic potatoes are almost everywhere including the farmers markets, Trader Joe, Whole Foods and local markets and they are super easy to grow if you have any yard at …
EWG publishes a yearly guide to pesticide intensity and potatoes have never made the list but my own bias is to be most wary of foods that grow in toxic soil. Here in NYC organic potatoes are almost everywhere including the farmers markets, Trader Joe, Whole Foods and local markets and they are super easy to grow if you have any yard at all.
That potato availability is great for northeast folks. I'm in the northern Rocky mountains, and conventional production in Idaho, eastern Washington, Utah, Dakota dominates the markets. I was a weekly vendor at 4 farmers markets, organic potatoes were as scarce as hen's teeth. They never penciled/sold.
Consider conventional potato culture-before planting the ground is fumigated to a depth of 12-18 inches, they are sprayed with fungicides while growing, then sprayed again before harvest to kill weedy competition, and finally sprayed with another chemical to retard sprouting/rot after harvest.
Here's a list of 35 pesticide residues found on spuds by the USDA Pesticide Data Program that EWG relies on.
The former chair of the National Organic Standards Board, Jeff Moyer, said he's talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. Ditto for me.
EWG publishes a yearly guide to pesticide intensity and potatoes have never made the list but my own bias is to be most wary of foods that grow in toxic soil. Here in NYC organic potatoes are almost everywhere including the farmers markets, Trader Joe, Whole Foods and local markets and they are super easy to grow if you have any yard at all.
oops the link https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/five-lesser-known-foods-high-in-pesticides.php
That potato availability is great for northeast folks. I'm in the northern Rocky mountains, and conventional production in Idaho, eastern Washington, Utah, Dakota dominates the markets. I was a weekly vendor at 4 farmers markets, organic potatoes were as scarce as hen's teeth. They never penciled/sold.
Consider conventional potato culture-before planting the ground is fumigated to a depth of 12-18 inches, they are sprayed with fungicides while growing, then sprayed again before harvest to kill weedy competition, and finally sprayed with another chemical to retard sprouting/rot after harvest.
Here's a list of 35 pesticide residues found on spuds by the USDA Pesticide Data Program that EWG relies on.
https://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=PO
The former chair of the National Organic Standards Board, Jeff Moyer, said he's talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. Ditto for me.
Excellent update and link.. always appreciate learning more, thanks!! :~)