Support Local, Eat Organic

We have always been told that fruits and vegetables are the best kinds of food for us. However, in this industrial age, a lot of commodities are being mass-produced, especially and not surprisingly our food supply. As such, most of our food is either being heavily processed or adulterated through commercial agricultural practices. And with urbanization inevitably comes an imbalance in the ecosystem, leading to a compromise in the quality of the soil our food is grown in. The point I’m driving at is that even the healthiest foods we know now are not of the same naturally high quality as the foods our ancestors had, due to several factors related to urbanization. This is not, however, to discourage you from eating food that is best for your body, but to bring an awareness of the quality of food that we have and the conscious (food) choices we need to make.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an American nonprofit organization specializing in environmental and public health through research and advocacy in the areas of toxic chemicals, agricultural subsidies, public lands, and corporate accountability. With their efforts over the years, they have pushed companies to give up potentially dangerous chemicals in their products and improve their practices.

Every year since 2004, EWG has been publishing lists of fruits and vegetables as tested by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for pesticide residues. They came up with the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean Fifteen.” Basically, these lists are guides for us to know which fruits and vegetables we need to choose as organic as often as possible due to pesticide residues that may cause health hazards.

Since a lot of the fruits and vegetables on the lists are Western, we can just refer to the local counterpart or relative of these produce as reference. This year’s list are as follows:

DIRTY DOZEN

1. Strawberries

2. Spinach

3. Nectarines

4. Apples

5. Grapes

6. Peaches

7. Cherries

8. Pears

9. Tomatoes

10. Celery

11. Potatoes

12. Sweet bellpeppers

CLEAN FIFTEEN

1. Avocados

2. Sweet corn

3. Pineapples

4. Cabbage

5. Onions

6. Frozen sweet peas

7. Papayas

8. Asparagus

9. Mangoes

10. Eggplant

11. Honeydew melon

12. Kiwi

13. Cantaloupe

14. Cauliflower

15. Broccoli

From my recent readings on the EWG though, there are conspiring organizations against their advocacy. But, whether this list may be true or not, I think it wouldn’t hurt to be on the safe side and have a habit of preferring organic produce over commercially grown ones. After all, wouldn’t you be more comfortable about the idea of consuming fresh produce from small scale, local farms using all natural pesticides rather than produce from commercial farms that use formulated chemical pesticides?

Fortunately, we have the Cebu Farmers Market, one of the, if not the first, private organization that hosts local organic and natural farms to make their produce available and accessible to us urban folks. You can visit them at the following locations on the corresponding schedules:

Mondays — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mango Square Mall (lot behind National Bookstore)

Wednesdays — 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at EchoStore, Streetscape Mall, Banilad

Saturdays — 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. at Vibo Escario Axis

I believe it’s always best to source fresh produce from the nearest local farm or farm outlet and at the same time support our farmers who toil hard to offer us good quality food. The best quality fruits and vegetables are those that are in season and grown in conditions that suit them best, where transit time from farm to table is the shortest. Hence, support local organic/natural farms!