Civil Eats

A young female farm worker picking fruit in Washington’s Yakima Valley came to see Dr. Matthew Keifer after pesticides being sprayed in an adjacent orchard wafted onto her. She arrived with red, swollen eyes and itchy, irritated skin—classic symptoms of exposure to Paraquat, a common weedkiller that can cause kidney, heart, and liver problems.

Keifer suspected the Paraquat had made her sick, but proving those suspicions was impossible: For many pesticides, no tests exist that would show, definitively, whether or not a person been has exposed to the chemical. Had a test existed, Keifer’s patient would have been able to to file a workers compensation claim that, if successful, would have covered the costs of her medical care and given her paid time off while she recovered. Instead, she went without. Read More

The idea behind the Environmental Working Group (EWG)’s Dirty Dozen list is a simple one. Many of the growing number of eaters who have been swayed by the benefits of organic food still can’t afford it 100 percent of the time. So, by compiling EPA and USDA data on the amount of pesticides left on foods when they are ready to be eaten (once they have been washed and peeled), EWG created a list ranking nearly 50 conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. The 12 at the top earn the “Dirty Dozen” moniker and the 15 with the least reported pesticide residue get listed as the “Clean 15.” Read More

On Friday, leaders from the House of Representatives and the Senate introduced legislation to establish a federal ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in all food and beverage containers. The bills, which are identical, are sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Read More