Evan Pham, a first-year undeclared student, is willing to spend money on organic foods because he said he thinks a person’s health is one of the most important things in life. If a fruit or vegetable has an edible peel, he purchases them organic.
“You eat the skin of an apple; that’s where all the chemicals and pesticides are,” he said.
Though the skin of produce is rich in nutrients, some may contain harmful pesticides.
Ninety percent of chemicals from pesticides are on the peel, and 60 to 90 percent of pesticides can cause cancer, said Weimin Deng, a staff research associate at the UCLA Plant and Growth Center.
The impact of pesticides on the body can be damaging. Pesticides may cause cancer, infertility, birth defects, hormonal problems and nervous system damage, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research organization.
A study on farmers and migrant workers shows that they have a higher risk of cancer because they are exposed to pesticides more often. There were also pesticides in the urine of children who ate non-organic produce while the urine of those who consumed organic foods contained none, said James Barnard, a professor of physiological science.
Yet one cannot be certain that pesticides are the direct cause for certain diseases.
“The problems of pesticides is (that) the response is not immediate,” Barnard said. “It is very hard to prove.”
Pesticides have to be tested in isolation, but the environment is exposed to all different kinds of chemicals that may affect the results of the tests, Barnard said. Since 1970, 70,000 new chemicals have been introduced.
By eating some of the most contaminated fruits and vegetables, one is exposed to about 15 different pesticides a day, according to the Environmental Working Group.
Keeping these health risks in mind, it is ultimately the individual’s decision whether to peel the skin from the produce before consumption, said Susan Bowerman, the assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition.
She also said that avoiding the skin of produce means avoiding fiber and special pigments such as anthocyanin in apples, a pigment that has been attributed to reducing the risk of heart disease.
“No one should avoid fruits and vegetables for fear of pesticides; the health benefits of these foods overwhelm any possible risk,” according to Consumer Reports.
Furthermore, a red apple has about 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C, Barnard said. If one peels the skin off the apple, the vitamin C content is cut in half.
But, it is difficult to tell whether the produce is organic or not.
For example, the heirloom tomato has seeds that have been traditionally used for thousands of years. Because these seeds are ancient, people think that they are organic, but they are not, Deng said.
When shopping for organic foods, consumers should always look for the United States Department of Agriculture seal, according to the Environmental Working Group.
The foods that are not organically grown have numbers on their seals that start with four. The numbers for produce that are organic start with nine and are state-certified, meaning that they meet certain criteria, Barnard said.
However, labels cannot always be trusted. For fruits and vegetables, the USDA organic seal does not ensure a 100 percent pesticide-free produce.
Though the produce is grown in an organic farm, pesticides could still exist from a neighboring farm. “Pesticides drift, and they end up in the area designated as organic,” Barnard said.
Organic foods continue to be a popular topic. The development of organic supermarkets is increasing by 25 percent each year while that of normal supermarkets is decreasing by 5 percent each year, Barnard said. The organic Whole Foods supermarket’s stock more than doubled during the last couple of years.
“I think our society is beginning to realize that chemicals are not good for the body,” he said.
Deng said that, currently, more people are searching the Internet about information about organic foods.
“Seems that people are taking more care of themselves. Some people have newer knowledge,” he said. “It’s good that people want to buy organic foods.”