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You ask, we answer. Find all of our frequently asked questions or ask your own by visiting Get Answers.

QUESTION:

I was hoping you would be to help me better understand the use of pesticides.

I recently asked a local farm that provided strawberry picking whether they used pesticides, their response was that "Although they don't use a large amount of pesticides their crops are lightly sprayed"

A week later while at a farmer's market I inquired if their rapsberries were sprayed and his answer was pretty much the same, making a point to tell me that the plant is only lightly sprayed and thats before the raspberries have even started forming. Does it matter? Another local farmer mentioned that on her farm that certain crops are sprayed during their season but not others.

Well now i'm confused! Does the amount of pesticide used matter? Should I feel safer that they're lightly sprayed rather than being heavily sprayed? And about the farm that uses pesticides on some crops and not others, wouldn't one contaminate the other?

I usually try to buy organic when possible, I also know that buying local is important. But i'm not sure which is more of a priority, buying local ( lightly sprayed with pesticides) or buying organic?

Your insight would greatly appreciated it.

Thank You

ANSWER:

First, I have a blog post about this very subject at Q&A: Organic vs Local (non-organic) Produce, but I think this is an important topic that warrants further discussion.

To answer your specific question, "pesticides" is a very broad term that includes substances with a wide range of toxicity, from not very toxic to highly toxic. And then there is the amount of pesticide use, obviously less is better than more. The very best would be no pesticide at all, and the very worst would be a huge amount of very toxic pesticide.

When the farmer says they spray lightly, that's better than sprayed heavily. When they say that they sprayed before the fruit formed, that's better than spraying the fruit. But you really need to know the name of the pesticide they sprayed so you can look up its toxicity.

For one's own health, the best choice is always organic. Local is important too as the food is not only fresher, but it greatly reduces the pollution created in shipping, which affects our health indirectly through air pollution.

When faced with the choice of organic or local, I personally choose organic.

That said, it's very important to create and support local sources of organic food. My husband and I do this by growing food organically in our own backyard and helping others do the same. We support whatever local organic food there is, but where I live we really need more.

We all need to be working on creating and supporting more local organic food. Find out what organic food is available where you live and figure out what you can do to help create more.

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