On 6/3/04 12:15 PM, in article , "Nick
Apostolakis" wrote:

hello

i was wondering about the answer to a question and i would like to hear
your opinion.


lets say that we have a vegetable that is sprayed with a pesticide.
the pesticide says that after 15 days it gets degraded to non toxic
elements.

i think that it is a common case among the various pesticides and
fungucides.

if i pick up a vegetable 2 days before the pesticide deadline finishes
and store it in a refigerator is the pesticide going to dissolve as if
the vegetable was on the plant?

the point of my question is that i do not know what exactly the term
degrade means for the various agro chemicals.

it could mean that it is unstable anyway and disolves by its own no
matter where the vegetable is stored

or it could mean that it is dissolved by some biological or physical
factors (e.g heat or some bacteria) etc

what is your opinion and practice about this?

thank you
Wow, what a great question and a difficult one to answer! It's difficult
because most of us just don't know. AND most of us haven't even asked
ourselves that same question!
Because I can't answer your question directly, I wish I could, I'm going
to offer an alternative answer and an alternative solution:
MY Alternative Answer:
Wash all your vegetables before eating and before they go in the fridge
or put in a bowl on the counter top. This is not any guarantee that there
won't be traces of a pesticide, fungicide, etc. left on the produce,
unfortunately.
There are many different chemicals used for different vegetables and
fruits. The ones I can think of are oranges, bananas and potatoes that
relate to what I want to say.
Everyone, who cares about nutrition, knows that the most nutrients are
close to the skin of a vegetable or fruit. I can't say that I have ever
eaten a banana peel! (sprayed to turn it yellow) Or an orange peel! (sprayed
for a reason I can't remember) (Some recipes call for orange peel...oops!)
But, potato peels on a baked potato, yes. I enjoy the texture, the
crunchiness and knowing that 'that¹s where the nutrients are!
I have often wondered about sprays used on potatoes after they have been
harvested. Potatoes are sprayed with a chemical to stop them from
sprouting...to preserve them. I wonder just what will that spray do to me if
I eat the skin of a potato so sprayed....
My Alternative Solution:
Certified organic farmers are not allowed to use any of the above sprays
or pesticides, herbicides etc. on their fields. (Regulations vary from area
to area across the world). Certified organic farmers really put their
talents to test when pests appear. They have to find alternative ways to
combat them...they cannot use the fast and easy way of killing the bugs with
insecticides because they know that they are also killing the predators of
the same bugs.
If you have ever tried to plant and grow potatoes that you bought from a
grocery store you will know that they will not grow. They have been sprayed!
I recently went into a store and they had several different kinds of
potatoes. It was easy to find the certified organic ones...they were
sprouting! The sprayed ones 'looked' perfect! I bought the certified organic
ones...
In conclusion:
Worried about sprays? And so you should. We all should. Eliminate the
doubt and support your local certified organic farmer. He is working his
tail off to preserve the predator insect by not using insecticides which in
turn means you don't have to worry about insecticides on your produce. And
you can eat the skin too!
That's the way it was and the way it should be.
Gary
Fort Langley BC
Canada

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