OTA on USDA pesticide data

Consumers wishing to avoid pesticide residues in food, water and on farms have a simple choice: choose organic products, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) points out. The annual Pesticide Data Program (PDP) summary released by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service shows significant differences in pesticide residue levels measured on organic fruits and vegetables compared with their chemically grown counterparts. (Picture: Whole Foods in Tampa / Florida)

As to be expected, organic fruits and vegetables on a whole have far fewer levels of pesticide residues than conventionally grown produce. In addition to the already recognised benefits of organics, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA has just acknowledged that organic food is no more susceptible to food-borne pathogens than conventional produce.

While the entire organic sector is growing at over 8 % in the USA, organic fruits and vegetables are the fastest-growing category of organic products in the country, growing by 11.8 % in 2010 to reach nearly US$ 10.6 billion. Organics represent nearly 12 % of all fruit and vegetable purchased in the USA. Data collected by USDA’s Economic Research Service show that although organic cropland and pasture accounted for only about 0.6 percent of U.S. total farmland in 2008, this percentage was far surpassed by organic carrots, representing 13 % of the carrot acreage in the country, and organic apples, representing 5 % of apple acreage.

OTA