Name your poison

There are days when becoming a full fledged Luddite feels the most sensible course of action. This is one of them. For all the comforts and convenience technology provides, we too often forget the price we pay. From our oil addiction to our insistence on cheap, unblemished food, we're poisoning the planet and and our bodies.

Of course we know that the produce we buy in the chain supermarkets is made possible through chemistry, but it's useful to remember we routinely ingest an alarming amount of poison.

Most alarming are the fruits and vegetables dubbed the “Dirty Dozen,” which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides. Celery, Peaches, Strawberries, Apples, Domestic blueberries, Nectarines, Sweet bell peppers, Spinach, kale and collard greens, Cherries, Potatoes, Imported grapes and Lettuce.

I also read somewhere in the last couple of days that cancer deaths are on the rise. One has to wonder if the increasing reliance of factory farms on chemicals has something to do with it. [Via Balloon Juice]

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]