“Earth Month can be every month, and we look forward to working with local farmers, supportive vendors and you. Together we can make a great meal and a great difference.”

Earth Month is a time to celebrate the wonders of our planet and all she offers. Looking closer at our food choices is an excellent way to participate because the food system is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns.

Link: https://drawdown.org/

It can be overwhelming deciding where to focus our attention; however, there are many options. Should I eat less meat, no meat, eat more grains, compost food waste, eat in season, eat local, eat organic, support smaller farms, shop at the farmers market, grow my own food, and reduce packaging? The breadth of possibilities is intimidating.

At Epicurean Group, we want to do our part for the planet too. After all, better food for the planet is also better tasting and healthier food for our customers who expect higher quality, earth-friendly options. Food budgets do have limits though. How can we make your food dollars go farther in an environmentally positive fashion?

A helpful tool used in our kitchens is the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen. Updated annually by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in their 2022 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce, this list uses USDA data to compile the fruits and vegetables grown with the most and least amount of pesticides. Forty-six types of the most popular produce eaten in the U.S. are tested by rinsing inedible and edible peels under cold water and then measuring for pesticide residue. EWG studies show more than 70% of non-organic produce sold in the U.S. contain some residues after washing and prep.

Link: https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3261237-pesticide-residue-found-in-over-70-percent-of-non-organic-us-produce-report/

Our kitchens keep earth-supporting values in line with budgets by featuring organic versions of top offenders, the so-called Dirty Dozen, such as strawberries and spinach. Conversely, we save money by serving conventional versions of the Clean 15, or produce with the least amount of pesticide residues, such as pineapple and avocados. With a goal of at least 25% organic food in our kitchens, Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen provides a cost-effective tool to advise and control purchasing.

When you walk into an Epicurean Group kitchen, you’re greeted by an entrance table that hosts a Farm Board (local map of our farm partners), along with materials such as Clean 15 Dirty Dozen charts that help us (and now you too) learn tips and tricks on making better food choices. Earth Month can be every month, and we look forward to working with local farmers, supportive vendors, and you. Together we can make a great meal and a great difference.

Key findings of the 2022 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce:

CLEAN 15

• Almost 70 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no detectable pesticide residues.
• Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest produce – less than 2 percent of samples showed any detectable pesticides.
• Just under 5 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had residues of two or more pesticides.

DIRTY DOZEN

• More than 90 percent of samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines, and grapes tested positive for residues of two or more pesticides.
• Kale, collard, and mustard greens, as well as hot peppers and bell peppers, had the most pesticides detected, 103 and 101 pesticides in total, respectively.
• A single sample of kale, collard, and mustard greens had up to 21 different pesticides.
• On average, spinach samples had 1.8 times as much pesticide residue by weight as any other crop tested.