In response to the Environmental Working Group’s release of its annual Dirty Dozen list, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) posed a “half dozen” inconvenient questions to highlight the lack of science and conflicting information inherent in the list.  For the last 20 years the EWG has inaccurately disparaged many of the most popular fruits and vegetables through the issuance of this list. 

To correct and counter the misinformation promoted by EWG, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) provides science-based information to consumers which clearly show the safety of these popular fruits and veggies and the nutritional benefits of eating more – conventional and organic.

Matt McInerney, chair of the alliance management board and executive vice president of Western Growers said, “Science can prevail and effectively counter rhetoric and inaccuracies generated and perpetuated by activist groups.  By providing consumers with peer reviewed science, analyses by university scientists and experts plus access to credible spokespersons, inaccuracies and common misperceptions about produce safety and pesticide residues were countered and corrected by the (alliance) informational campaign.” 

As a complement to McInerney’s comments, Marilyn Dolan, Executive Director of the Alliance for Food and Farming said, “This group continually issues confusing and conflicting information targeted toward consumers.  One day they are calling safe and healthy produce ‘dirty’ and ‘toxic laden’ and the next they are stating they are ‘best’ foods. This simply isn’t helpful and studies are beginning to show this type of conflicting information may be having a negative effect on consumers.”

The AFF also maintains a website that provides more information on the safety of organic and conventionally grown fruits and vegetables.  The site features a popular calculator which consumers can use to see how many fruits or vegetables they could eat in a day and still not see any effects from residues that may be present.