Spinach is the most pesticide-laden produce in America, EWG’s Dirty Dozen shows. But farmers say the list ‘villainizes’ fruits and vegetables

It may be Popeye’s source of supernatural strength, but spinach apparently can’t fight off bugs as effectively as the sailor fights off his adversaries. For the second consecutive year, spinach topped the Dirty Dozen list of conventionally grown produce with the most residual pesticides.

Published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) annually since 2004, the list is based on data from the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, which tests agricultural commodities. The program mimics the routine for produce in consumers’ kitchens, typically rinsing it for 15–20 seconds, before testing for pesticides.

While EWG publishes the list every year, the USDA does not test all categories of produce annually, so it relies........

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