2. Corn-Fed Beef

The expert: Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of books on sustainable farming

Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed
their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for
slaughter. A recent comprehensive study found that compared with
corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E,
omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and
potassium.

3. Microwave Popcorn

The expert: Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group,

Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of
the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to
infertility in humans. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver,
testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes
the chemicals to vaporize — and migrate into your popcorn.

4. Nonorganic Potatoes

The expert: Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that
wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes they’re treated with
fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to
kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they’re dug up, the
potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting.

5. Farmed Salmon

The expert: David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany

Nature didn’t intend for salmon to be
crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken
feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher
in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame
retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT.

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

The expert: Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

Milk producers treat their dairy
cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is
also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder
infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of
a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high
levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

7. Conventional Apples

The expert: Mark Kastel, codirector of the Cornucopia Institute

If fall fruits held a "most doused in pesticides contest," apples
would win. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a
higher body burden of pesticides with Parkinsons disease.