Photographed by Maria Del Rio.
Tea is often touted as one of the healthiest things you can consume. But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful about what kind we pick up from the supermarket shelves — a study shows that many popular brands contain GMOs and dangerously high levels of pesticides.
Celestial Seasonings took an especially hard hit. Data from the analytics company Eurofins show that pesticides in 91% of the brand's tea that was sampled exceeded U.S Federal limits. Lipton, Bigelow, and Mighty Leaf — all of which have deceptive "natural flavors" labeling — also contained both pesticides and GMOs. Brands free of pesticides include Allegro, Numi, and Choice, all of which are USDA-certified organic. So, the lesson learned? Add tea to your list of organic must-buys if you want to avoid all those dreaded pesticides. (Collective Evolution)