Golf course fruit

by Jessica
(Minneapolis)

My parents live on a golf course where a pear tree thrives. I'm curious, is it safe to eat the fruit? They already have been and I just had a piece that tastes great! I know they use a lot of chemicals at golf courses, so any thoughts? Thanks!

Hi Jessica, personally, I might not eat fruit that is grown on a golf course due to the excessive chemical pesticides they use, but as your parents are already living there, it won't make one iota of difference to eat the fruit. It's a personal choice, if you think you want to risk it. After all, people have been eating chemically laden fruit for over a century now - most orchards use chemicals at least to control weeds.

I would avoid eating the fruit if they're using certain herbicides as in men in their child producing years, these can cause birth defects in their kids. Not worth it, right?

I might limit the amount, just in case they are loaded with any kind of chemicals. You might want to check with the groundskeeper to see what kind of chemicals they're using.

Sorry I can't give you much more information than that, as I grow everything organically just to avoid any such issues!

Best of luck,
Jacki