I’m pretty sure I’d rather remove the dirt from my vegetables, but you do you.

You can also read the studies that show mechanical action (brushing, rubbing) under running water effectively reduces the bacteria count https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X2...

It’ll never be sterile, but it doesn’t need to be for a healthy human. Probably shouldn’t be either.

That link makes my day and confirms so much I wondered about food cleanliness theater.

It's gross but I tend to leave a tiny bit of dirt on my potatoes. I think it's an emotional callback to your point that it might not be great for our food to be completely sterile.