Why Organic?

One of the first things that I tell someone looking to clean up their diet is to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables, especially raw fruits and vegetables. Many people are in the dark about whether or not they should buy organic, and whether it is worth the price tag. My answer is typically this: If you’re not eating enough fruits and vegetables now, you are better off eating more of them whether they are organic or not. However, we all have at least trace amounts of pesticides in our bodies already, and eating organic produce rather than pesticide/fungicide/herbicide-treated produce will at least keep you from taking in much more of it. If you can’t afford to go completely organic (I’m in this demographic myself), the Environmental Working Group has put together a list of the fruits and vegetables with the highest amounts, and lowest amounts of pesticides after conducting over 43,000 test on produce in the United States. My suggestion is to always buy organic at the top of the list, and don’t bother paying for the organic stuff on the bottom of the list. Here is the list from www.foodnews.org

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies
1 Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65
11 Spinach 60
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 55
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 46
19 Oranges 46
20 Grapes-Domestic 46
21 Cauliflower 39
22 Tangerine 38
23 Mushrooms 37
24 Cantaloupe 34
25 Lemon 31
26 Honeydew Melon 31
27 Grapefruit 31
28 Winter Squash 31
29 Tomatoes 30
30 Sweet Potatoes 30
31 Watermelon 25
32 Blueberries 24
33 Papaya 21
34 Eggplant 19
35 Broccoli 18
36 Cabbage 17
37 Bananas 16
38 Kiwi 14
39 Asparagus 11
40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41 Mango 9
42 Pineapples 7
43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44 Avocado 1
45 Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)