Do You Know When To Buy Organic?
Most of us cannot afford to buy 100% organic when we grocery shop- I know I can’t. Here’s some information to help you decide what foods are better, i.e. healthier, when organically grown: the Environmental Working Group (EWG) advises that consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and only eating the cleanest ones. If consumers get their USDA-recommended 5 daily servings of fruits and veggies from the 15 most contaminated, they could consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Consumers who eat the 15 least contaminated conventionally grown produce ingest less than 2 pesticides daily. The “dirty dozen” are the foods with the highest concentrations of pesticides and chemicals — even after washing and peeling, so buy organic whenever possible.
12 Most Contaminated:
(Buy organic when possible)
- peaches
- apples
- sweet bell peppers
- celery
- nectarines
- strawberries
- cherries
- pears
- imported grapes
- spinach
- lettuce
- potatoes
15 Least Contaminated
(Okay to buy non-organic)
- Pineapple
- Honeydew Melon
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Mangoes
- Sweet Potato
- Onions
- Eggplant
- Sweet Peas
- Asparagus
- Cabbage
- Avocado
- Sweet Corn
To download a free copy of the Environmental Working Group’s Shopping Guide To Pesticides™, click here. For more information on saving money while going green visit Life The Green Way.