Organic is important for both your health and the Earth, and organic is about much more than just food. But organic is more expensive. To help maximize your buck, you can focus your organic shopping on the foods that have the heaviest levels of pesticides.
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated (conventionally grown) fruits & veggies. If consumers get their USDA-recommended 5 daily servings of fruits & veggies from the 15 most contaminated, they could comsume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat the 15 least contaminated (conventionally grown) produce will ingest less than 2 pesticides a day. (Obviously, you avoid all pesticides by eating organic.)
The EWG publishes the list of the most and least contaminated (conventionally grown) foods based on statistical analysis of testing conducted by the USDA and the FDA. This list reflects measurable pesticide residues on the parts of the food that is normally consumed (i.e. if peel is not consumed, peel does not count).
1. Peaches
Multiple pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards. Can’t find organic peaches? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges and grapefruit.
2. Apples
Like peaches, apples are typically grown with the use of poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Scrubbing and peeling doesn’t eliminate chemical residue completely, so it’s best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.
3. Bell Peppers
Peppers have thin skins that don’t offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They’re often heavily sprayed with insecticides. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli and cabbage.
4. Celery
Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include broccoli, radishes and onions.
5. Nectarines
There were 26 different types of pesticides found on tested nectarines.
6. Strawberries
If you buy strawberries out of season, they’re most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries and kiwi.
7. Cherries
Even locally grown cherries are not safe. In fact, cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, raspberries and cranberries.
8. Kale
Traditionally kale is known as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, but it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, asparagus and broccoli.
9. Leafy Greens (i.e. various types of lettuce)
Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.
10. Grapes
Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape’s thin skin. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries and raspberries.
11. Carrots
In Europe pesticides commonly used on carrots, parsnips and onions will be banned within the next decade. The U.S. has yet to catch up with its European counterparts, so organic is the way to go with carrots. Can’t find organic? At least be sure to scrub and peel them. Safer carrot alternatives include sweet corn, sweet peas and broccoli.
12. Pears
As insects become more resilient to the pesticides used on pears, more and more chemicals are used. The safest bet is to go organic. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include honeydew mellon and mangos.
Runner Up: Potatoes
America’s popular spud appeared on the previous dirty dozen list, although it has slipped off the most current version. However, EWG analyst Chris Campbell points out that potatoes are now “just off the list,” so you should still try to buy organic when possible. Potatoes also get the double whammy of fungicides added to the soil for growing. Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include eggplant and earthy mushrooms.
It’s also important to remember that this dirty dozen list provides no information about antibiotics or hormones, or about the impact of producing food on the surrounding environment. For this reason, here are some of the most important foods to buy organic, when taking a more holistic approach.
Meat
For overall environmental impact, meat is the king of foods, even if it’s not the most likely to have pesticide residue per se. But raising animals with conventional methods means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease on crowded feed lots, and both pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow the grain fed to the animals. Additionally, it takes many times the water and energy to raise one meal’s worth of meat than it does one meal’s worth of grain.
Consumers looking to avoid meats raised with these substances can seek out certified organic meat. To meet USDA standards, this meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics. Searching out cuts from grass-fed animals ensures that you’re eating meat from an animal that was fed a more natural diet, and looking for a local source of meats cuts down on the environmental cost of transportation.
Milk
Pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in human breast milk, so it should come as no surprise that they have been found in dairy products, too. Organic dairies cannot feed their cows with grains grown with pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics or growth hormones like rBGH or rBST.
Coffee
Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries that don’t regulate use of chemicals and pesticides. Look for the USDA Organic label to ensure you’re not buying beans that have been grown or processed with the use of potentially harmful chemicals.
Go a step further and look for the Fair Trade Certified label to ensure that your purchase supports farmers who are paid fairly and treated well. To complete the trifecta, look for shade-grown varieties, then you know the coffee is being grown under the canopy of the rainforest, leaving those ancient trees intact, along with the wildlife that call them home.
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Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Cup of soy yogurt, baby carrots & celery with hummus, and strawberries
Dinner: Veggie lasagna
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 1:00 am and is filed under Organic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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