Monday, May 10, 2010

Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen

When is it a good idea to consider purchasing organic produce? According to the folks with the Environmental Working Group, you may wish to splurge (that is, buy organic) on those produce items that otherwise bear a heavy pesticide burden when grown using contemporary “conventional” methods.

In tough economic times, it may not always be an option to shop organic 100% of the time, therefore one strategy is to pick and choose your food products wisely using such tools as the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 shopper’s guide.

The Dirty Dozen for 2010 (buy these organic)
1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes

The Clean 15 for 2010 (lowest in pesticides when grown conventionally)
1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mangoes
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantaloupe
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet Potato
15. Honeydew Melon

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is really helpful! I knew about strawberries, but never would have guessed that celery would be pesticide-laden.