Well, simply put, if you can buy it organic - do! But with everyone tightening their belts amongst this rocky financial arena and the prices of organic produce being ridiculously high compared to its conventional counterparts, we can be smart about it.
Luckily, we have some wonderful organizations that can help us make the right decisions. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has done extensive research on the most common produce and pesticide levels. Pesticides have been linked to nervous system damage, cancer, lowered immune systems, and endocrine problems. In short, this is what EWG has found:
Buy the following ORGANIC (because they tend to have the highest pesticide loads):
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Grapes (imported)
- Carrots
- Pears
And the following is pretty low on the pesticide list and can be bought CONVENTIONALLY grown:
- Onions
- Avocados
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapple
- Mangoes
- Asparagus
- Sweet Peas
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Papaya
- Watermelon
- Broccoli
- Tomato
- Sweet Potato
For an extensive list of about 50 foods and the order of the pesticide levels, and more information about your foods,you can visit their website at www.foodnews.org.
