A current hot topic in the world of food these days–ORGANIC-is it worth your hard earned money? After doing some research, here are my results. I searched reputable websites to provide the information that I feel is least likely to be biased. Two of those sites were WebMD and data provided from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The EWG was founded in 1993 and gathers information to protect children, babies, and infants from the harmful effects of pesticides. They also persuade agencies to rethink science and reshape their policies to reflect the protection of people, focusing mainly on children, babies, and infants—who are more susceptible to the effects of pesticides.
You may have heard of the “dirty dozen” of fruits and veggies. This list of produce has been found to contain the most pesticide and chemical residue. Some foods on the “dirty” list simply seem to draw up/retain more pesticides while the foods on the “clean” list simply…don’t. When information was provided, I have included how many pesticides and/or chemicals were found in the test sample.
I obviously haven’t listed each and every fruit and vegetable known to mankind…but this list is quite extensive and lists many of the most common fruits and veggies.
After focusing for the past 5 years on buying as much organic meat, produce, and dairy that I can fit into my budget…I have found that organic DOES often taste better. This was most evident to me when, while living in WA, I visited an organic farm. My friend belonged to their CSA (community supported agriculture) and I thought “Oh, organic is a bunch of hooey!” We were walking by a row of red raspberry bushes and were allowed a taste, so I plucked a raspberry off the vine and was an IMMEDIATE believer in organic…it was the MOST flavorful raspberry I’d ever tasted. It actually TASTED like a raspberry! After joining the CSA, I was amazed week after week by the quality and delectable flavor of the produce I found in my box. The strawberries were much smaller than those in my local grocery store…but they tasted AMAZING!! If you have an organic CSA farm in your area, give it a try…you just might love it! 
With all fruits and veggies, before preparing clean, with fruit & veggie wash (or under running water) and scrub with a produce brush—especially if you are going to cut into it (watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, etc). Remember….your knife is going to transfer anything from the outside into the portion you are going to eat—germs, dirty hands, pesticides…blech!
A note on coffee (I am including this here so you can print the bottom half with greater ease).
Simply put, other countries do NOT regulate the use of pesticides. I took my information from TheDailyGreen.com (a consumer’s guide to green living from Good Housekeeping). Here are a few helpful explanations of some jargon you’ll see on coffee packaging:
Shade Grown=preserves habitat for birds (aka Bird Friendly) and wildlife, many varieties being grown under the canopy of the rainforest (aka Rainforest Alliance)-thus preserving this resource as trees do not have to be removed to grow the coffee crop. Common feedback on the organic coffee is the taste is actually preferable to non-shade grown.
Fair Trade=farmers growing the coffee beans are paid fairly and treated well
To summarize, organic coffee DOES cost a little more, but with the benefits listed above—the price certainly does go to good causes.
Highlight and print the list below and tuck it into your wallet or purse for reference when shopping at the store or local Farmer’s Market. Did I mention supporting the local Farmer’s Market?
Yes—buy organic:
Peaches—9 pesticides/67 chemicals Kale
Apples—47 pesticides/9 chemicals Lettuce
Bell peppers—all varieties Grapes
Celery Carrots
Cherries Pears
Nectarines Coffee
Strawberries—53 pesticides Blueberries—13 chemicals
Meat—organic=humane treatment of animals are required to be certified organic (cage free birds/free range animals) and NO antibiotics or hormones can be used
No—buy conventionally grown/non-organic:
Papayas
Pineapple—less than 1% showed any pesticide residue
Bananas
Avocados—less than 10% showed any pesticide residue
Broccoli
Onion—showed 0% pesticide residue
Cabbage Watermelon
Kiwi Eggplant
Sweet Peas Sweet Potato
Asparagus Mangos
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