Every year since 2004, the Environmental Working Group has published a list of fruits and vegetables that contain high levels of pesticides that are concerning. These certain fruits and vegetables should only be bought and consumed if they are organic in order to avoid all of the harmful pesticides used. Below is the current list!
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
Also, there are few additional problematic products that contain a bunch of pesticides, which are raisins, hummus, and chickpeas. It should be noted that this list is published every year, so it does change. A lot of berries usually show up on this list, so those are another group that I try to always buy organic to be safe. Some people might say the pesticides on these foods are still below the federal limit. That’s a true crack up. As I have noted before, the federal government’s standards when it comes to determining what is problematic in our foods and products are so low, they are essentially not helpful. I would not use the government as a guideline in determining what you should or should not eat.
Overall, I honestly try to buy everything organic. This is because anything that has the USDA organic seal slapped on it cannot be genetically modified and must be grown in soil that is free from prohibited substances, including synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This means it is of higher quality. Also, various studies have shown that organic produce has significantly more antioxidant polyphenols than non-organic produce, and these antioxidants can help reduce risks of chronic diseases, such as cancer. Now, who doesn’t want that? However, there are actually certain fruits and vegetables that are considered cleaner and do not really need to be organic—as they contain very few or no pesticides at all. In those instances, organic is not really necessary. Like with the dirty dozen, the Environmental Working Group publishes the clean fifteen, which lists certain fruits and vegetables that contain very little to no pesticides when grown, and they are as follows:
- Avocado
- Sweet Corn (but most of the corn out there is genetically modified, so this one should probably still be organic)
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet Peas
- Eggplant
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Cantaloupe
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Cabbage
- Honeydew Melon
- Kiwi
Always,
Taylor
