I’ll admit it. I don’t always eat organic produce. Sometimes my choice is motivated by availability, sometimes it’s due to finances, and sometimes I just forget which foods are really important to choose organic.
Today, the Environmental Working Group released an updated list of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen. This list of fruits and vegetables is a ranking of the amount of pesticides and other chemicals that can be ingested even after careful washing. The report indicates that if you eat organically-grown produce on the Dirty Dozen, you can reduce your pesticide intake by over 90%. Now there’s a figure that gets my attention.
The Dirty Dozen
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens
The Clean Fifteen
1. Onions
2. Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms
Summer is a good time to make an effort to eat more organic produce. Check out a Farmers Market near you, and patronize the vendors who grow organic foods in your area. This way, you can enjoy not only fresh, healthy foods but also shaking the hand and supporting the livelihood of the person who grew it.
Good health and great happiness to you.
OnBalance 
Hi Karen,
I thought your post on the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen was interesting because it’s important for consumers to know how to reduce their exposure to pesticides and what foods to buy organic or how to swap some from the dirty list with ones from the clean list. I wanted to share this video on the report. I think you’ll appreciate how it analyzes news coverage from different sources to show various perspectives on how the two sides are reacting to the report, with some saying we should be more careful when buying produce and others saying it doesn’t make a difference in our health and so the benefits of eating produce outweigh the risk of pesticides. I hope you’ll considering embedding the video in your post or even writing a new one. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the latest findings and the response from different groups.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/study-apples-are-most-contaminated-produce/
Best,
Kate