The Must Buy Organic Produce List
Continuing on my transition to becoming an organic consumer, I have discovered some other useful information to consider. The decision whether or not to buy an organic product can completely depend on your economic situation and most definitely how much of the product is organic, but it is good to know what kinds of products are worth the extra few bucks. The idea can be overwhelming when viewing all of the information and when trying to consider if your budget allows it.
It is interesting what you can find. Consider the fact that The U.S. Department of Agriculture did a study involving produce and pesticides. What they discovered was that even after thoroughly washing your regular (non organic) fruits and veggies, there are just some that have non-washable amounts of pesticide residue. Now the study included more than 100,000 pesticide test results, and researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) came up with this little list they refer to as the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables. Which is actually really helpful for those of us that are not quite organically savvy, at least not yet.
One other thing that they say is that you should always buy organic, if at all possible. Even though they cost up to 50 percent more, they tend to be worth the money in the long run. But if you are like me, and really just struggle with the idea of paying some of the prices, start out making small adjustments. Shop around and maybe start we these “dirty dozen”:
- Apples
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Bell peppers
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Spinach
Good news, there are a few items that you can skip buying as organic. I assume this is because of all of those 100,000 tests ran by the EWG, these babies cleaned well. Just a reminder: Always wash your produce thoroughly, even if they have a skin that you don’t eat. This is because you can still transfer pesticides and other germs onto the flesh of the fruit/veggie.
- Bananas
- Kiwi
- Mangos
- Papaya
- Pineapples
- Asparagus
- Avocado
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Onions
- Peas
This is specific to produce. Meat, dairy, hygiene and cosmetics are for another day. This information regarding the dirty dozen was found at the EWG.org.