Every health magazine and environmental group tells us to buy organic food, but you’ve probably noticed organic food is far more expensive. The earth will thank you for always buying organic food. However, you bank account will thank you if you intelligently select your organic produce.
Here’s how to keep your family healthy by selecting organic produce when buying the most pesticide-heavy fruits and vegetables. I’ll also list a few fruits and vegetables that shouldn’t impact your health too much if you choose conventional alternatives.
First, some organic food rules, and how organic produce differs from conventional produce. The United States Department of Agriculture has a complex and somewhat controversial certification process for organic food producers and farms. For the most part, organic produce must be grown from non-genetically modified seeds without the use of a specific list of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Similar rules apply in many other countries.
The Environmental Working Group lists the following fruits and vegetables among those with the highest levels of pesticides. These are the most important organic food choices. This is a selected five of the top ten, but I chose them because they are really popular or especially hard to rid of pesticides.
1. Peaches – It’s not just the Allman Brothers Band who want to eat a peach. Plenty of bugs want to munch on these sweet, thin-skinned, fragile fruit. It takes a heavy load of pesticides to keep them growing. The EWG found 45 pesticides on peaches, including chemicals that may damage the reproductive, nervous and immune systems, according to high-profile pediatrician Alan Greene. Some combination of these chemicals were used on 94 percent of conventional peaches they tested. Peaches are probably the single most important organic food choice.
2. Apples – This is another sweet fruit that takes a lot of pesticides to grow. Many of the same pesticides are used on peaches and apples, with up to 36 different chemicals on 91 percent of apples tested. There is also wax and other chemical additives on many apples, unless you focus on organics.
3. Strawberries — The numbers tell almost the same story for a smaller red fruit. Pesticides, in 36 varieties, were found on 90 percent of tested strawberries. Also, those little dimples all over your pretty strawberries make it really hard to wash off all these chemicals. Another key organic food choice.
4. Bell peppers – Vegetables aren’t immune from the pesticide scourge. The EWG found 39 varieties of pesticide on sweet bell peppers, with 68 percent of the colorful vegetables contaminated.
5. Spinach — Popeye and your mom told you to eat your spinach and other leafy greens. However, you best seek out organic options. Again, 36 varieties of pesticide were found on spinach, with 83 percent of spinach testing positive.
Extra credit if you know the common factor in all these pesticide-heavy fruits and vegetables. You’re right if you said thin skin or no skin. Critters get into these fruits and vegetables as easily as your teeth. To make matters worse, the minimal skin means more pesticides seep into the heart of your fruits and vegetables.
So you’re right if you guessed that thick-skinned fruits and vegetables are among the safest conventional fruit, using the smallest amount of pesticides.
Please continue on to page two, where you'll discover the top 5 fruits and vegetables that are okay to buy conventionally, rather than organically.