Ideally, all your fruits and vegetables should be organic, specially the Dirty Dozen.
“The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen refer respectively to the fruits and vegetables that are the most and least contaminated by pesticide use, according to the Environmental Working Group.”
–David Suzuki Organization
We have to AVOID ALL DIRTY DOZEN-NON ORGANIC products, as they have the most toxic and harmful COMBO of pesticides. Non-organic food usually cost less money. But there are health issues related to pesticides that could have, in long term, higher costs in health care. And pesticides can linger in the soil for years or decades after they are applied, continuing to harm soil health.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES THAT NEED TO BE ORGANIC
ALWAYS ORGANIC:
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Celery
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Sweet bell peppers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumbers
IDEALLY ORGANIC:
- Snap peas – imported
- Blueberries – domestic
- Potatoes
- Hot peppers
- Lettuce
- Kale / collard greens
- Blueberries – imported
- Green beans
- Plums
- Pears
- Raspberries
- Carrots
NOT NECESSARILY ORGANIC
CLEAN FIFTEEN:
- Avocados
- Sweet Corn*
- Pineapples
- Cabbage
- Sweet peas frozen
- Onions
- Asparagus
- Mangos
- Papayas*
- Kiwi
- Eggplant
- Honeydew Melon
- Grapefruit
- Cantaloupe
- Cauliflower
* A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from GE seedstock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid GE produce. Information source: ewg.org
