|
The 2010 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides is here! This guide will tell you which fruits and veggies you should buy organic, due to their high concentration of pesticides, and which ones you can safely buy conventionally-grown. Make more informed choices for your health and the environment, and save a few bucks while at it!
Â
To help us know which conventionally-grown (i.e. sprayed with pesticides) fruits and vegetables are safe and which ones are harmful to our health and the environment, the Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) has put together two lists: the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. Ingesting powerful chemicals such as the ones used in pesticides can cause lasting damage to human health, and deteriorate the quality of our soils and waterways. Washing and peeling doesn’t get rid of all the chemicals, while some valuable nutrients are lost with the peels. Which fruits and veggies should you buy organic? Celery, peaches and strawberries are the 3 worst offenders, followed by apples, blueberries and nectarines. On the other hand, it is safe to buy and eat conventionally-grown onions, avocadoes and sweet corn, among a group of 15 produce lowest in pesticides. That is because those fruits and vegetables don't have as many natural parasites, bugs and/or fungi, as therefore are minimally sprayed with chemicals. If money's tight and you can't buy everything organic, you need to refer to these two lists:
DIRTY DOZEN CLEAN 15
Buy These Organic Lowest in Pesticides
Celery Onions
Peaches Avocado
Strawberries Sweet Corn
Apples Pineapple
Blueberries Mangos
Nectarines Sweet Peas
Bell Peppers Asparagus
Spinach Kiwi
Kale Cabbage
Cherries Eggplant
Potatoes Cantaloupe
Grapes (Imported) Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet Potato
Honeydew Melon
Click here to get the full, printable lists.
You will soon be able to download those two lists on your iPhone, as EWG is working on the application. We’ll keep you posted!
Â
|
