JuMex: When to NOT buy Organic food

"Doing what we can to save you a few cents"

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?

The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.

What’s the Difference?

EWG research has found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen™ list consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load.

Will Washing and Peeling Help?

The data used to create these lists is based on produce tested as it is typically eaten (meaning washed, rinsed or peeled, depending on the type of produce). Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible.

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Basically, there's no point in spending the extra money to get organic for the "clean" fruits because they are very low in pesticides. But try to buy organic for the "dirty dozen". Here's the list:

Clean 15 (lowest in pesticides):

1 - Onions

2 - Avocado

3 - Sweet Corn

4 - Pineapple

5 - Mangos

6 - Sweet Peas

7- Asparagus

8 - Kiwi

9 - Cabbage

10 - Eggplant

11 - Cantaloupe

12 - Watermelon

13 - Grapefruit

14 - Sweet Potato

15 - Honeydew Melon

DIRTY DOZEN (buy organic)

1) Celery

2) Peaches

3) Strawberries

4) Apples

5) Blueberries

6) Nectarines

7) Bell Peppers

8) Spinach

9) Cherries

10) Kale/Collard Greens

11) Potatoes

12) Grapes

Do you see a trend here? If the fruit is small and soft, they are bad. But if it's big and hard, that's good (that's what she said).