12 Foods You Should Buy Organic

EWG's 2017 shopper’s guide to pesticides are exposing “the dirty dozen” fruit and vegetables you should avoid buying inorganic, and the clean fifteen which is considered to contain fewer pesticides - a healthier option if you're buying inorganic produce. 

Not all fruits and vegetables are equal when it comes to pesticides, the EWG reported. 

Some produce like avocados, corn and mangoes have peels or husk that shield the foods flesh from pesticides. 

Nevertheless, it’s also important to remember that pesticide use will vary locally, but generally, its wise to stay away from the dirty dozen when buying non-organic as they are typically heavily sprayed. 

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Key findings:

• More than 98 percent of samples of strawberries, spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples tested positive for residue of at least one pesticide.
• A single sample of strawberries showed 20 different pesticides.
• Spinach samples had, on average, twice as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop.
• Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest: only 1 percent of samples showed any detectable pesticides.
• More than 80 percent of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions, and cabbage had no pesticide residues.
• No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen tested positive for more than four types of pesticides.
• Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on Clean Fifteen vegetables. Only 5 percent of Clean Fifteen vegetable samples had two or more pesticides.

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Buying organic can be expensive, so this list gives us the ground on where we should prioritize if we aren't able to buy entirely organic produce. 

The dirty dozen are:

Strawberries

Spinach

Nectarines

Apples

Peaches

Pears

Cherries

Grapes

Celery

Tomatoes

Sweet bell pepper

Potatoes

The clean fifteen:

Sweet corn

Avocadoes

Pineapples

Cabbage

Onions

frozen sweet peas 

Papayas

Asparagus

Mangoes

Eggplant

Honeydew Melon

Kiwi

Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Grapefruit

To see the full list of tested fruit and vegetables with pesticide residue data click here 

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Truly grateful for any support, stay healthy and be well! 

Do you buy any of your food organic?