When To Eat Organic

By edlau • Nov 20th, 2009 • Category: Blog, Features, Food, Going Green, Organic, nutrition

It’s not always possible to find organic versions of produce at your local market and sometimes even if you do managed to find it, organic may not always fit your food budget.  Nothing causes more of a shopping dilemma than an organic piece of fruit that costs twice as much as its non-organic counterpart.  As it stands, there is still much debate on the nutritional difference of eating organic but you undoubtedly reduce your exposure to harmful pesticides and chemicals when you do.  So at what point is it “worth it” to spend the extra money or the extra time looking for organic versions of produce?
According to the Enviromental Working Group, certain foods carry more pesticide reside than others, leading them to create two lists: The Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15, which show the twelve foods that you should probably purchase organic whenever possible and fifteen on which you can save your money since there is little difference.
The Dirty Dozen consists of (from the most to the least pesticide residue): peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, grapes (imported), carrots and pears.  Personally, I thought that lettuce would have retained the most residue and that is what I usually try to purchase organic as much as possible but it surprises me to see apples up there since I usually don’t bother with organic apples.
The Clean 15 is made up of (from the least to the most pesticide residue): onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbages, eggplants, papayas, watermelons, broccoli, tomatoes and sweet potatoes.  Nothing entirely surprising there.
Of course, this is simply a suggestion as to what you should be purchasing organic and there are a multitude of foods that aren’t on either list but at least you know now that you don’t really need to buy your onions organic…but you really should for your apples.
addendum: Certified Organically Grown carries more weight than just organic. In its loosest definition, organic simply just means has a carbon atom and may not tell you anything about purity.
unscrupulous salespeople will often use the looser definition to charge you more.
why pay more for organic food? Here's a study from Rutgers showing the difference.