What do you call a stolen yam?....a hot potato!

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There’s no way around it: buying organic foods is expensive, usually 10 to 40% more costly than buying regular foods (according to Wikipedia). And if you choose to buy organic part of the time, like me, which products should you focus on?

A relatively recent study by the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration might be able to help you decide, if you’re living in the US. The Environmental Working Group has ranked pesticide contamination for forty-six fruits and vegetables involved in over 100,000 lab tests from the study as well as further testing by the state of California (all done between 1992 and 2001). Their results? The following:

Twelve Most Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables (buy organic):

1. Nectarines (97.3% of nectarines sampled were found to contain pesticides)
2. Celery (94.5%)
3. Pears (94.4%)
4. Peaches (93.7%)
5. Apples (91% )
6. Cherries (91%)
7. Strawberries (90%)
8. Imported Grapes (86%)
9. Spinach (83.4%)
10. Potatoes (79.3%)
11. Bell peppers (68%)
12. Red raspberries (59%)

Twelve Least Contaminated (not as necessary to buy organic):
(in alphabetical order)
1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cauliflower
6. Corn – sweet (nearly all corn is genetically modified, however)
7. Kiwis
8. Mangoes
9. Onions
10. Papaya
11. Pineapple
12. Sweet peas

posted by Kristin Ginger on 30 July 2008
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comment

  1. Hey, that’s why people like organic. I never think that much about things impacting my health and usually concentrate on the global/regional impact of what I do. That’s why, in general, I try to avoid organic stuff. While artificial fertilizers and insect/herbacides are certainly no fun for us or the ground water, existing organic practices usually cause a lot more long term damage in terms of water usage and soil runoff due to over-tilling. Really the problem is the industrialization of agriculture, and specifically monocultivation. It’s just not natural for there to be acres of nothing-but-strawberries.

    — Alex · Jul 30, 01:16 PM · #

  2. Touché. Although I dislike the idea of eating pesticide-laced food, I certainly don’t think that organic produce ought to be unconditionally embraced. If I knew more about existing organic practices, it would be great to post about another aspect of the issue, but I don’t, so—

    — Kristin · Jul 30, 09:31 PM · #

  3. Try: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It’s quite the informative, interesting and eloquent read.

    — Melissa · Jul 31, 02:43 PM · #

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