Thursday, July 5, 2007

Should You Buy Organic Produce

Organic everything is a huge business, especially now that Wal-Mart has jumped on the bandwagon. If you are one of the average American's who don't shop regularly at Whole Paycheck Foods... The question is, are there actual benefits to eating organic and if you can't afford to eat all your produce organic, then where will you get the most bang for your buck?

Money Magazine recently ran an article that explained which fruits and vegetables are the worst offenders as far as pesticides are concerned. Since I currently can't find the magazine, I tracked down a similar list via Google at the Environmental Working Group. I have recreated the list below. The data group has also posted their data set online if you are skeptical about the findings. Although the Money Magazine list wasn't as detailed, from what I remember the results were similar.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK

FRUIT OR VEGGIE

SCORE

1 (worst)

Peaches

100 (highest pesticide load)

2

Apples

96

3

Sweet Bell Peppers

86

4

Celery

85

5

Nectarines

84

6

Strawberries

83

7

Cherries

75

8

Lettuce

69

9

Grapes - Imported

68

10

Pears

65

11

Spinach

60

12

Potatoes

58

13

Carrots

57

14

Green Beans

55

15

Hot Peppers

53

16

Cucumbers

52

17

Raspberries

47

18

Plums

46

19

Oranges

46

20

Grapes-Domestic

46

21

Cauliflower

39

22

Tangerine

38

23

Mushrooms

37

24

Cantaloupe

34

25

Lemon

31

26

Honeydew Melon

31

27

Grapefruit

31

28

Winter Squash

31

29

Tomatoes

30

30

Sweet Potatoes

30

31

Watermelon

25

32

Blueberries

24

33

Papaya

21

34

Eggplant

19

35

Broccoli

18

36

Cabbage

17

37

Bananas

16

38

Kiwi

14

39

Asparagus

11

40

Sweet Peas-Frozen

11

41

Mango

9

42

Pineapples

7

43

Sweet Corn-Frozen

2

44

Avocado

1

45 (best)

Onions

1 (lowest pesticide load)


The results suggest what you may have already guessed. The fruits and vegetables with the thinest skins (like peaches, apples and strawberries) are more likely to be contaminated with the most pesticides. Whether you find it helpful or not, it's nice to know how potentially bad the produce you are buying is before your next trip to the store.

Link:
Image Creative Commons R@punsell