Organic vs Nonorganic Foods

What Foods Should You Eat Organic?

Ideally, we should eat organic as much as possible, but it can be helpful to know which fruits and vegetables have the highest and lowest levels of pesticides, hormones, and other additives.

The foods with the highest level of pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group (foodnews.org) are:

Fruits:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Pears
• Plums
• Oranges
• Raspberries
• Domestic Grapes

Vegetables:

• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Green Beans
• Hot Peppers
• Cucumbers
• Cauliflowers

Try to avoid non-organic produce that is listed above. Not only are there high concentrations of pesticides on any given food, but multiple pesticides are easily found on food. Sweet bell peppers, for example, contained 64 pesticides in a single crop. On the other hand, the foods that ranked in the lowest-level pesticide category were:

Fruits:

• Pineapple
• Mango
• Kiwi
• Bananas
• Papaya
• Blueberries
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit

Vegetables:

• Avocado
• Frozen Sweet Corn
• Frozen Sweet Peas
• Asparagus
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Eggplant

There are other fruits and vegetables that either weren’t ranked or came out in the middle of the list. Whenever you can, buy organic, but especially take care to avoid the foods on the top of the list if you are concerned about pesticide concentrations. (Pesticides are especially important to avoid during fetal development and during childhood.)

It is still a good idea to buy organic when possible, but through these guides and making wise choices, you can greatly reduce your level of pesticide exposure. Happy eating!