When to Buy Organic?

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?


The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood.

Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.

What’s the Difference?

EWG research has found that people who eat the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load.

Will Washing and Peeling Help?

Nearly all the studies used to create these lists assume that people rinse or peel fresh produce. Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible.

How Was This Guide Developed?

EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly 87,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2007 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
(Similar results would likely be yielded in Canada)

Always try and buy the following foods certified organic (or equivalent):
(The 'Dirty Dozen'):

Peach

Apple

Bell Pepper

Celery

Nectarine

Strawberries

Cherries

Kale

Lettuce

Grapes (Imported)

Carrot

Pear

*WeeMunch would like to add any conventionally-raised animal products to the dirty dozen list.
Read the following link for more info: http://eatingitreal.blogspot.com/2010/01/why-choose-organicand-how-to-prioritize.html

The following are generally much cleaner and not as necessary to buy organic
('CLEAN 15'):

Onion

Avocado

Sweet Corn

Pineapple

Mango

Asparagus

Sweet Peas

Kiwi

Cabbage

Eggplant

Papaya

Watermelon

Broccoli

Tomato

Sweet Potato

*You can find a detailed description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and
the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at their dedicated site: FoodNews.org