When Organic Produce Is A Must

The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides found on conventionally grown produce is harmful to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. They recommend eating organic produce as much as possible.
But organic produce is expensive, which is why the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that uses the power of public information to protect public health and the environment, published the Shopper’s Guide To Pesticides, a list of which produce should always be bought organic, and which conventionally grown produce is safest to buy because it has low pesticide residues. According to the guide, for example, peaches, kale and carrots should always be bought organically, while onions, kiwis, and broccoli are low in pesticide residue. You can download this list, which is small enough to fit in your wallet, here.
Analysts at the Environmental Working Group 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. You can learn more about the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings at its Web site.
My Thrifty Green Thursday tip is reduce your exposure to harmful pesticides by using the Shopper’s Guide To Pesticides. Click here for more tips.