Tag Archives: Issue 20130801

The Dirty Dozen: 12 foods to buy organic

Are you familiar with the Dirty Dozen? Nope, not the classic 1967 World War II film starring Lee Marvin. As tough as the guys in that movie are, the bunch of 12 we’re talking about here could hurt you even worse, if you’re not careful.

This Dirty Dozen consists of fruits and vegetables that are farmed using potentially dangerous levels of pesticides. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture does set limits on how much pesticide farmers can use, organizations such as the Environmental Working Group believe that some of those limits are not strict enough. Accordingly, each year the EWG publishes a list of the 12 fruits and vegetables that are most likely to be contaminated with unhealthy toxins. The EWG recommends that, if possible, you buy organic when it comes to this produce.

You can read more about the Dirty Dozen here. As that article notes, even groups like EWG say it’s better to eat fruits and vegetables farmed using pesticide than not to eat them at all — so don’t remove them from your menu just because you might not be able to afford the more expensive organic stuff.

The counterpart to the Dirty Dozen is the Clean Fifteen. These are 15 fruits and vegetables that are generally safe to eat even when farmed with pesticides.

You can print this PDF and cut out a wallet-size card that lists the 2013 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for easy reference when grocery shopping. Below are the current lists.

The Dirty Dozen
Apples
Celery
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumbers
Grapes
Hot peppers
Nectarines
Peaches
Potatoes
Spinach
Strawberries
Sweet bell peppers
Plus: Collards and kale, summer squash and zucchini

The Clean Fifteen
Asparagus
Avocado
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Corn
Eggplant
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Mangos
Mushrooms
Onions
Papayas
Pineapples
Sweet peas (frozen)
Sweet potatoes

For more information, visit EWG’s website.