Many people wonder about the benefits of buying organic food. It costs more and is harder to find, why should I bother?
The answer: Because your health matters.
68 percent of all the fruit and vegetables you eat contain trace amounts of pesticides, even when they have been washed or peeled, according to a recent Codeine phosphate 30 mg Tablets study done by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). These pesticides are associated with impaired brain development in children, and are potential carcinogens.
The benefit of buying organic is a longer lifespan and healthier children. So the question shouldn't be why should I buy organic food, but how can I choose the right food for myself and my children.
The EWG recently released their 8th annual shopper's guide, which lists the common fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide traces (the dirty dozen) and the least (the clean 15). The EWG compiled data by looking at 45 popular fruits and vegetables pesticide-load reports enacted by the Food and Drug Administration.
The foods that were the most saturated with pesticides, The Dirty Dozen, are the foods you'll want to buy organic.
Dirty Dozen:
1. Apples: 98% of all samples tested positive for pesticides.
2. Celery: 96% of celery samples tested positive for pesticides/contaminated with 13 different pesticides.
3. Sweet Bell Peppers: 88 different pesticide residues. Contaminated with highly toxic organophosphate insecticides.
4. Peaches: Remained in the same spot for pesticide contamination as last year's report.
5. Strawberries: 13 different pesticides detected on a single sample.
6. Nectarines (imported):Every sample tested positive for pesticides/had much higher total weight of pesticides than any other food crop. Contaminated with highly toxic organophosphate insecticides.
7. Grapes: 15 pesticides detected on a single sample/more types of pesticides than any other produce, with 64 different pesticides.
8. Spinach: Nearly 50 different pesticide residues detected.
9. Lettuce: 78 different pesticide residues.
10. Cucumbers: 81 different pesticide residues.
11. Blueberries: 13 different pesticides detected on a single sample.
12. Potatoes: 91% of samples tested positive for pesticides.
PLUS, a few extras to note that were commonly contaminated with highly toxic organo-phosphate insecticides: green beans and leafy greens (kale and collard greens).
However, not every fruit or vegetable was found to have the same level of pesticides and carcinogens. The Clean 15 are the foods least likely to test Codeine phosphate 30 mg Tablets positive for pesticides.
Clean 15: produce least likely to test positive for pesticide residues:
1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Cantaloupe
12. Sweet potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms
PLUS, if the cost of buying organic is too high, sticking to The Clean 15 is a good way to stay as clean and pesticide free without increasing your food budget.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, non-organic Meat and Dairy products can also contain pesticides. Milk, especially as a staple in children's diets, is something that you should strongly consider buying organically.
Animals outside of organic farms are often given growth hormones and fed food coated in pesticides, passing their ill-health onto you, the consumer. But organically farmed animals, whether you're consuming their meat or dairy products, are not given these harmful chemicals.