
Some of the Clean 15
A lot of people want to buy organic produce but feel it's too expensive. Not all fruit and vegetables are grown with the same amount of chemicals. Some actually use very little. So to get the biggest benefit out of your shopping dollar I am going to share the lists from EWG's produce/chemical testing.
I have been using these lists for a few years now to judge when buying organic produce makes sense. According to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) calculations, if you consume 5 servings of fruit and vegetables from the clean 15 instead of the dirty dozen (12) you will consume 92% less pesticides. To read more about EWG and the methods used in the tests click here.
If you can't buy organic produce, remember it is much better to eat fresh fruit and vegetables (even if they are on the list of dirty dozen) than to eat processed foods. Actually, the least expensive way to get your fruit and vegetables is to grow them in a backyard garden. You can learn about growing your own produce on my Backyard Gardening Blog.
Until you can get your own garden going here are the lists from EWG:
I have been using these lists for a few years now to judge when buying organic produce makes sense. According to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) calculations, if you consume 5 servings of fruit and vegetables from the clean 15 instead of the dirty dozen (12) you will consume 92% less pesticides. To read more about EWG and the methods used in the tests click here.
If you can't buy organic produce, remember it is much better to eat fresh fruit and vegetables (even if they are on the list of dirty dozen) than to eat processed foods. Actually, the least expensive way to get your fruit and vegetables is to grow them in a backyard garden. You can learn about growing your own produce on my Backyard Gardening Blog.
Until you can get your own garden going here are the lists from EWG:
This list has been updated for the 2012 report.
Dirty Dozen | Clean 15 |
apples celery sweet bell peppers peaches strawberries nectarines-imported grapes-imported spinach lettuce cucumbers blueberries-domestic potatoes Plus + green beans kale/collard greens | onions sweet corn pineapples avocado cabbage sweet peas asparagus mangoes eggplant kiwi cantaloupe-domestic sweet potatoes grapefruit watermelon mushrooms |