Dirty Dozen

Top Foods to choose Organic

Here's a listing of the 12 top foods to choose organic due to their high contamination of pesticides and chemicals (even after washing and peeling). Chemical pesticides are known to cause cancer, birth defects, nervous system and brain damage, and development problems in children.

1. Meat: beef, pork, and poultry. The EPA reports that meat is contaminated with higher levels of pesticides than any plant food. Many chemical pesticides are fat-soluble and accumulate in fatty tissue of animals.


2. Dairy: milk, cheese and butter. For similar reasons to meat. Also growth hormones and antibiotics are invariabley found in commercial milk products and are a serious health concern.


3. Strawberries. Strawberries are the most heavily dosed crops with pesticides in America.


4. Apples. Apples are almost as contaminated with pesticides as strawberries. Peeling non-organic apples reduces these chemicals, but does not eliminate the danger.


5. Tomatoes. More than 30 pesticides are standard to spray on conventionally grown tomatoes. Their thin skin does not protect the meat from the chemicals.


6. Potatoes. One of the most popular vegies is also among the most laden with pesticides. Fungicides added to the soil is another reason to go organic.


7. Spinach (and other greens including lettuce). Spinach was found by the FDA to be one of the most frequently contaminated crops with some of the most potent pesticides used on food.


8. Coffee. Most coffee is grown in countries where there are little to no standards or regulations for chemicals. Purchasing "Fair Trade" is further assurance that the coffee is free of pestisides as well as supports farms and workers with more equanimity and reward.


9. Peaches and Nectarines. As in tomatoes, 45 different pesticides are routinely applied to these fruits . The thin skin does not protect the fruit from these poisons.


10. Grapes. (especially imported). Because they are delicate, grapes are sprayed several times during the different growth stages. The thin skin does not offer much protection from these poisons. Several of the most poisonous pesticides banned in the U.S. are still used on grapes grown abroad.


11. Celery. At least 29 different chemicals are applied the celery as it grows. It cannot be washed off because celery doesn't have any protective skin.


12. Bell Peppers (Red & Green). As with other thin skinned fruits & veggies - it offers no real protection from the poisons.

This list was complied by Renee Loux. There is a plethora of information at her site: Renee Loux