To buy organic or not to buy organic?

Is that the question?  One of my favorite groups, the Environmental Working Group, has just updated their Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce.  Maybe you're not ready to go all in when it comes to buying organic, maybe you don't have the budget for it...  whatever your reason, they've made it easy to focus on the items you really NEED to buy organic, and know what is okay to buy conventional.  After all, "Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day from the Clean 15 list rather than from the Dirty Dozen can lower your pesticide intake by up to 92 percent!"  Isn't that amazing?

Here is their list:

Dirty Dozen Plus™ (Buy these organic)

1

Apples

2

Celery

3

Sweet bell peppers

4

Peaches

5

Strawberries

6

Nectarines
– imported

7

Grapes

8

Spinach

9

Lettuce

10

Cucumbers

11

Blueberries
– domestic

12

Potatoes

Green beans

Kale/Greens

Clean 15™ (Lowest in Pesticide - can buy conventional)

1

Onions

2

Sweet Corn

3

Pineapples

4

Avocado

5

Cabbage

6

Sweet peas

7

Asparagus

8

Mangoes

9

Eggplant

10

Kiwi

11

Cantaloupe
- domestic

12

Sweet potatoes

13

Grapefruit

14

Watermelon

15

Mushrooms

So, hopefully that will take out some of the guesswork when you go to the store.  I hang a small printout on my fridge with these items, and when I make my grocery list, I simply put an "o" beside the items I should buy organic, which makes it easy to remember when I get to the store.