Eco-Crazy Tip Of The Day- Dirty Dozen And Clean Fifteen

Eco-Crazy Tip Of The Day:

Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen

We all know buying organic fruits & veggies is the optimum choice, but what do you do when you can’t afford to buy organic all of the time?

The Environmental Working Group puts together two helpful lists each year based on data from the USDA to help consumers know what fruits and veggies contain the highest and lowest amounts of pesticide residue…

The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen.

The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits & vegetables that contain the highest amount of pesticide residue. If you have to make choices in what organic produce you are going to buy, these are the ones that you should spend the extra money on to buy organic. The EWG says that by avoiding the Dirty Dozen, or eating organic versions of them, you can reduce your family’s pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent!

2011 Dirty Dozen List

• Apples
• Celery
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Nectarines (Imported)
• Grapes (Imported)
• Sweet bell peppers
• Potatoes
• Blueberries
• Lettuce
• Kale/collard greens

The Clean Fifteen list is the opposite of the Dirty Dozen, and contains fruits and vegetables with the lowest amount of pesticide residue. You are generally fine buying the non-organic variety of these items.

2011 Clean Fifteen List

• Onions
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Avocado
• Asparagus
• Sweet peas
• Mangoes
• Eggplants
• Cantaloupe (Domestic)
• Kiwi
• Cabbage
• Watermelon
• Sweet potatoes
• Grapefruit
• Mushrooms

Tips For Using The Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen Lists To Reduce Your Family’s Pesticide Exposure

-If you can’t buy organic produce 100% of the time, review the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists and use them to guide your shopping habits.

-If you can only afford to buy some organic produce, focus on the Dirty Dozen list and buy organic for the fruits & veggies that contain the highest amount of pesticide residue.

-If buying organic just doesn’t fit your budget, try reducing how often you purchase “Dirty Dozen” produce and choose fruits and veggies from the Clean Fifteen list as much as possible.

-Keep The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists handy for easy reference. You can find printable copies of both lists, or get the EWG Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce App for your Android or iPhone here.

Do you buy organic produce all or part of the time? How do you determine which foods are the most important to choose organic?

 

 

Terri
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