which foods should i buy organic?


the EWG (environmental working group), is a research organization comprised of all sorts of folks like scientists, engineers, lawyers, policy experts etc.. they conduct scientific studies and testing to expose threats to our healh and environment. the EWG has tested around 35 varieties of fruits and vegtables and come up with a list of the 12 most contaminated and 12 least contaminated produce items.


they are known as the 'dirty dozen' and the 'consistently clean'.

the 'dirty dozen':
higher in pesticides

  • apples
  • cherries
  • grapes
  • nectarines
  • peaches
  • pears
  • raspberries
  • strawberries
  • bell peppers
  • celery
  • potatoes
  • spinach

the 'tidy twelve':
lower in pesticides

  • bananas
  • kiwi
  • mangos
  • papaya
  • pineapples
  • asparagus
  • avocado
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • corn
  • onions
  • peas

the foods that are identified as 'the dirty dozen' are produce items that should be bought organic, the EWG estimates that people can lower their pesticides exposure by almost 90% by avoiding the top 12 most contaminated fruits and vegtables.

on the other hand, the items on the 'tidy twelve' list came out the 'cleanest' in the EWG's testing, which means you can save your money and buy the regular non-organic versions.

  • for more information about methods used for testing by the EWG, go to www.ewg.org.
  • to check out the full ist of fruits and vegetables tested, go to: www.foodnews.org.
  • click here to read more about other stuff besides produce that you might want to buy organic.

and finanlly, find out what we're made of.