Dodging Pesticides: 5 Foods to Avoid

Living in San Francisco, I’m constantly being bombarded with “organic this” and “locally grown” that. I have actually seen stores charge $2.50 for ONE apple. No joke, $2.50 for an organic, oh-so-chic, perfectly-imperfect, Newtonian-inspired apple, grown specifically for your dinner-party bragging pleasure. “Why, yes, Jim. I did buy all this fruit at the farmer’s market. Junior won’t be going to college in the fall but doesn’t this tart look lovely?”

Still, having recently given in to this crazy evolution, I’ll admit there is something truly special about biting into a piece of organic produce. The flavors burst in your mouth and, whether this is true or a placebo effect, I actually feel the nutrients–like edible pieces of health. Plus, it’s a bit frightening that my bagged, supermarket mesclun lasts for TWO (yes, that’s correct) weeks without so much as a hint of rot. Hmm, I wonder what that’s doing to me?

However, because I live in the real world, buying organic isn’t always an option and because consuming massive amounts of hidden pesticides didn’t seem like a viable alternative either–I needed info on when to splurge. While browsing multiple consumer advocate sites, I discovered the Environmental Working Group’s compilation of the most pesticide-laden fruits and veggies. Using this list, it’s easy to see what foods to avoid or when to fork over your cash for the organic version.

5 Pesticide Foods to Avoid

1. Peaches. Conventionally farmed peaches are number one because so many pesticides are needed to grow them. Plus, their skin absorbs much of it infecting the flesh with carcinogenic chemicals that far outweigh the peach’s natural health benefits.

2. Apples. Apples are often grown in mid-western states where they are not native and as a result have not developed natural defenses to predators. Because of this, they are treated with many harmful pesticides that seep into the peel. You can always peel your apples but will lose a third of the nutrients and some of the flavor.

3. Sweet Bell Peppers. This vegetable has the highest likelihood of containing multiple pesticides, as many as 64 found on a single sample.

4. Celery. As this vegetable has no skin, the pesticides are absorbed directly into the plant. Scrubbing doesn’t help so it’s best to only buy this fresh and organic.

5. Strawberries. Their skin doesn’t absorb as much as a peach but because they are small, we don’t often wash them as carefully as we should. According to the The Organic Trade Association more than 371 pesticides are approved for use on U.S. strawberries and because they grow so close to the ground are also subject to the chemicals used on soils.

Check out the complete 45-item list here.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Candace B.

1:35AM PDT on Nov 6, 2011

We humans arise from this earth. The components of our bodies are of the earth. It stands to reason that our nutrition , our food, our fuel, comes from this earth, untainted by pesticides or other man-made chemicals in the most natural efficient way.

Corporations have convinced the world that pesticides and chemicals are an absolute necessity despite the fact that they are toxic to our planet and poisonous to us. All of a sudden, the whole world is allergic to everything, children don't have the ability to concentrate, and their bodies are growing at alarming rates. To me that's evidence of the growth hormones they inject in the food. Are we nuts? Why is this ok? Find a farm near you or buy frozen organic. Or if you have a mom like mine, she'll gladly freeze it and send it to you.

Just think, if it's in the soil, it's in the food, it's in us.

send a green star

Sarah G.

4:48PM PDT on Sep 11, 2011

As a college student, newly introduced to the world of buying produce on my own, I often wonder which foods are worth the organic splurge. This was informative and helpful. Thank you for sharing this!

Shannon B.

7:50PM PDT on May 29, 2011

Bell peppers? Maybe I should just kill myself now! :(

I always get organic apples but where I live it's a tad hard to come across a wide variety of organic produce. I have never seen organic red peppers for example. And STRAWBERRIES?

So sad........

Bon L.

5:10AM PST on Dec 5, 2010

Thanks for the info.

Philippa P.

3:13AM PDT on Sep 28, 2010

Good post.

Elaine D.

4:12PM PST on Jan 25, 2010

and i liked all of them

4:11PM PST on Jan 25, 2010

good post

Mervi R.

8:56AM PST on Jan 1, 2010

Thanks for the info, love celery and had no idea of this, so will have to try to find organic fro now on.

Carlotta F.

8:02PM PST on Dec 26, 2009

Thanks for the lists of pesticide foods to avoid. I've found that Trader Joes is trying to find some more cost effective solutions to the demand out there. They sell frozen organic strawberries and wild pesticide free blueberries, both for $1.99 which out beats the competition most days by several bucks(I still don't care for the plastic bag though).

Victoria F.

12:57PM PDT on Mar 19, 2009

If you look at the other end of the list (the least pesticides) there are still a number of fruit and vegetables that are much safer (require little to no pesticides, so buying organic isn't as necessary). The top 15 safest are: Onions, Avocados, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Mango, Asparagus, Sweet Peas, Kiwi, Cabbage, Eggplant, Papaya, Watermelon, Broccoli, Tomato and Sweet Potato. So if you can't afford organic, at least stick to safer fruit and veggi picks.

Here is the full list (47 of the most common fruits and vegetables in ranking of worst to best in pesticides).
http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

And here is a link for a wallet guide (list of worst 12, and best 15) you can print and keep with you while shopping.
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php