Organic Revisited: A Free Cheat Sheet For Buying Organic

Common knowledge tells us that organic food is good food. It is tasty to eat, good for the environment, and safer for the farmers and workers who produce it. Since agriculture is responsible for much of the pollution of the waterways, choosing organic is the eco-choice for those who want to live a more sustainable life.

Eating organic may be one of best ways to keep your body healthy and the world’s ecosystems strong. Which organic fruits and vegetables to buy with your hard earned cash can be confusing. Some produce has less pesticides, while others are laden with chemical residues. Some are obvious, because of their thick skin (bananas), while others are penetrable (berries).

Is buying organic worth the extra cost? The jury is still out. It seems that the research has yet to prove an adverse health effect from consuming the low levels of pesticides that are commonly found in U.S. food. This may be inconclusive, but as Time magazine points out, “Even if conventional foods don’t turn out to be as dangerous as organic advocates claim, several recent studies have suggested that organic foods contain higher levels of vitamins than their conventionally grown counterparts.” Also, for the most vulnerable groups, such as children and pregnant women, as well as for those who are interested in sustainable growing practices (and their health), buying organic makes sense. Especially, the fruits and vegetables that carry the heaviest pesticide load. Here are 15 reasons to buy organic food.

Next: How to get a free downloadable Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet

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

Hester L.

7:28AM PST on Jan 12, 2012

Cute veggies:D

send a green star

Karen F.

8:13AM PST on Jan 11, 2012

Clicked on Dirty Dozen Cheat sheet, and got a page on how to make a paper crane? Also don't have an i-phone .

Katherine H.

1:09PM PST on Jan 10, 2012

That is so cute! And useful. :-) I will definitely download it. Thank you!

Gary C.

11:13AM PST on Jan 10, 2012

Thankyou....

Mandi A.

10:08AM PST on Jan 10, 2012

I have always figured if it has a peel, it isn't quite as important to buy organic, but if I can buy all organic, I do :)

Lena R.

9:15AM PST on Jan 10, 2012

That's so cool! Thanks for posting =)

Zen W.

9:15AM PDT on Jun 16, 2010

Thank you so much, Ronnie, the new link works and the graphic is clear and very easy to read. It's a great graphic too. :-)
And thank you for the very helpful and informative post.

Ronnie C.

5:42AM PDT on Jun 16, 2010

Zen, you are right. The website must have recently taken down the downloadable sheet. This site has the cheat sheet larger:
http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/05/26/do-you-know-the-dirty-dozen
Hope this helps!

8:25AM PDT on Jun 14, 2010

This sounds great, but unfortunately the link to download the Cheat Sheet goes to a site that gives this error message:
'Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.'

Lori A.

8:13AM PDT on May 30, 2010

Good info, thanks for sharing.