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Top 10 Foods to Eat Organically

posted by Annie B. Bond Jul 8, 1999 12:47 pm
Top 10 Foods to Eat Organically
65 comments

Excerpted from Your Organic Kitchen, by Jesse Ziff Cool.

Some conventionally grown foods are treated with more pesticides than others. Some retain more of the pesticides. Here is a list of the top 10 foods containing the most pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C.

You can sidestep harm and still eat vitamin-rich foods. If you cannot find these foods organically, here are some great alternatives that contain the same valuable vitamins and minerals.

High-pesticide food: Strawberries
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Blueberries, raspberries, oranges, grapefruit, kiwifruit, watermelon

High-pesticide food: Bell peppers
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, romaine, lettuce

High-pesticide food: Spinach
Main nutrient: Vitamins A and C
Healthy alternatives: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus

High-pesticide food: Cherries
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Oranges, blueberries, raspberries, kiwifruit, blackberries, grapefruit

High-pesticide food: Peaches
Main nutrient: Vitamins A and C
Healthy alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, tangerines, oranges, grapefruit

High-pesticide food: Mexican cantaloupe
Main nutrient: Vitamins A and C
and potassium
Healthy alternatives: U.S. cantaloupe grown from May to December, watermelon

High-pesticide food: Celery
Main nutrient: Carotenoids
Healthy alternatives: Carrots, broccoli, radishes, romaine lettuce

High-pesticide food: Apples
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Watermelon, nectarines, bananas, tangerines

High-pesticide food: Apricots
Main nutrient: Vitamins A an C and potassium
Healthy alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, oranges, tangerines

High-pesticide food: Green beans
Main nutrient: Potassium
Healthy alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, asparagus

More on Green Kitchen Tips (104 articles available)
More from Annie B. Bond (3247 articles available)

65 comments

Go to the Source

Your Organic Kitchen

Nationally known chef and restaurateur Jesse Ziff Cool shows you the how's and why's of cooking with organics, from stocking your organic pantry to combining seasonal flavors and creating exciting, elegant dishes.buy now

65 comments

add your comment »
65 comments add your comment
Mervi R.

Interesting and very informative.

Donna B.

Wow, I love cherries. Thanks for the information.

Jane Hope

Thanks. This added to my list: spinach,greenbeans.mexican cantalope, and apricots. I also have: kale, imported grapes,nectarines on my previous list from foodnews.org/fulllist.php

Winston R.

the Ecological Food Manufacturers Association has been created to assess nutrition and environmental footprint of producers. Please join us! www.ecofma.com

Lorrie L.

hi its really interesting to know about the top ten foods to eat !
Supplements
from Foods

David Cohen

For the remarkably few who are smart enough to wash their vegs and fruits with soap and water (at least twice), you should know that spraying these foods (after washing) with good polar minerals or other good ocean mineral water, diluted TEN TO ONE, is magnficent for something called "MAXIMUM CATION EXCHANGE," which means exchanging out some of the toxins in the fruits and vegetables for the good minerals in the mineral water, which is actually concentrated minuerals with the salt removed.

Spray the diluted mineral water onto the vegetable or fruit, let it sit for 20 or 30 seconds, then rinse off. You will rapidly notice that such foods DEFINITELY give you more, and higher quality energy.

Thank you to Care2 for raising these subjects.

Past Member

Hello... Well, I agree, that the mexican agriculture has many flaws... but: It is because of many retarded laws telling the international market how fruit must look like and feel like and how ripe it must be and so on....

IF you are in Mexico, especially in small communities, you will find mostly organic vegetables. For instance in Xochimilco, the floating gardens from Mexico City. Small producers can't afford other than sustainable agriculture.

alina a.

Sorry but DDT is still very commonly used in latin american countries. Its not only a Mexico thing. I was in Ecuador a few years back on a university research and was suprised all the pesticide they use is 99.9 DDT based. Even household bug spray sold there was 99.9 DDT. I was in Salango, and everynight we had a swarm of the weirdest brown crickets show up everywhere, thousands. The DDT did not seem to bother them or kill them. They had become resistant to it.
But you had many kids born with defects where the parents used the product at work.

Derevaun P.

Claudia, please keep in mind that in Mexico DDT is not banned. If you don't know what DDT is look it up. The US banned it years ago because it is a very high cancer causing pesticide. I never buy fruits or veggies from Mexico.

Claudia Micher

I'm highly surprised about the "mexican" cantaloupe... can we be in front of another acusation such as salmonella in mexican tomatoes, and then on other mexican products? I would like to see the "pesticide free" label on US cantaloupe... sorry, but I'm mexican!

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Excerpted from Your Organic Kitchen, by Jesse Ziff Cool.Copyright (c)2000 by Jesse Ziff Cool. Reprinted by permission of Rodale Press.

Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.

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