Top 14 Foods You Should Buy Organic
Apple picking season is September through November and yet they’re available year-round. How? They’re sprayed with a fungicide to prevent spoilage and then coated with a food-grade wax before being put into cold storage, says Christopher Campbell, EWG’s Vice President for Information Technology. “They only pick them one time a year, so that apple you eat in August was picked the previous year,” says Campbell.
This grants them the top spot in the Dirty Dozen list.
Celery
Like apples, you can’t peel or wash your way out of this one. Because pesticides need to be diluted before being added to crops, they’re water soluble, says Campbell. Since celery has a high water content, the toxins are sucked directly into the stalk, making it virtually impossible to get around ingesting the pesticides unless you buy organic.
Sweet bell peppers
Similar to apples, bell peppers are also coated in food-grade wax, which seals in pesticides and toxins.
Peaches, strawberries, imported nectarines and domestic blueberries
Because these fruits are sweet, bugs (just like us) love to feast on them, which means they get a heavy dose of pesticides that can’t be easily removed by washing or scrubbing. Case in point: Every single nectarine USDA tested had measurable pesticide residues, according to EWG.
Grapes
As a category, grapes have more types of pesticides than any other fruit, with 64 different chemicals, according to EWG.
Spinach and lettuce
Seventy-eight different pesticides were found on lettuce samples, according to EWG.Since they’re grown close to the ground, one might think that they experience a higher degree of pesticides to keep pests away, but the reality is that ground proximity does not make these foods significantly more vulnerable to insects and animals, according to Chuck Benbrook of the Organic Center.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are coated in food-grade wax to keep them fresh. Like apples and red peppers, the wax encases any pesticides,making them difficult to remove.
Potatoes
To prevent potatoes from sprouting “eyes” or roots, farmers spray them with toxic compounds, such as lectins, and growth inhibitors, which slow down the growing process and keep potatoesfrom needing to be refrigerated during storage.
Green Beans and Kale
Green beans and the latest “it” food kale, are new additions to this year’s Dirty Dozen. The pesticides used on these crops are toxic to the nervous system. Even though they have been largely removed from agriculture over the past decade, according to EWG, they aren’t banned.
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