Common Sense Organic Produce Advice

Article by healthybalance.com staff
Posted on May 06, 2008

No doubt you know how important fresh fruit and vegetables are to your health. Every day, you should eat between three and five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit. Choosing organic produce is even healthier since it is free from toxic pesticide residue.

While buying and consuming fresh organic produce is your best healthy alternative, what if you are unable to find it at your market or, when you do, the price simply scares you away?

Which fresh produce has the most pesticides?

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, has good advice on being a wise produce consumer. They have compiled a list of 100 fruits and vegetables, ranked on how much pesticide residue they bring to the table when grown by conventional farming methods.

Those with the very highest levels of pesticide residue included peaches, pears, nectarines, apples, peppers, celery, carrots, cucumbers, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, spinach, grapes, potatoes and green beans. Most other produce, including citrus fruits, melons, plums, raspberries, blueberries, cabbage and cauliflower, had lower but still significant amounts of pesticide residue. Produce with low pesticide residues included onions, mangoes, asparagus, broccoli and eggplant.

Choosing organic when it comes to the high residue fruits and vegetables and non-organic for those with low pesticide residue can be one way to safely save on your fresh produce purchase.

“While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel,” advises the Environmental Working Group. “The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.”

Buy local for better nutrition

While the Environmental Working Group’s ranking addresses pesticide hazards, it does not consider nutritional value. Because organically grown produce packs up to four times as much nutritional punch as conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, buying organic is always a value when you consider the nutrients you get per dollar. Buying foods grown locally can provide you with even more nutritional advantage as they are more likely to have been picked when ripe and they have not traveled thousands of miles before coming to your table.

Ask your local farmers if they use organic or chemical free farming methods. (Many small farms grow chemical-free even though they are not certified organic.) Better yet, find out if your community has a Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. CSAs offer you a whole growing season’s worth of wonderful, healthy produce for the price of an annual farm share.