What is the deal with all this organic food?
Studies on organic vs. non-organic food are all over the map, with some studies showing no nutritional differences, some showing a lot. And different studies investigate different sets of nutrients, so they’re hard to compare. The studies make it hard to formulate a conclusion but the fact is, conventional crops are grown with a massive amount of pesticides and, no matter what they say, some of it remains on the crops and winds up in our bodies. Make no mistake, some of the pesticides wind up on organic crops, but there’s a lot less of it.
I think the reason for eating organic, when we can, is to minimize our intake of the pesticides but it is not because organic is significantly higher in nutrients than conventional foods.
Even with this organic hype, only about 2.5 percent of food eaten in the US is organic, and
the truth of the matter is, organic costs a lot more. Can you really afford to eat ALL organic? It may be much more important to focus on eating more fresh food — organic or non-organic — than to have endless debates about possible benefits of organic or non organic. One thing you may want to pay close attention to is the fact that certain foods do are more apt to retain more pesticides than others so you may want to know which contain more than the others.
Below is a list from worst to best in terms of pesticide retention. the number to the right reflects the pesticide rating, with 100 being the highest. Check it out and maybe rather than not buying non organic and only organic, just be aware of products that have a lower pesticide rating.
Peach 100
Apple 93
Sweet Bell Pepper 83
Celery 82
Nectarine 81
Strawberries 80
Cherries 73
Kale 69
Lettuce 67
Grapes -66
Carrot 63
Pear 63
Collard Greens 60
Spinach 58
Potato 56
Green Beans 53
Summer Squash 53
Pepper 51
Cucumber 50
Raspberries 46
Grapes – Domestic 44
Plum 44
Orange 44
Cauliflower 39
Tangerine 37
Mushrooms 36
Banana 34
Winter Squash 34
Cantaloupe 33
Cranberries 33
Honeydew Melon 30
Grapefruit 29
Sweet Potato 29
Tomato 29
Broccoli 28
Watermelon 26
Papaya 20
Eggplant 20
Cabbage 17
Kiwi 13
Sweet Peas – Frozen 10
Asparagus 10
Mango 9
Pineapple 7
Sweet Corn – Frozen 2
Avocado 1
Onion 1 (lowest pesticide load)
Something to think about next time you go shopping
