Ready to Buy Organic Food?

Maybe your baby is ready for table food or perhaps you've decided to try your hand at making homemade baby food? Either way, you may be ready to buy organic food for your baby's meals.

But wait a minute.

Does every food item you buy have to be organic?

If not, how do you know where to start? Luckily there is a great way to maximize your organic dollar.

It's called the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce and it's the result of research conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

Between 2000 and 2004, EWG conducted nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on fruit and produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug administration.

Based on their findings, eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 15 pesticides a day, on average.

EWG recommends that you buy organic for these 12 fruits and vegetables now coined the "Dirty Dozen."

The Dirty Dozen-The Top 12 Most Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables

• peaches
• apples
• sweet bell peppers
• celery
• nectarines
• strawberries
• cherries
• kale
• lettuce
• imported grapes
• carrot
• pear

There are some conventionally-grown produce that have a very low pesticide load. Therefore, you can feel quite comfortable buying non-organic or conventional foods for the "Clean Fifteen":

• onions
• avocado
• sweet corn
• pineapple
• mango
• sweet peas
• asparagus
• kiwi
• cabbage
• eggplant
• watermelon
• tomato
• sweet potato
• broccoli
• eggplant.

So when you are shopping for your family, don't get overwhelmed regarding what to buy organic. For the most bang for your organic buck, simply focus on the Dirty Dozen.

To get a copy of the "Dirty Dozen" for your wallet, click here.

From Buy Organic Food to Organic Baby Food

Return from Buy Organic Food to Home Page