Are You Eating Dirty?

I LOVE the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists that EWG (the Environmental Working Group) release every year. I don’t know about you, but I’m a girl on a budget. I’m all about healthy practices and limiting the amount of toxins/chemicals my body is exposed to, but if there’s a chance to save some money on food and not dose my body with a serving of pesticides, I’m in!

If you’re not familiar with these lists, they are essentially a shopper’s guide to the most and least pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables. Each year, the EWG measures pesticide residues on conventionally grown produce and ranks them from “dirty” to “clean.” USDA Certified Organic produce is grown without the use of any chemical pesticides or herbicides, so they are always “clean.” By choosing organic produce, you can get all of the health benefits of fruits and veggies without exposing yourself and your family to potentially harmful chemicals (which have been linked in animal studies to asthma, autism, learning disabilities, birth defects, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and several types of cancer).

The Clean Fifteen list focuses on the conventionally grown crops with the least amount of pesticide residue (yes, there are some safe ones out there!), giving people safer options when selecting non-organic fruits and vegetables.

The Dirty Dozen list, as you might have guessed, identifies the worst-offenders of conventional fruits and vegetables that have the highest number of pesticide residues that you should avoid buying non-organic if at all possible!

If you’re like me and want to avoid harmful chemicals in your produce but can’t afford to buy 100% organic, please try to always buy these items organic (look for the produce code sticker to start with a 9 to know if it’s organic):