When to Buy Organic

Every year @environmentalworkinggroup releases their Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists to help us navigate the organic world! It helps us determine where we can focus if we are wanting to reduce pesticide exposures.

The dirty dozen list are produce items that were found to have the highest levels of pesticide residues. These items are recommended to buy organic when possible. The clean fifteen items on the other hand were found to have the least amount of pesticide residues when tested. This means you can save yourself money and purchase these as non-organic!

Luckily- as consumers have demanded more organic produce over the years, its becoming a common option at most stores and organic prices are dropping! Having said that, it’s still important to recognize that it can easily be a “luxury” to buy organic and an out of reach option for many people.

I recently went to buy organic grapes that were going to be $17 for a small/med sized bag. These would have lasted my kids 5 mins...😳 Not practical at all!

If some items are too expensive, simply buy non organic options. Just because it may be on the dirty dozen list doesn’t mean it should be skipped if you can’t buy organic. All fruits and vegetables are better than none. 🤎

Focus on it when you can and if it’s is out of reach, don’t stress it. Simply wash and rinse your items well!