Here is a list I found online of the top twelve things you should buy organic if you can...Not all of us can afford to go 100% organic. The solution? Focus on just those foods that are laden with the highest amounts of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones and deploy your organic spending power on buying organic versions of these whenever possible.
Meat. There's the likelihood that chicken, pork, and cow feed is grown with the help of pesticides, antibiotics and chemicals. Similar to milk and milk-based dairy products, many chemical pesticides could end up in the animal, which may end up in you.
Milk. The fat in dairy products is another haven for pesticides, antibioltics, and bovine growth hormones. These get passed on to you through commercial milk, cheese, and butter. Organic dairies do not use chemicals or growth hormones like rGBH or rbST.
Coffee. Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries that don't regulate the use of chemicals and pesticides. Look for the Fair Trade Certified label on the coffee package or can; it will give you some assurance that chemicals and pesticides were not used on the plants.
Peaches. Forty-five different pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards.
Apples. Scrubbing and peeling a fruit doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Organic apples taste sweeter than conventionally grown, too.
- Peppers. Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're one of the most heavily sprayed vegetables out there and may be coated with nearly 40 commonly used pesticides meant to keep them insect-free.
Celery. Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the twenty-nine different chemicals that are used on conventional crops.
Lettuce. Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food.
Strawberries. On average, strawberries receive a dose of up to 500 pounds of pesticides per acre. If you buy strawberries out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-than-stringent regulations for pesticide use.
Grapes. Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with 35 different pesticides during different growth periods during the season and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's permeable thin skin.
Potatoes. America's popular spud ranks highest for pesticide residue. It may also be tainted by fungicides added to the soil for growing.
Tomatoes. The standard regimen of pesticides used on conventionally raised tomatoes numbers 30. Their easily punctured skins are no match for chemicals that will eventually permeate the whole tomato.
