Photo by MegaMamaTX

I wish I could buy organic produce for my family all the time; many studies show that a low pesticide diet is the safest and most nutritious, particularly for children. But as moms recently discussed in The CafeMom Newcomers Club, organic food is expensive—sometimes almost double the price of non-organic food.

What I didn't realize is that some types of produce have a lot more pesticides than others. So until I win the lottery and can purchase all organic all the time, I can spend my money on the foods that are most contaminated. For example, because apples and lettuce have high levels of pesticides, it would make sense for me to buy those organic; but for produce like onions and bananas, which have low levels of pesticides, I can buy non-organic at least for now. Read on to see which foods are low in pesticides and which foods you should try to buy organic if at all possible.


In order to help you decide which produce to buy organic, the Environmental Working Group offers a shopper's guide, which lists the 12 fruits and vegetables with the most and least pesticides. Visit the site to download a handy pocket-size version that you can keep in your purse and refer to next time you're in the grocery store.


12 Worst Fruits and Vegetables (you should try to buy these organic):

Peaches

Apples

Sweet Bell Peppers

Celery

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Lettuce

Grapes (Imported)

Pears

Spinach

Potatoes


12 Best Fruits and Vegetables (buy these conventionally grown if you can't afford organic)

Onions

Avocado

Sweet Corn (frozen)

Pineapple

Mango

Sweet Peas (frozen)

Asparagus

Kiwi

Bananas

Cabbage

Broccoli

Eggplant


Poll

Do you buy organic food?

Only CafeMom members can vote on polls.
Sign up for an account or Click here to log in.

Total Votes: 10

View Results