In a perfect world I would be able to feed my family all "organic" fruits, vegetables and meats. However, for many of us that is not a reality because of finances and the number of mouths we feed! So what is the solution? I buy organic when it really matters and I can afford it. If I can't for whatever reason buy the food organic then I try to buy it local or substitute it for something else. For example: Strawberries... I would love to always eat organic strawberries but we just can't. So I will buy them from the strawberry patch in season and freeze as many strawberries as I can.
Foods that I always buy organic:
Apples
Apples are typically grown with the use of poisons to kill fungi and bugs. Scrubbing them doesn't take the pesticides out of the skins. Peeling the skins take away most of the nutrients.
Bell Peppers
Peppers are heavily sprayed with insecticides. The USDA found 49 different pesticides on sweet peppers. After going organic with our peppers, I can actually taste the difference between one I buy organic and a pepper I buy in the regular food isle.
Carrots
26 different pesticides have been detected in carrots and they really aren't that much more expensive.
Celery
Celery has no skin so all the pesticides sit right on the celery itself. The USDA ranked celery #1 on the Pesticide Data list containing 64 types of pesticides in celery.
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens are often contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food. When tested, 51 different pesticides were found. Yikes!
Pears
As insects become more resilient to the pesticides used on pears, more and more chemicals are used. This year the USDA found 28 of them.
Potatoes
America's favorite vegetable can be laced with as many as 37 different pesticides.
Spinach
Spinach is great for you but it is also the most contaminated leafy vegetable. There were 48 different pesticides found in spinach. This is another veggie that is not that expensive in most stores. Eat Spinach but choose organic!
Tomatoes
Although these do not rank as high on the USDA pesticide list, the thin skin of tomatoes allows pesticides to enter the actual fruit so it's best to eat organic when possible.
Foods we should buy organic
but can't on a regular basis:
Blueberries
Blueberries are the worst berry on the market for pesticides. Oh, how I love my blueberries. These are best bought organic and even frozen. The amount of molds that are grown on berries from the time they are picked to the time you eat them is enormous. It's unfortunate but true.
Cherries
Cherries are a hard one to figure out so they are best eaten organic. Some studies report that cherries grown in the US were found to have 3 times more pesticide residue than imported cherries.
Grapes
Choose grapes grown in the US. Imported grapes run a greater risk of contamination. Grapes are sprayed with chemicals at different stages of growth so no amount of washing will eliminate the contamination.
Nectarines & Peaches
Multiple pesticides are often applied to this soft skin fruit making it highly suseptible to pesticides. The USDA found 62 different pesticides on nectarines.
Strawberries
Strawberries ranked #3 on the USDA list containing 59 pesticides. If you buy strawberries out of season, they are likely imported from countries that use less stringent regulations for pesticide use.
After reading this post my husband said "Carm..this is depressing" Well, it can be...but do not let it be! Choosing fruits and vegetables of any kind is still TONS better than processed foods!
My encouragement to you is to do the best you can with what you have. If you can buy all organic that is awesome but if you can't then still eat fruits and vegetables as much as possible but focus on those that aren't as high in pesticides. We don't want to be fearful. We want to be informed and make the best choices possible. God will fill in the gaps. He is so good and faithful to do that for us. So just give it your best and let Him take care of the rest!
Great post! Super informative, great pics.
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