Pick Your Poison Level

This info has been out for a while, but it bears repeating: The Environmental Working Group's list of the pesticide contamination level of 45 popular commercially-grown fruits and veggies. If you go to this link you can see the list and also download a wallet-sized .pdf version to print out to take with you on shopping trips.

This list has practical financial implications: When the budget is tight and organic produce won't fit, you can buy the "least bad" commercial produce by picking varieties from the bottom of this list. Also, if you find a great sale price on some of the "least bad" commercial produce, it's a good time to buy in bulk. We don't live in a perfect world—even organic produce is sometimes found to be contaminated with pesticides residues. So knowing which produce is "least bad" has its advantages.

This list indirectly raises the "organic vs. local" question: Which is better nutritionally and economically (in terms of supporting local economies)—buying organic produce shipped in from thousands of miles away or non-organic from a local farm? There are good reasons to do both, and the EWG food list will help you support local growers who may not grow organic but whose produce has not been heavily contaminated.