I’m amazed I’ve never written about this here before (I did in my book, so maybe that’s why I felt like I’d covered it?): Each year the Environmental Working Group analyzes USDA and FDA data concerning pesticide residue on conventionally-grown produce. Essentially, they crunch a bunch of numbers and figure out which fruits and vegetables are so laden with chemicals that we should always buy organic (or from a farmers’ market, where you can ask about growing practices); those are dubbed the “Dirty Dozen.” The produce that shows the lightest pesticide load becomes the “Clean Fifteen,” which you can buy conventionally without worry.
Last week EWG unveiled their lists for 2012. On my Weight Watchers blog I used it as a jumping-off point to address shopping for organics on a tight freelancers’ budget, and on BabyCenter I talked about a scarier issue if you’ve got a baby: EWG analyzed the stats on pesticide residue in non-organic jarred food, which were tested for the first time ever (and I say: WTF???). Friends, if you’re not buying organic baby food or making your own from the best possible ingredients, you might want to rethink that.
How do you fit organics into your life, and your budget?