47 Most Pesticide Laden Fruits and Veggies
April 29, 2009
In these troubled times, many of us can’t afford to go totally organic.
So, if you’re going part-way, how do you get the most bang for your food buck?
The chart below will help you make some decisions. Starting with pesticide-laden peaches, apples and sweet green peppers down to the low pesticide load pineapples, avocados and onions, this will give you some helpful tools.
Pesticide Load in Fruits and Vegetables
FRUIT/VEGETABLE
1 (worst) Peach
2 Apple
3 Sweet Bell Pepper
4 Celery
5 Nectarine
6 Strawberries
7 Cherries
8 Kale
9 Lettuce
10 Grapes-Imported
11 Carrot
12 Pear
13 Collard Green
14 Spinach
15 Potato
16 Green Beans
17 Summer Squash
18 Pepper
19 Cucumber
20 Raspberries
21 Grapes-Domestic
22 Plum
23 Orange
24 Cauliflower
25 Tangerine
26 Mushrooms
27 Banana
28 Winter Squash
29 Cantalope
30 Cranberries
31 Honeydew Melon
32 Grapefruit
33 Sweet Potato
34 Tomato
35 Broccoli
36 Watermelon
37 Papaya
38 Eggplant
39 Cabbage
40 Kiwi
41 Sweet Peas-Frozen
42 Asparagus
43 Mango
44 Pineapple
45 Sweet Corn-Frozen
46 Avocado
47 (best) Onion
Source: Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Penguin Books 2008)
I have to add a personal note here: I know coffee is technically a vegetable, certainly it is a staple of life for many of us. However, coffee is not included on the above list.
Coffee is one of the most pesticide intensive crops in the world. If you’re a coffee lover like I am, consider lowering your toxic load by buying organic coffee, better yet shade grown and fair traded to add to the eco-friendly perks. (Pun intended!)
