Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a list of the fruits and vegetables found to have the most and the least pesticide residues. These are called “The Dirty Dozen” and “The Clean Fifteen!”

Why are these lists important to Dr. Patti and I? Because we feel too little is known about the impact of all of these chemicals accumulating in our bodies, especially in combination. There really is no research showing the safety in this regard.

While these chemicals may not kill us or even lead to immediate symptoms (as per the traditional measure of toxicity), some lead to growing health problems over time, and for others the impact is simply unknown. If we can’t be sure, then we aren’t going to take the chance with our health.

For these reasons, when we shop for fruits and vegetables, we prefer to buy organic. Unfortunately, organics often do cost a little bit more (sometimes a lot more), so to be smart about how we spend our hard earned money, we regularly refer to “The Dirty Dozen” to guide us in which produce to definitely buy organic. Truthfully, we have it memorized!

On the other hand, foods found on “The Clean Fifteen” list are safe to purchase in their conventional, non-organic form.

So, without further ado, here are this year’s lists! (Click to enlarge)

For more information, please visit the Environmental Working Group’s website to read the summarized report. Some of the findings are startling!

~ Dr. Colin