The Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” for 2016 listed strawberries and apples as the worst offenders.
The Washington, D.C., organization compiled tests of produce from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to rank the best and worst conventional produce to buy in terms of number and concentration of pesticides detected.
The rankings are intended to steer customers away from conventional produce that may be harmful.
Teresa Birtles of Heartland Family Farm, a “chemicals-free” farm about 25 minutes outside of Bloomington, said reducing the amount of pesticides in one’s food by buying organically doesn’t have to be intimidating.
“I would start with what you basically eat already and just switch to organic,” Birtles said. “If you eat a lot of bananas, buy organic bananas. If you eat apples, just buy those organically.”
Heartland Family Farm uses fish emulsions, kelp and fea minerals instead of chemical pesticides, though Birtles said the farm is not certified as organic through official channels.
Growing produce without chemicals means consumers don’t have to peel away the skin or outer layer of the fruit or vegetable, where most of the pesticides would normally concentrate, she said.
“You can go out to the field and eat absolutely anything you want to eat at any time,” she said.
Rachel Noirot, a registered dietician with RPS dining services, said it’s not entirely necessary to buy all organic produce to avoid pesticides.
The EWG’s lists of produce that generally has more or less pesticide is an easy way for people to choose which foods to buy organically, wash specially or grow themselves, she said.
Organic growers use only pesticides approved by the USDA, Noirot said in an email.
These are usually made from chemicals that other plants have developed to protect themselves from insects, according to LivingWithBugs.com.
Using organic pesticides can be more expensive, which means the cost of farming and buying organic produce is higher, Noirot said.
Noirot said she recommends Heartland Family Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture shares to students who want easy access to pesticide-free produce.
The CSAs come in full-shares and half-shares of whatever produce is in season for $600 and $375 per year, delivered weekly to the city Farmers Market.
A full share will feed a family of four, Birtles said, or a vegan/vegetarian couple.
“In the spring, you would get salad mix and spring onions and rhubarb,” she said. “Peas and arugula and swiss chard.”
Although the spring planting season will start off slow, by the summer, CSA-purchasers will have a full pantry of melon, beans, zucchini and other produce, Birtles said.
“I think it’s really important to eat organic food and eat meat that is raised respectfully,” she said.
The farm has work-shares available as well, which allow people without enough money to pay in full to work at the farm in order to reduce the overall cost.
Similarly, Noirot recommended volunteering at the Hilltop Garden on campus, where people can take home small amounts of herbs or vegetables harvested, or grow small plants like tomatoes in pots, and just not spray them with pesticides.
For people without the money or inclination to buy organic produce, though, Noirot said simply buying whatever fresh produce they consume most organically can help reduce pesticide intake dramatically.
“I think Kroger is just as good as anywhere,” she said. “They have really great organic kale at Kroger, organic bananas.”
Virtually all fruits and vegetables should be washed before eating, Noirot said, as even produce that has been grown without pesticides is handled several times before it reaches the consumer.
Water removes some pesticides and germs from handling, she said, and a produce wash like Fit Organic Produce Wash, made from a blend of water, oils and phosphates, will as well.
The FDA recommends using lots of running tap water and a produce brush, peeling with a clean knife and throwing away the outer leaves of vegetables like cabbage or lettuce.
The benefits of fresh produce are in the increased fiber and nutrients, Noirot said.
It may be more beneficial to branch out and try different types of produce as well, she said, for a wide variety of nutrients.
Birtles said a person who is confronted with an organic food they haven’t tried — like okra at the Farmer’s Market, for example — can just turn to the Internet for help.
“Just type in ‘best recipe for organic okra,’ and recipes just come falling out of the sky,” Birtles said “You know how it is on the internet.”
However, if buying organic food is likely to break a budget, Noirot said ordinary produce, washed well, should still be considered healthy.
“You’re going to get a ton of nutrition from vegetables either way,” she said.
