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Top 10 Fruits and Vegetables to Buy Organic

A frequently asked question is, “If I can’t afford to buy only organic, which fruits and vegetables most likely contain toxic pesticide residues?” We’ve put together a list of 10 to buy organic, based on 2006 studies by Consumers Union (CU) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The two groups analyzed the amounts and toxicity of pesticide residues found in conventionally grown food samples by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While most of these foods don’t exceed safety tolerances for a dose of a single pesticide, most contain multiple pesticide residues. CU and EWG have also considered combined exposures and risks to children. One-year-olds eat three times as many fresh peaches, per pound of body weight, as do adults, and more than four times as many apples and pears, according to CU’s Consumer Reports.

In addition, children’s rapidly developing bodies are more vulnerable than adults are. Pregnant women should take care, too, as many pesticides cross the placenta to expose the fetus.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans think that organic farming is better for the environment, according to a February 2000 ABC News poll. Our list below also considers the harm these chemicals cause to wildlife and farm workers. Pesticides can contaminate drinking water, and although DDT and related chemicals such as dieldrin have been banned in the U.S. for over 20 years, these pesticides can still be found in foods that absorb them from the soil. To reduce your pesticide exposure, you can peel fruit that you would normally just rinse, such as apples and pears. Some pesticides, like dieldrin, aldicarb, and DDT, however, are systemic, pervading the flesh of the vegetable or fruit.

For the sake of our children and the environment, buy certified organic or IPM* when ever you can.

We ranked the following 10 out of 42 fruits and vegetables sampled according to the amount and toxicity of pesticide residues found.

PEACHES Summer’s blushing fruit contains high residues of iprodione, classified as a probable human carcinogen by the Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA), and methyl parathion, an endocrine disruptor and organophosphate (OP) insecticide. OPs are potent neurotoxins that attack the nervous system and brain. Methyl parathion has caused massive kills of bees and birds. According to Consumer Reports, single servings of peaches “consistently exceeded” the EPA’s safe daily limit for a 44-pound child.
APPLES may contain methyl parathion. Both fresh apples, and baby food applesauce can also contain chlorpyrifos, an OP which has caused large bird kills. Many IPM apple growers are trying to phase out OPs.
PEARS, both fresh and in baby food, can also come with methyl parathion, as well as the OP azinphos-methyl, which is toxic to freshwater fish, amphibians, and bees.
WINTER SQUASH Dieldrin, a chlorinated, carcinogenic insecticide, exceed the safe daily limit for a young child in two-thirds of positive samples. Another potent carcinogen, heptachlor, also showed up. DDT and its breakdown product, DDE, were detected in baby food squash.
GREEN BEANS can contain acephate, methamidophos, and dimethoate (three neurotoxic OPs) and endosulfan, an endocrine-disrupting insecticide, which showed up in baby food, too. Acephate disorients migrating birds, throwing them off course.
GRAPES U.S. grapes contain mehyl parathion and methomyl, a carbamate insecticide listed as an endocrine disruptor; imports may contain dimethoate.
STRAWBERRIES the enhanced red color of strawberries comes from the fungicide captan, a probable human carcinogen that can irritate skin and eyes, and is highly toxic to fish. While the lethal soil fumigant methylo bromide doesn’t show up on the fruit, it has harmed California farm workers, and depletes the ozone layer.
RASPBERRIES Watch out for more than thorns! These berries can contain captan, iprodione, and carbaryl, a suspected endocrine disruptor that has also been found in plum baby food.
SPINACH Permethrin, a possible human carcinogen, and dimethoate dominate spinach’s toxicity ratings, but CU notes that residue levels have been declining as U.S. farmers reduce use of these insecticides. DDT has been found in spinach, which leads all foods in exceeding safety tolerances.
POTATOES Pesticide use on potatoes is growing, CU warns. They may contain dieldrin and methamidophos, and children eating potatoes risk getting a very high dose of aldicarb, CU says.

*Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a system that helps growers keep pest damage, and therefore pesticide use, at a minimum. Throughout the growing season, IPM farmers carefully monitor insect and disease levels on their crop. Biological controls, such as pheromone traps and other baits, are employed before synthetic pesticides are resorted to.