Here’s Why You Should Only Buy Organic Strawberries, Spinach And Kale

If organic food is in your budget, you may want to think twice about purchasing conventional strawberries, spinach and kale. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a U.S. based advocacy and research group, released its 2020 Dirty Dozen list this week, an annual shopper’s guide for fresh produce evaluating which fruits and vegetables are most contaminated by pesticides, and therefore potentially carcinogenic.

More than 90 percent of samples of strawberries, apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines, and kale that EWG tested were positive for residues of two or more pesticides and multiple samples of kale showed eighteen different pesticides. In fact, on average, the EWG found that kale and spinach samples had 1.1 to 1.8 times as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop tested.

And yes, these products are sold in supermarkets across America, where the USDA deems them safe to eat. Some background: The USDA does not test for all pesticides used in crop production, including glyphosate (also known as Roundup), which is “the most heavily used pesticide in the U.S.,” the EWG says. “High levels can be found in several grains and beans, such as oats and chickpeas, due to its increasing use as a pre-harvest drying agent.” Not ideal.

If you’re eager to phase pesticides out of your diet, keep the EWG’s newest dirty dozen list in mind (or on your shopping list) next time you grocery shop. Remember that some local farms and producers don’t have an official organic certification, but also are proudly pesticide-free, so you can always ask about your produces’ origins at farmer’s markets if you’re concerned about the foods on the list:

EWG’S Dirty Dozen for 2020

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

Along with the annual Dirty Dozen, the EWG also puts together a Clean Fifteen list, that is, a list of items you don’t have to worry about purchasing conventionally. The fifteen items on the list were found to contain the lowest amount of pesticide residue and almost 70 percent of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no pesticide residues. The top of the list is the cleanest, with fewer than 2 percent of avocado and sweet corn samples showing any detectable pesticides:

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Cauliflower
10. Cantaloupes
11. Broccoli
12. Mushrooms
13. Cabbage
14. Honeydew melon
15. Kiwi

Splurge on strawberries, save on avocados, and you should be well on your way to cleaner eating.