Saturday, January 14, 2012

Grocery List - Fruit

I always have a hard time to remember what fruits I should buy organic and what is safe to eat non-organic. I would buy all organic if I could, but sometimes the selection is low and the prices are just way too high. This is why I've split this list into conventional (aka non-organic) fruits I think are safe and ones I think we should buy organic. The ones in the list titled "Fruit Okay to Buy Non-Organic/ Conventional" are almost always considered 'clean fruits' and are free of pesticides.The fruits in the "Fruit to Buy Organic" list have at least a generous amount of those pesky pesticides when grown conventionally. In case you were wondering, no, you cannot wash all the pesticides off. They are treated throughout the growing process and a lot of it is absorbed.

I tried to alphabetize the list to help with looking things up. Fruits I consider to be highest in pesticides all have an asterisk * next to them. I would avoid conventional forms of these asterisked fruits as much as possible. I hope this helps you guys and gals out. I know I will be pulling this list up about every time I'm wandering around the produce aisle or making my grocery list.

Fruit Okay to Buy Non-Organic/Conventional 
Avocados
Bananas
Blueberries (local)
Cantaloupe (in season and domestic/avoid ones imported from Mexico)
Honeydew Melon
Kiwi
Mango
Papaya
Pineapple
Watermelon

Fruit to Buy Organic
Apples**
Blueberries (if  buying non-local)
Cantaloupe (if out of season/imported)
Cherries*
Grapefruit
Grapes*
Oranges
Lemons
Nectarines*
Peaches*** (conventional peaches usually have the highest amount of pesticides over any other fruit)
Pears*
Plums
Raspberries*
Strawberries**
Tangerines
Tomatoes (buy local)

*Fruits considered to be high in pesticides if non-organic.
**Very high in pesticides if non-organic
***Extremely high in pesticides if non-organic

Let Us Know! Do you have certain fruits that you only buy organic? Is your decision to buy organic fruit based on flavor, the lack or pesticides and other chemicals, or because you like to stick to locally grown crops? Is there anything missing from the lists?