Is Buying Organic Food Always Necessary?
Think buying organic food is going to blow your budget?
Let’s set aside the argument that eating whole food pays back in higher energy and lowered disease risk and healthcare costs.
You’ve got a budget, and let’s face it, buying organic food will chip away at it more quickly than conventional food. Did you know you can prioritize which foods are MOST important to buy organic, and which are LEAST important?
In this article:
- The “Dirty Dozen” And Other Foods To ALWAYS Buy Organic
- More Foods to Put On Your ALWAYS ORGANIC List
- The “Clean 15” And Other Foods You DON’T Need To Buy Organic
The “Dirty Dozen” And Other Foods To ALWAYS Buy Organic
The “Dirty Dozen” is a list put out by the Environmental Working Group, ranking produce most contaminated by pesticide. It changes a little year to year, but the same culprits tend to show up time and time again:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale, collard, and mustard greens
- Peaches
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Bell and hot peppers
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Green beans
Those are no-brainers. Choose organic every time.
More Foods to Put On Your ALWAYS ORGANIC List
The Dirty Dozen isn’t the whole story, though, and pesticides aren’t the only culprit to watch out for. Here are some more foods I recommend buying organic.
- Leafy Greens: The demand for pre-washed, organic leafy greens has increased availability and pushed the organic price down; nowadays, the organic choice isn’t much higher than conventional. Besides, with greens being such a large percentage of a healthy whole-foods diet (what’s a green smoothie or salad without them?), you want the cleanest source possible.
- Coffee: Coffee is one of the most sprayed crops on the planet. With 12 billion pounds of coffee being produced each year, that’s a lot of herbicides, pesticides, and additives. Buying organic is better for you, AND for the environment.
- Eggs: The natural omega fatty acid balance is so disrupted in conventional eggs that it’s the reverse of what is healthy. It should be a 6:1 ratio Omega 3’s to Omega 6’s, but in conventional eggs, that ratio is flipped. Folks eating the Standard American Diet are already far out of balance. Choose organic eggs for a more natural ratio.
- Meat: If you’re going to eat meat, always choose clean, organic sources. Organic livestock is raised without antibiotics and steroids, and the animals have access to the outdoors. Their feed cannot contain animal by-products or GMO grains or be grown using non-organic fertilizers. Look for free-range poultry and grass-fed beef. Butcherbox offers clean and organic options.
- Dairy: If you can’t do without dairy products, make sure they’re organic, for the same reasons you want clean meats. The best organic dairy comes from grass-fed animals.
The “Clean 15” And Other Foods You DON’T Need To Buy Organic
The “Clean 15” is the other side of the Dirty Dozen coin. EWG says this produce is least likely to be contaminated with pesticide, and is generally ok to buy conventionally.
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas (frozen)
- Asparagus
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Mushrooms
- Mangoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Watermelon
- Carrots
I’ll add a few more grocery items to the list of non-organic foods to purchase:
- Other foods with thick skins or rinds that can be removed, like melons, citrus fruits, bananas (unless you want to add the peel to your green smoothies for gut-supporting benefits, and squashes.
- Quinoa, which usually isn't sprayed because the tough outer coating is already nearly impermeable to pests.
- Maple syrup, which is usually forest-harvested from untreated trees.
What about foods not on either list? Read labels and use good judgment. When in doubt, go organic when your budget allows (and maybe even grow some of your own veggies!).
Want the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists handy when you're shopping at the grocery store? Grab my convenient Wallet Cards, for free!
Read Next: What Does ORGANIC Mean? Should I Pay More For It, Or Not?
Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.
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This is interesting — why didn’t someone think of it before?
You say onions are ok but are you aware that many growers burn the tops off their onions with Roundup to make them easier to harvest?
Earthfare has organic almond milk & organic almond/coconut milk! Earthfare Store brand
pineaples were safe 8 years ago. The ones that come from Central America grow in soils with a lot of agrochemicals in them. I had to treat people working in “las Piñeras” with skin rushes and gut problems for the last 7 years…
Cut the processed sugar by cutting the processed foods! And you will automatically cut a whole lot of GMOs and pesticides out of your diet. I have 3 little kids—8, 5, 3–it CAN be done. Research shows that sugar is as addictive as cocaine (check PubMed for yourself). It’s terrible for all of us and especially for our kids’ small, developing brains and bodies.
Here’s to better health for us all!
One thing’s for sure with this body. Since I stopped eating and drinking so much high fructose corn syrup loaded products. I have less body stiffness, less inflammation and less muscle aches and pains. I’m starting to believe that excessive sugar in the diet contributes to arthritis. I felt like I had some form of it before I began to decrease my sugar intake.
HFC I hear is used not only as a sweetner in foods but also as a preservative. It’s included in most processed foods. Even in non-sweetened foods such as breads. You’re right about ditching the processed foods. I’m looking into stevia, maple syrup and Manuka honey as sweeteners since I hear they’re healthier alternatives to most sweeteners. Bon Voyage’ on your good health journey!
Stephanie, Most seeds aren’t injected with Roundup, especially the clean 15. It’s a disturbing trend of course. But EWG makes the list every year and they are well aware of that issue so I don’t imagine that the clean 15 are “Roundup ready”.
Hannah, I’d say both are very important – keep refined sugars out of their diet and rather encourage natural sugars in whole foods which if you can purchase organic is preferred. Here’s a link to the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen that is helpful when shopping: https://greensmoothiegirl.local/dirtydozen/
I love the genious guides & had so looked forward to ordering them, but in checkout it says no shipping to the United Kingdom. Is there really no way of posting these to the UK?
Hi Sofia, I love our genius guides as well – so handy and attractively displayed and laminated. Alas, to ship them to the UK would cost you an arm and a leg, I fear.
I guess that goes for Australia too?
Please make sure your Papayas are non-GMO. They are a GMO crop and it is surprising to me that this is not mentioned on the clean 15 list. If your Papayas are from Hawaii, and they are not labeled as non-gmo or organic they are GMO. I hope you will consider supporting local farmers efforts to keep Papayas clean and buy non-gmo and organic.
Thanks!
It is risky to buy anything NOT organic! There is a current trend to spray with Roundup for more uniform controlled harvest. This includes sweet potatoes, beans, lentils, grains, rice, cabbage, quinoa, melons, peas, corn, cauliflower and MORE! Eat organic! There are papayas and summer squashes that are GMO that have been sold for years WITHOUT labeling!! ALSO maple syrup is primed with formaldehyde in the collecting tube to keep it open if it isn’t organic! Beware of LEMONS as the rind has several pesticides and many people are adding it to their clean filtered water thinking that it is SAFE! Bananas are also fumigated and treated with anti ripening chemicals so they sit on the shelf longer. Once I had bananas for 2 weeks that stayed GREEN! I took them back! Organic is truly worth the price and they are much higher in nutrients and flavor
Not Always we need to buy organic. But when I see that that is also advised for bananas it is hard for me to believe. In Costa Rice my daughter was doing research by University Wageningen in Netherlands: it was very clear that the non organic bananas contributed dramatically to bad health both of the farmers growing them as to their families and the consumers. Since I have been there I never eat non-organic bananas anymore
We eat organic apples too because we can also tell the difference in taste.
Oops I meant to say bananas.
I’m surprised that papaya doesn’t say non GMO next to it like the corn. I thought it was a high GMO food unless organic.
Thank you very much I do appreciate this information .
Is it possible to buy a PDF version as I live in Australia and shipping is not provided to us.
The concept of promoting a clean 15 is misleading because minimal spraying and thick skinned fruit doesn’t change the fact that the soil from which the fruit or vegetables grow is mineral deficient. To save money, I recommend reducing portion sizes, stop overfilling your plate of food. Your grocery bill will be less if you buy less – even if you’re choosing to buy 100% everything on your grocery list.