Every year, a group called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) comes out with a couple of lists called the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen lists the foods that have the highest pesticide levels. The Clean Fifteen lists the foods with the least amount of pesticides.
Organic food is the cleanest, most nutritious food to buy in the store. The price of organic food tends to be higher than non-organic. The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists are a good guide to use to figure out which foods should be bought organic with the least impact on spending. Basically, foods on the Clean Fifteen list can be bought non-organic as the pesticide exposure is low. Foods on the Dirty Dozen list should be bought organic as the pesticide exposure is high. Even if you can’t afford to buy every food on the Dirty Dozen list organic, at least try to buy a couple of items. Start with the ones you eat most often. Then as you can, work through switching the other items to organic.
The 2025 lists aren’t out yet as of this post, but the 2024 Dirty Dozen list includes:
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, collard & mustard greens
4. Grapes
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Nectarines
8. Apples
9. Bell and hot peppers
10. Cherries
11. Blueberries
12. Green beans
The 2024 Clean Fifteen list includes:
1. Sweet corn
2. Avocados
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya
6. Sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Honeydew melon
9. Kiwi
10. Cabbage
11. Watermelon
12. Mushrooms
13. Mango
14. Sweet potatoes
15. Carrots
BTW, the EWG also offers a search functionality to review the chemicals in skin care products. It is available on the Skin Deep page.
Challenge:
Review the fruits and vegetables you buy. If any you eat regularly are on the dirty dozen list, work on switching over to buying them organic if you don’t currently.
Resources:
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php