Best Foods to Buy Organic

The Dirty Dozen Organic Foods List

OK, so there are a few different opinions about foods that need to be on "Dirty Dozen" list. It seems, though, that no matter what list you read, the main culprits remain the same:

Apples
Cherries
Grapes
Peaches
Nectarines
Pears
Lettuce
Strawberries
Bell peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Spinach

Lists often vary to include the following:

Raspberries
Beef
Poultry
Dairy

The above fruits and vegetables are considered the "Dirty Dozen" because they have the tendency to retain a higher level of pesticides and herbicides used by farmers than other types of produce. But no matter where they are from, peaches are the worst culprit and number one on the "Dirty Dozen" list, with a FDA residual chemical rating of 100. This means, of all the produce on the list, peaches retain the highest amount of harmful residual chemicals. For the ratings of other produce on the "Dirty Dozen" list go here: http://www.sustainlane.com/reviews/the-dirty-dozen/W7BMKJ7MHOYAMDYSLJPYYBOJU2SB

Of course, ideally you are buying everything local and organic, but not everyone can afford to do this, so this list is just of recommendations that are particularly important.

Does anyone have any other items on their personal "dirty dozen" list?

I'd think broccoli and cauliflower would be more prone to trap in unwanted junk because of all the nooks and crannies.

I once heard a corollary to this.  Apparently, pineapple doesn't take in much pesticide.  So if you visit a conventional pineapple farm in hawaii, it will reek of toxic gick:  they use more because they are allowed to.  They are allowed to because the plant takes up less.

I found a "new" dirty dozen list, in the July 2010 version of AcresUsa which also includes the "clean" 15 fruits and veggies which are lowest in pesticides and generally ok to eat non-organic. 

As a friend pointed out, because pineapple doesn't absorb pesticides as easily, it is deemed ok then to use more pesticides. 

Any thoughts or info on this?

the website address to the dirty dozen and clean 15 is;

http://www.foodnews.org/sneak/EWG-shoppers-guide.pdf

Paul, Ran Prieur, and Debra Berman talk about pesticides and different types of produce, like pineapple, in this podcast: http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/512-podcast-088-ran-prieur/