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The Dirty Dozen – Shopping Guide to Buying Pesticide-Free Produce

The Jackson Whole Grocer promotes the production of pesticide-free produce and the health and environmental benefits associated with eating pesticide-free produce. However, some produce grown using pesticides is worse for your health than other produce grown using pesticides, this group is commonly referred to as the Dirty Dozen.

The Dirty Dozen was determined by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The EWG created a simulation of thousands of consumers eating high and low pesticide diets. Their results show that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables (Dirty Dozen) and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 15 least contaminated will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day. Less dramatic comparisons will produce less dramatic reductions, but without doubt using the Shoppers Guide to Pesticides provides people with a way to make choices that lower pesticide exposure in the diet.

To download the Shoppers Guide to Pesticides visit http://www.foodnews.org/ or to see the full list of results visit http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php