The New Dirty Dozen: what you should always buy organic |

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) just published a new report revising their list of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen are the fruits and veggies that you should always buy organic due to the high levels of pesticides found on them. The Clean Fifteen are the fruits and veggies which have the least amount of pesticides detected.

When making decisions at the grocery store, consider these lists. Use our free printable pocket guide below as a reference. Just pull this little card out of your wallet when you are in the produce section at your grocery store.

We decided to buy the dirty dozen in the organic section whenever possible, especially the top 3 offenders. You also have to consider products beyond the produce section. Apples are the worst when it comes to pesticide use. We have been buying our apples organically for some time now, but just recently it dawned on us that our apple products were not organic. Why would you only buy your apples organic, but not buy your apple juice organic? Error corrected, we now have organic apple juice in the house.

If you are not ready to take the plunge into buying all organic produce or can’t seem to find certain items in your local grocer’s organic section, use the Clean 15 as a guide to produce that is going to give you the smallest dose of pesticides.

FREE Printable Pocket Produce Shopping Guide or Handout

Dirty Dozen Pocket Guide (2 business card size) PDF

Dirty Dozen Pocket Guide (2 small) PDF

Dirty Dozen Handout PDF

To get your jpeg copy: 1. Click on picture. 2. Right click, then select “save picture as”. 3. Choose where you would like to save the file. 4. Now open the file and print this pocket guide out as a 4×6 photograph.

To Assemble small pocket guides: Cut around the outside borders of the 2 cards, leaving them connected. Now you can fold in half, making a double sided pocket card. For extra protection, you can laminate or cover with clear contact paper. For a sturdier guide, print on cardstock. Keep in your wallet for easy reference when you can’t remember what to buy.

Here are the lists:

The Dirty Dozen 2011