Organic? The Dirty Dozen & The Clean 15

Springtime is here, and with summer six weeks away, fresh fruits and vegetables will soon be accessible and abundant. That means you should be even more discerning about your produce sources. To aid us in distinguishing between the good, the bad and the ugly, my wife and I refer to a chart we keep on our refrigerator known as The Dirty Dozen & The Clean 15, a shopper’s guide to the most and least likely conventionally grown (non-organic) produce items to be impacted by pesticide usage. 

As you’re probably aware, the US lags behind other nations in banning harmful pesticides. There have been over 500 active pesticide ingredients used in agricultural applications in the USA since 1970, the year the US EPA was formed. A comparison of the approval status of each of these pesticides indicates that 72 pesticides that are approved for outdoor agricultural applications in the USA are banned or in the process of complete phase out in the European Union. In addition, 17 are banned in Brazil and 11 in China.* The EU, Brazil and China were selected for comparison because they, along with the US, lead the world in produce production, as well as the use of agricultural pesticides.

We are blessed to live in North Carolina, a state long heralded for a wide variety of produce items. However, we also need to remember we live in a fallen world and with the good also comes the bad. Just remember to use some discernment when shopping, and remember what the man said…

To obtain your very own printable Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 chart, simply click on this hyperlink… https://www.elizabethrider.com/dirty-dozen-clean-15/