dirty dozen

Did you notice that back in June the Environmental Working Group released their annual Dirty Dozen, Clean 15 list?  I missed it!  And honestly didn't really know that they update it on an annual basis.  Just in case you are in the same boat, here are the new lists:

Dirty Dozen

These fruits and vegetables are those that carry the most pesticide residue.  They are:

1.  apples
2. celery  (57 different pesticides used!?!)
3.  strawberries
4.  peaches
5.  spinach
6.  imported nectarines
7.  imported grapes
8.  sweet bell peppers
9.  potatoes
10.  domestic blueberries
11.  lettuce
12.  kale/ collard greens

The Clean 15

These are fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticide residue:

1.  onions
2.  corn (I would still recommend organic in order to avoid GMOs)
3.  pineapple
4.  avocado (hallelujah)
5.  asparagus
6.  sweet peas
7.  mangoes
8.  eggplant
9. domestic cantaloupe
10.  kiwi
11.  cabbage
12.  watermelon
13.  sweet potatoes
14.  grapefruit
15.  mushrooms

Any surprises this year?  Feeling relieved about any?  I for one am happy to see avocados on the clean 15.  I can't find those organically here and we really dig them!

does buying organic really matter?

well, if you've spent any time here, you know my answer is YES!!! here is some information i lifted off of www.mountainroseherbs.com. this was my first time on their site and it is a great resource for ordering teas, herbs and oils. as a matter of fact i found that they carry a 1 gallon tub of coconut oil for $41! that is so cheap (comparitively speaking). i'll be ordering from them when it's time to stock up.

on with the quote:

Use At Least 10% Organic For A Better World

Here are some statistics
concerning the incorporation of organic products into our own lifestyles which
we find to be faithful and staggering.By converting at least 10% of your food,
fiber and cosmetic purchases you will;
Eliminate pesticides from 98 million
daily U.S. servings of drinking water.
Assure 20 million daily servings of
milk that are produced without antibiotics & genetically modified growth
hormones.
Assure 53 million daily servings of pesticide-free fruit and
vegetables. (Enough for 10 million kids to have five daily servings.)
Eliminate use of growth hormones, genetically engineered drugs and feeds,
and 2.5 million pounds of antibiotics used on livestock annually. (More than
twice the amount of antibiotics used to treat human infections.)
Assure that
915 million animals are treated more humanely.
Fight climate change by
capturing an additional 6.5 billion pounds of carbon in soil. (That's the
equivalent of taking 2 million cars, each averaging 12,000 miles per year, off
the road.)
Eliminate 2.9 billion barrels of imported oil annually. (Equal to
406,000 Olympic eight-lane competition pools.)
Restore 25,800 square miles
of degraded soils to rich, highly productive cropland. (An amount of land equal
to the size of West Virginia.)