The Lure Of The Strawberry

Yesterday I was at the grocery store and walked past a display of strawberries. The smell was incredible, and I wasn't even that close! Those of you who know me well know that I won't buy strawberries unless they're organic. Strawberries are one of the "dirty dozen" which is the list of the worst contaminated produce items (see below.) Yesterday though, I caved, and they were delicious! It's not always easy to find organic fresh strawberries (frozen are always available) but now that I got my fix I won't cave again... at least till next year!

The Environmental Working Group has a nearly complete list of produce items and where each item falls in relation to its level of contamination from pesticides. More and more I'm reading that this issue is not going away. Years ago when I spoke of organics people looked at me like I was a fanatic; now, research continues to support the idea that organic food (and not just produce; this includes things like meat and coffee) may be more nutritious. The whole environmental reason for avoiding chemicals is obvious, so I won't even go there in this post.

Here's a great link to a "greener" diet that gives you some real step by step advise. The more you read about the possible harm from the chemicals in our diet the more all this makes sense. And if you think organics are too expensive here's a link to an article with tips on saving money while shopping organic. Here's another. Now for that dirty dozen list:

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58