I often get asked if its worth buying organic food over non organic food. I would always have to say yes, organic seasonal locally produced food whenever possible. The benefits of organic foods are often put down to the fact that they nutritionally superior, however many researchers have found that this is not the case. Some researchers have found that organic fruit and vegetable do indeed contains higher levels of nutrients than conventional fruit and vegetables. However in my opinion organic vegetables and fruit are superior not due to better nutrient levels but due to what they are lacking! Organic fruit and vegetables don’t have Pesticides, herbicides or other nastiest. All pesticides have to provide safety data on individual chemicals, but there is no data on the effect of all or any combination of these chemicals.
The most contaminated fruits and vegetables are (Pick organic where ever possible)
FRUIT -apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, grapes
VEGETABLES - peppers, celery, green beans, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, cucumber, squashes, pumpkins
Less contaminated fruits and vegetables (growing methods less important)
FRUIT - bannanas, oranges, tangerines, pinapple, grapefruit, melon, watermelon, plums, kiwi, blueberries, mangoes, papaya
VEGETABLES - broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, aubergines, peas, radishes, advocadoes
Source 'environmental working group. the full list 43 fruits and veggies' (www.ewg.org)