Top Organic Buys

by Christine Chan — May 12, 2008

Buying organic food and "getting a good deal" may sound like a paradox. But in many ways, "getting a good deal" is exactly what we want from spending the extra money on organics. We want a good deal for our health, the environment, and the responsible people that produce organic foods. For those of us who have a limited grocery budget, here's a guide based on Consumer Reports about the most important foods to buy organic and others that can slide.

Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy can contain antibiotics and heavy metals such as arsenic. Buying organic is very important, as the standards for labels such as "natural" and "free range" are too lax to be trusted at this point.

The fruits and vegetables that retain the most chemicals are apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, spinach, strawberries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, and red raspberries.

The fruits and vegetables that generally don't retain pesticide residue include asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas.

Of course, just because they don't retain pesticides doesn't mean that they weren't used in the growth process. But if you have to choose which foods to buy organic, get the best deal possible by spending your money on the foods that need it most.