Is it worth buying organic produce?

Lara AdlerEnvironmental health educator · MPH candidate (self-described)

Yes, move toward organic where you can, because no shopping shortcut can sort conventional produce for you.

What it rests onHer argument is that ranking produce by residue quantity misses the variable that matters, because pesticide toxicity varies enormously between compounds. She cites an analysis by Lyn Patrick, drawn from published EPA figures, finding a 6,000-fold toxicity difference between organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides, and concludes that a small residue of a highly toxic compound can matter more than a large residue of a mild one. Her verbatim conclusion: 'The only way to systematically reduce our exposures is to move towards organic, that's it. There is no cheat sheet.' Worth knowing from the same section: she says she never wants people to feel the choice is between organic and no vegetables, and when the host puts it to her that conventional produce beats no produce she answers '100%'.

Joe SchwarczPhD · chemist, director of the McGill Office for Science and Society

Buy the fruit and vegetables you will actually eat, organic or conventional, and ignore the Dirty Dozen.

What it rests onHis words on the list: 'The EWG defines most as the number of different pesticide residues, not their amounts. What matters is not how many different residues are present, but whether these exceed the MRLs.' He puts about 2 per cent of samples above the maximum residue limit for a single pesticide and concludes that 'describing these fruits and vegetables as dirty is dirty'. He concedes organic produce may carry slightly more polyphenols and calls the difference nutritionally insignificant. His recommendation is that 'Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is vastly more important than whether those foods are organic or conventional.'