I read, with a smile, the posted comments on organic vs conventional fruits and vegetables, and I had to post my own comments. I find that people are so lost when it comes to their own health and just haven't taken the time to understand their own bodies and it's health, a little sad because we are given only one body, with a capacity to live well over a hundred and fifty years,( if you maintain it the way it was designed to be looked after.) The negative, anti organic comments all sound like they came from the desks of the major pesticide/chemical fertilizer companies( you know who you are)! People, you don't get it do you! The studies that claim this or that is good for you or not good for you are all funded by the very companies that have vested interest and stand to lose big money if you don't buy their product. This is how they sell their products today, by funding studies that not only support their claims but say they will improve your quality of life if you use their product(s). Even Universities, those institutions of highest learning , are not impervious to prostituting themselves to big business for funding(after all , how more legitimate and convincing can a study be than when it's done by an institution that's held in such high esteem(big business has learned this). Studies that come out claiming that there is no difference between organic produce and conventional (grown with chemicals and pesticides) are funded by the very companies that stand to lose big time if everyone started buying non-chemical grown organic produce! Your body is like a machine, a well-designed machine which, through the body/mind connection, able to heal itself, but it needs the right fuel to keep it healthy! The nutritional goodness(vitamins and minerals)that we get from our consumption of fruits and vegetables comes from the sun and the soil! Organic plants draw this goodness from the soil and the sun as the means of ensuring their growth and resistance to destructive pests and therefore flourish on their own merit! It's been this way for thousands of years. With conventionally-grown produce, plants don't have to draw this goodness from the soil because, the pesticides protect plants from destuctive insects and chemical fertilizers supply growth artificially and not the goodness contained within the soil. This way conventional farmers have a very low rate of loss and therefore a higher rate of return, in growing these nutritionally deficient fruits and vegetables. If you've ever eaten an organically grown fruit or vegetable and compared it to a conventionally grown one you can't help but recognize not only the difference in taste but the difference in colour and texture. Apparently you cannot eliminate these chemicals from conventionally grown produce simply by washing them as it is in their cells as well as on their surfaces. All these chemicals are highly toxic to the body. We may be living longer than yesteryear (and are not dying of starvation at age 30?) but we are suffering from all manner of diseases at an ever increasing , accelerated rate(1 in 4 people will now get cancer in some shape or form in their lifetime). The organically grown produce may cost a little more but would you put water- adulterated gasoline in your vehicle to save money and take the chance of destroying your engine,and why would you not put the superior fuel in your body to get not only get the optimum performance but also the designed and deserved longevity out of ! Do yourself and your body a good turn ,start eating organically grown foods, try it for a couple of weeks (you've got nothing to lose but a few dollars ) and see the difference the change makes. Go ahead prove me wrong, I dare you! Thanks to all who took the time to read this "post a comment" turned blog. If I have positively influenced someone, in writing this, then it was more than worth it and it is I who is blessed. Thankyou

It would be a shorter list to say what is not contaminated. Anyway the latest tests report that organic food is no better than non-organic. I say, but what you want and wash it. Its not rocket science...

I have only read the top 5 comments or so, but I am rather appalled at the ignorance against organic. It is not as simple as organic vs conventional. There are a lot more things that factor into this argument besides the average life span of humans and the contamination of some organic foods. To start with, average human life spans have increased for a number of reasons, for the most part because of modern medical advances. Back when people had farms and gardens in every community, people ate well, much better than today, and they did not die from starvation when they were 30 years old.
What about GMO's? That hasn't been mentioned once. The article mentions that corn is the least likely to be contaminted, but the reality is that almost all corn is contaminated right down to it's DNA, to protect it from the lethal chemical RoundUp. What about waterway contamination of pesticide runoff? Soil contamination? What about continuous use of antibiotics in animals to try to fix illnesses that could be avoided if they were given proper living conditions. What about the fact that toxic chemicals are being sprayed into the air every day to try to protect un-natural monoculture crops from the natural world that humans should be co-existing with.
It is true, some large scale organic farms use plant based toxins on there produce, but not all organic farms do. That's why it is important to avoid "organic" Kraft products and buy from your local farmers, so you can talk to them and even visit the farm where your food is being produced. Farmer's Markets are usually the best way to do this, but there are also CSA's and markets directly on farms. A good example are the blueberries I buy, they are a wild stand just down the road from me. They are managed as naturally as possible, but the farmer has sprayed them twice in 10 years, when he felt it was the only way he was going to get a decent crop. The fact that he will discuss this with me and I know exactly how they have been managed, makes me confident that I am purchasing a healthy berry.
So I guess my point is so stop being so narrow minded, there are way too many factors to make a straight decision on one side or another. Consider both conventional and organic, depending on how and where it was grown. And if at all possible, try to keep Monsanto off your dinner plate.

ps......I can taste the pesticides right in the fruit.....

I suppose most of u people posting a comment are pesticide users...all I can say is it's been years since I actually had a nectarine that wasn't spongy and actually tasted like a nectarine... it's very rare that fruit tastes like it use to taste and I definitely blame it on the pesticides they have been using now for years!!!! There is definitely a difference in clean fresh taste when it comes to organic...people might live longer but are very unhealthy!! All kinds of health problems and younger children are getting cancer and viruses and diseases we never heard of b4....organic is not that much more expensive i'd rather pay for that than money on pesticide produce and bringing it home and it tastes like shit and spongy or wrotten......in the garbage it goes....at the farmers market they charge top dollar and It's crap. We are not only ingesting it we are smelling it too......nobody seems to have a problem spending money on chips and junk food why don't you start saving that money and think of your families health and by organic....I'm so sick of all there excuses and have you ever seen a poor farmer?????

What fruits and vegetables remain contaminated on their inside ie at cellular level,
thereby we cannot wash the pesticides off?????
Those are the ones we need to NOT eat at all!!

I will never buy organic foods. I do not believe in them and the scare tactics used to push people away from synthetic pesticide use. Hey, we could always go back to the time before the early 20th century, before these synthetic pesticides were developed. But if I recall, the life expectancy before this time was also around 30 to 35 years. Life expectancy now is almost double that. So much for all the pesticides, smog, and other pollution. We are all exposed to many risks, both natural and man-made. Over history, our quality of life has improved through many advances in science and technology (ie man-made), but still people will still get diseases, cancer, etc and die.

I, too have worked in a grocery store as well, and organic isn't as healthy as people think, now that more companies are mass producing foods. Frozen foods like fruit and vegetables are generally fresher because they are cut and quick frozen preserving their freshness, where as fruits and vegetables headed to the produce dept start going bad as soon as their cut and continue going bad, but not all fruit and vegetables follow that rule, like bananas and potatoes that shouldnt be kept in a cool environment.

Agree with the comment about 'organic'. Most of it is even more contaminated than that of the 'regularly' grown crops. So-called organic substances are as deadly or more so than the commercial chemicals.

Have we forgotten how to wash these fruits and vegtables...my lord we watered lots of plants with sheep manure soaked in a barrel of water..used the wash water from laundy and dishes to water cabage etc to keep the bugs off..and all of use are still here to tell about it..don't get caught in their game of scare the buyer....

People are living longer and are healthier than ever in human history.Why? Because thanks to pesticides....We need them ..We had "Organic" for millions of years , People DIED....Look WASH your produce.Ok? THATS ALL.. JUST WASH .,.WE NEED THESE CHEMICALS I SAY GOD BLESS THEM.!

If these pesticides are on the bulk foods what is the amount that is in canned or frozen foods?
I buy a lot of bagged frozen fruits because the fresh ones dont seem to last!! And vary rarely eat anthing out of a can with exception to pork n beans, or sardines!

I work in the produce industry and by far the most common misconception about organic produce is the they do not use pesticides....WRONG!!!! Most organic growers DO use pesticides, they skirt the issues by using ORGANIC pesticides...which in the end, are just as harmful as conventional pesticides.

Thanks for this but the pdf printable guide is in full colour. Even on grayscale printing it will use a lot of ink. Not so great for the environment or the pocketbook.

I am wondering if the EWG has anything to do with Canada, unless I missed something....is this a reflection of what is sold in Canada? Is it really that hard to get info on foods made and sold in Canada???