Foods to Buy Organic – From Delicious Organics

This is a list that I really like, it’s from Delicious Organics and their philosophy is a little more stringent.

FRUIT
Peaches – listed as the worst with the highest levels of pesticides of all conventional produce
Strawberries – one of the most pesticide laden food of all and so scrumptious and not easy to wash because they are small and sweet, like Raspberries, so choose organic to be safe and keep your family safe
Raspberries
Apples
Grapes (& therefore Raisins)
Nectarines
Apricots
Pears
Cherries
Lemons – especially if zesting, should definitely use organic
Limes
Bananas – heavy chemicals for the trip to America including Thiabendazole which Damages the Brain and Nervous System. Especially troubling since this is the first food we can feed our babies! Not on EWG list anymore but we’re keeping them on ours.
Kiwis – off the latest lists
Pineapple depending from where
Cantaloupe from Mexico
Tomatoes – yes, they’re a fruit, but they were recently taken off the top tend list. Of course, grape and cherry tomatoes are difficult to wash giving reason to get those organic. And organic tomatoes just taste better!

Juice! – many kinds of juices have Grape Juice in them)

VEGETABLES

Potatoes
Corn – kids love it and so do bugs plus most corn is now genetically modified! Many products contain corn syrup too so choose organic when you can for those items as well. Off some lists but we’re keeping it.
Celery
Cucumbers
Spinach
Lettuce
Green & Red Bell Peppers
Lettuce – some more than others
Hot Peppers
Green Beans – Acephate, Benomyl, Chlorothalonil, Methamidophos – Damages Brain and Nervous System, Cause Birth Defects
Winter or Hard Squash – recently taken off the top 10 list.
Carrots – newly added to the list!

Also important to buy organic:

Rice – loaded with pesticides!
Oats – read those cereal boxes!

Milk – antibiotics and hormones are forced into America’s conventional dairy cow to increase profits without regard on our children’s health or that of the cow’s – see Not in My Milk

Baby Foods- babies are particularly sensitive to pesticides to make your own or go Organic!

Wild Salmon – okay, so it’s not officially “organic” but Wild is the right choice for many reasons

Foods that are GE like Corn – there are more pesticides on genetically engineered foods so avoid GMO Foods

Nuts – because of the high fat content, they hold on to pesticides more than others

Anything you or your kids eat a lot of – since pesticides accumulate, if you eat a lot of something that may not be listed here, lets say your kids eat peanut butter every day, then you should certainly avoid an excess of toxins by choosing organic for those items.

Welcome back to PND. It's good to see you again!Foods to Buy Organic – From Delicious Organics

Foods to Buy Organic – From Consumer Reports

If you are a fan of consumer reports – here is what they recommend:

Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Cherries
Imported grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries
Meat
Poultry
Eggs
Dairy
Baby food

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/diet-nutrition/organic-products/organic-foods/overview/when-to-buy-organic-ov.htm

Foods to Buy Organic – From Consumer Reports

Foods to Buy Organic – From EWG

The Environmental Working Group has compiled the following list on the pesticide load of fruits and vegetables:

Starting with Worst Offenders:
Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Pepper
Celery – for some reason this one surprised me.
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Imported Grapes – yes the domestic rank better with a lower pesticide load.

Click to view the entire list.

How’d they do it.

Foods to Buy Organic – From EWG

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

More than 1000 companies have signed The Compact for Safe Cosmetics, companies like Burt’s Bees, Avalon Organics and Giovanni.  

If you are looking for a simple tool in helping to make a safer choice look on the label to see if the company is a signor.  If they are, you can feel confident that you are choosing a safer alternative.

To Learn More:

http://safecosmetics.org/index.php

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

The European Union Cosmetics Directive

The European Union Cosmetics Directive sets standards for personal care products that are much more strident than those set by the FDA – A quick way to look for products that will contain a safer list of ingredients is to look for EU Compliant on the labels.  You will find this listed on labels of many products and it’s a good start.

For more information on the Directive:

http://www.european-cosmetics.info/site/index.cfm?SID=14075&SEL=14091&OBJ=14117

“In January 2003, the European Union amended the cosmetics directive (76/768/EEC) to ban the use of chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects. The amendment bans carcinogens, reproductive toxins and mutagens from cosmetics, and companies are required to remove these chemicals from cosmetic products sold in the EU by September 2004.

Since the EU directive requires that all cosmetic products containing toxic chemicals be reformulated for the EU market, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is asking U.S. companies to make those reformulated products readily available in every market they serve – both domestically and globally.

Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 1976-07-27 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products[2] (as amended) is the main European Union law on the safety of cosmetics. It was made under Art. 100 (ex Art. 94) of the Treaty of Rome. By agreement, it is also applicable in the EEA.[3]

The directive defines a “cosmetic product” as “any substance or preparation intended for placing in contact with the various external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or principally to cleaning them, perfuming them or protecting them in order to keep them in good condition, change their appearance or correct body odours.” (Art. 1.1)

The main part of the directive is the different lists of substances in the annexes:
substances that are banned from use in cosmetics (Annex II)
substances that are subject to restrictions on their use (Annex III): such substances might only be permitted for certain types of cosmetics, or in certain concentrations, or subject to warning labels, etc.
permitted colourings (Annex IV)
permitted preservatives (Annex VI)
permitted UV filters (Annex VII)
The annexes are regularly amended (57 times up until April 2008) to take account of new data on the safety of particular substances.[4]“

The European Union Cosmetics Directive

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Technorati

Avoid the Ick Factor in Bar Soap – the cleaner side of green.

By now you’ve likely heard that bar soap is the greener choice washing options – it requires less packaging, people use less, there is no container to dispose of at the end, and it’s formulated with less harsh ingredients.

Did you know that liquid soap bottles account for over 2 millions pounds of plastic in our landfills annually and this product didn’t even exist until the 1980′s!

A small amount of bacteria can live on the soap and there’s the icky mess – so I don’t know about you – but this has stopped me from embracing the bar. Now, I have the answer!

Take your lovely bar of soap and a potato peeler, to create individual sized pieces of soap and set them in a lovely dish.  Be sure to take your individual sized piece before wetting your hands.

You can enjoy the benefits of the bar without the gooey mess. You’ll also likely to wash longer as you wait scrub using your own little soap strip.

If you can’t break away from the liquid – find a green brand and buy the gallon size to refill your small containers. I’ve sometimes found the gallon sized method at Costco and Pangea Organics also makes a large bottle but you’ll need to order it.

So make the switch – save some money and be kinder to the environment.

 

Avoid the Ick Factor in Bar Soap – the cleaner side of green.