Why Plant a Garden?

Have you heard of the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables?  Here is a list of the the most popular foods.  This list is from April 2014.  A new list comes out every year with slight variations.
The first 12 are the "Dirty Dozen".  They are the foods with the most pesticides in them.

1 Apples

2 Strawberries

3 Grapes

4 Celery

5 Peaches

6 Spinach

7 Sweet Bell Peppers

8 Nectarines – Imported

9 Cucumbers

10 Cherry Tomatoes

11 Snap Peas - Imported

12 Potatoes

13 Hot Peppers

14 Blueberries – Domestic

15 Lettuce

16 Kale/Collard Greens

17 Plums

18 Cherries

19 Nectarines – Domestic

20 Pears

21 Tangerines

22 Carrots

23 Blueberries – Imported

24 Green Beans

25 Winter Squash

26 Summer Squash

27 Raspberries

28 Broccoli

29 Smap Peas – Domestic

30 Green Onions

31 Oranges

32 Bananas

33 Tomatoes

34 Watermelon

35 Honeydew Melons

36 Mushrooms

37 Sweet Potatoes

38 Cauliflower

39 Cantaloupe

40 Grapefruit

41 Eggplant

42 Kiwi

43 Papayas

44 Mangoes

45 Asparagus

46 Onions

47 Sweet Peas – Frozen

48 Cabbage

49 Pineapples

50 Sweet Corn

51 Avocados

Avocados would be number one on the "Clean Fifteen" list of foods containing the least amount of pesticides.

 

Note: EWG analyzed pesticide tests of 48 popular produce items. Domestic and imported versions of three items - nectarines, blueberries and snap peas- showed sharply different results, so we have ranked those domestic and imported items separately. As a result, the full list of foods ranked by the Shopper's Guide displays 51 entries. 

Go to Environmental Working Group.Org for more detailed information. GMO/GE information included.

This should be enough to make you want to grow your own garden.