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Your Guide to the Healthiest Produce Choices
At Nature’s Fare Markets, organic comes first: beautiful, fresh, hand-picked, local-when-possible produce, farmed without chemical or synthetic pesticides, herbicides or insecticides.
It just makes sense. Organic farming and its production methods support our sensitive ecosystems and are kinder to the farmers who produce our food, and the people who eat it. We believe you can taste the love, care and extra time farmers put into tending their crops.
When organic isn’t an option, we’re pleased to share with you the 2023 Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists, to help you make the healthiest choices.
Every year, this non-profit organization ranks the pesticide contamination of 46 popular fruits and vegetables, based on test results by the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. More than 46,000 samples of produce are washed and peeled (when applicable), then tested.
How to Use the Lists
If you want to reduce your exposure to pesticides and other chemicals in your food, and eating all-organic is not within your budget, these lists can help you to prioritize and make choices of safer, conventionally-grown produce:
• Take the EWG’s “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists when you go shopping.
• Buy fruits and vegetables in season. These taste better and are often less expensive than out-of-season produce.
• Buy locally grown produce. It’s fresher, riper and hasn’t travelled a long distance to get to market. You’ll also support the local economy.
• By following these steps, you can still eat a healthy diet even if you cannot afford to fully eat organic food.
Tip: Don’t forget to thoroughly wash all your produce before preparing and eating it. Washing and peeling non-organic produce helps to remove some of the pesticides and other contaminants. Don’t forget to wash your hands before preparing your food.
The Organic Numbers
CANADA is the sixth largest organic market in the world and home to more than 7,600 certified organic operations.
BRITISH COLUMBIA:
• Boasts the fourth largest number of organic operations in Canada (after Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan);
• Is home to approximately 11% of Canada’s organic operations;
• Has an estimated 525 primary producers operating on over 1.3 million acres, and 325 processors and handlers; and
• Has the third largest number of organic livestock producers (133) and has the largest pasture acreage, making it the third largest market for fresh meats, poultry and seafood.
—excerpts from the 2021 Organic Market British Columbia report, Organic BC
