Pesticides in Your Produce

The other day an exterminator made a visit to my apartment. Apparently of few of my neighbors had some pesty visitors, and though I have never seen a cockroach in my abode, my landlord insisted on professionally de-bugging the entire complex. I am not a fan of pests, but I am even less fond of clouds of chemicals being dusted over my belongings. I voiced my concerns to my landlord, but to no avail. On Tuesday Morning I returned to an apartment coated in pesticides. An informational sheet left behind by the exterminator told me not to be surprised if I experienced symptoms comparable to a seasonal flu. Within half an hour my nose was clogged and I had horrible sinus headache. My symptoms eventually subsided, but the whole experience made me wonder what kinds of toxins lurk in the non-organic produce I consume. As fate would have it, the universe answered my question when I stumbled onto foodnews.org, an environmental website that is completely dedicated to organic food culture. The site's opening page shows a guide that ranks the 43 fruits and vegetables according to pesticide load. Surprisingly peaches and apples carry the highest pesticide load, while onions and avocados carry the least. In addition to reaffirming my commitment to organic food, the foodnews.org guide gave me yet another reason to eat lots of guacamole.
Avocados carry a low pesticide load when compared to other non-organic fruits and veggies, perhaps it's all that thick skin!