The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Foods to Eat Organic Gallery

For overall environmental impact, meat is the king of foods, even if it's not the most likely to have pesticide residue per se.

Contrary to a widely reported "fact," meat typically contains less pesticide residue than plant-based foods, according to Debra Edwards, the director of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs. But raising animals with conventional modern methods often means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease on crowded feed lots, and both pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow the grain fed to the animals. Additionally, it takes many times the water and energy to raise one meal's worth of meat than it does one meal's worth of grain.

Consumers looking to avoid meats raised with these substances can seek out certified organic meat. To meet USDA standards, this meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics. Searching out cuts from grass-fed animals ensures that you're eating meat from an animal that was fed a more natural diet, and looking for a local source of meats lets you question the farmer directly about the animal's diet and the farmer's method of raising it. It cuts down on the environmental cost of transportation, too.

Pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in human breast milk, so it should come as no surprise that they have been found in dairy products, too. While any residues detected have been rare, and of low concentration, milk is of special concern because it is a staple of a child's diets.

Organic dairies cannot feed their cows with grains grown with pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics or growth hormones like rGBH or rbST. The overall impact of the herd is lessened when you choose organic milk.

Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries that don't regulate use of chemicals and pesticides. Look for the USDA Organic label to ensure you're not buying beans that have been grown or processed with the use of potentially harmful chemicals.

Go a step or two further, and look for the Fair Trade Certified label to ensure that your purchase supports farmers who are paid fairly and treated well. And look for shade-grown varieties for the trifecta: Then you know the coffee is being grown under the canopy of the rainforest, leaving those ancient trees intact, along with the wildlife -- particularly songbirds -- that call them home.

Multiple pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges and grapefruit.

Like peaches, apples are typically grown with the use of poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely, so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas and tangerines.

Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli and cabbage.

Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include broccoli, radishes and onions.

If you buy strawberries out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and pineapples.

Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and raspberries.

America's popular spud appeared on the previous dirty dozen list, although it has slipped off the most current version. However, EWG analyst Chris Campbell points out that potatoes are now "just off the list," so you should still try to buy organic when possible. Potatoes also get the double whammy of fungicides added to the soil for growing.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include eggplant, cabbage and earthy mushrooms.

In a change that surprises some, tomatoes have moved from the previous dirty dozen list to the EWG's most recent "clean" list of safest conventional produce. According to Chris Campbell, the researchers aren't sure exactly why this is the case. "It could be any number of reasons," Campbell told TDG. "It could be increasing awareness, better washing, substitution with better pesticides, changes in weather patterns or something else."

It's still true that the thin skin of tomatoes can allow pesticides to enter the fruit, so it's always a good idea to buy organic when possible, even if the popular food is no longer among the worst actors.

Can't find organic? You may want to consider peas, broccoli and asparagus.