Organic: Deciding what's worth it

For those on a budget, deciding what produce to buy organic can be a bit of a challenge.  There's a hard choice between feeding your family well and making your buck stretch to its limit.
Here are a few tips that will help you choose what to buy organic.
Every year the EWA publishes a list ranking the fruits and vegetables with the most and least chemical and pesticide residue that remains on food after washing, known as the "Clean 15" and the "Dirty 12".
So any produce that is in the dirty dozen category is best bought organic.
The "Dirty Dozen" are:

1. celery
2. peaches
3. strawberries
4. apples
5. blueberries
6. nectarines
7. bell peppers
8. spinach
9. kale
10. cherries
11. potatoes
12. imported grapes

You can kind of see the running theme with the dirty dozen that it mostly includes tender leafy greens and produce with an edible skin or skin that is very tender and more absorbent to pesticides therefore making it harder to wash off.  Many of these plants also have longer growth cycles making them more susceptible to disease and pests.
Remember that any produce not on the "Dirty" list is at least less dangerous than these 12 so be open to trying other fruits and veggies also.

The clean fifteen is produce that is perfectly safe and that you don't need to get organic.

The "Clean 15" are:

1. onions
2. avocado
3. sweet corn
4. pineapple
5. mangoes
6. sweet peas
7. asparagus
8. kiwi fruit
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. cantaloupe
12. watermelon
13. grapefruit
14. sweet potato 
15. honeydew melon

Again, the running theme with this produce is that they have thick skins or outer layers that are usually removed before eating or their skin is smooth and waterproof so any pesticide doesn't stick or washes off easier.  Some of these plants have a shorter growth cycle so they are less susceptible to disease or pests.

So to start off you have your general rule of thumb: if you're going to eat the skin, go organic; if you're going to wash peel it, you can probably skip buying it organic.

Another rule of thumb is to buy organic of what you consume the most.

One last thing to consider when debating what to buy organic is the prevalence of genetically modified foods.  As of this time genetically modified foods do not get "organic" approval.

The list of the most common genetically modified foods are:

1. corn
2. potatoes
3. tomatoes
4. soybeans
5. canola
6. sugar beets
7. rice
8. flax
9. squash/zucchini
10. papaya
11. chicory (radicchio)

To me, this list is a little disconcerting because the effects of GM foods is such a big debate and these common foods and ingredients are in almost everything from chips, salad dressing, coffee, etc.
If you buy any of the above foods as organic or foods that include those ingredients as organic, then you can be assured you are not getting a product or produce that has been genetically modified.

Choosing what to go organic for can be stressful but hopefully these lists, which are more suggestions than hard and fast rules, help you prioritize and decide what's best for you and your family.
At the very least you know what to avoid.