Poisoned and Processed: What's Really in Your Produce?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its 2025 Dirty Dozen list, a “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce,” and it serves as a solid reminder that we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to cleaning up the food system. This year, the report found that more than 75 percent of non-organic samples tested positive for at least one pesticide.And get this: Topping the list on the basis of the level and toxicity of detected pesticides were green beans, spinach, bell peppers and hot peppers, kale, collard and mustard greens. In addition, blueberries remain, and alarmingly, green beans (which landed just outside the Dirty Dozen in 2025) displayed residue of acephate, a toxic pesticide that was banned from use on green beans grown for food by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more than a decade ago. Plus, blackberries and potatoes landed on the list as new additions in 2025.