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This article from Forbes just came across my desk.

It angers me – so I’m sharing it. Helen Coster’s supposition that “organic” is a choice that consumers should make based on personal health benefits really rubs me the wrong way. It’s just so “American” to eat with the attitude that “if it doesn’t harm me, it does no harm.” Coster points to affordability as a key organic driver and influence in the decision to make an organic purchase:

Shoppers who can only afford to buy some organic food should splurge on the organic version of what she calls the “dirty dozen” in produce: peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots and pears. These fruits and vegetables absorb more chemicals than others. Onions, avocados, sweet corn and pineapples are among the Environmental Working Group’s “Clean 15″ fruits and vegetables, which absorb the least amount of pesticides.

She should read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, in which the author advises us that the most cost-effective and healthful means of eating (as learned from cultures who have less than we do) is to grow what we can at home, and buy local organic goods to supplement. For those who can afford more – go ahead and buy more from the store.

Coster needs to use the megaphone that Forbes has given her to talk about the astounding negative impact of feed lots, pesticide runoff and GMOs, and stop encouraging consumers to only think about their own personal benefit. I’m not going to claim to be an expert on what the real “dirty dozen” is… but if I were an editor from Forbes, I’d be sure my writer understood the greater impact of organic.