With organic foods you're paying for the labor required to replace pesticides. It's probably a good thing to avoid foods raised with pesticides. The USDA is hand and hand with the food industry and may not provide the level of oversight that most of us feel they do. If you recall, the initial rule on organic labeling was going to allow the use of pesticides until the public reacted overwhelming against the rule.

One thing that bothers me about conventionally-grown foods is that multiple pesticides are used at once, and that has not been tested for safety. (i.e., 'pesticide 1' and 'pesticide 2' have been individually tested, but in the real world they're used together and whether they're safe together has not been tested).

I make it a point to buy eggs organic and the 'dirty dozen' of the most contaminated produce (see list below). We don't eat much dairy or meat so i don't worry about those as much.

And while it's true that organic foods still contain pesticides and such b/c the ground is contaminated, the concentration is much lower than in conventional food. Plus organic farming is more environmentally friendly and safer for farm workers. Have you ever driven past strawberry fields before? The workers are in full haz-mat style suits with gas masks b/c of all the chemicals.

Here's a list of the best/worst produce in terms of pesticide chemical contamination (this is what you can't wash off the food). This ranking is based on FDA tests, not some random environmentalist group. The 'most contaminated' show up in lots of foods--apple juice, applesauce, raisins, strawberry yogurt, strawberry jam, etc... So keep those in mind too when you're purchasing.

http://www.foodnews.org/reportcard.php

12 Most Contaminated - Buy These Organic
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

12 Least Contaminated - buy these conventional
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)