Organic or non-organic

Over the past couple of years I have been amazed to see the increase in the variety of items in the organic food isle. When I go grocery shopping, the word "organic" enthralls me.

As per USDA , Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.
Ref: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop

Even though organic produce is gaining its popularity, till date not all grocery stores sell organic food. Plus the price difference between organic and non-organic food item is still huge. So here is my dilemma - if I was told to pick non-organic produce, when its organic counterpart exists,  which should I pick?

After some research, I have now been following a very simple rule : if the fruit or vegetable has a thicker peel which you would discard when eating, I go for non-organic options. For example in case of a banana or avocado, because of the thicker peel, the inner flesh has less pesticide exposure compared to say berries which have thin and delicate outer skin.

So here is a categorized list from my shopping cart:
Always organic:

• All berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry etc)
• Zucchini
• Lettuce
• Celery
• Tomato
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Kale
• Chard
• Oats
• Pasta
• Milk
• Eggs
• Chicken 

OK to be non-organic:

• Banana
• Avocado
• Grapefruit
• Orange
• Pineapple
• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe

Of course at any time I would prefer buying all organic, just so that we can support the farmers  to grow more and more organic. I think of this as my way of eating healthier and also a my small contribution in working towards saving our planet.