I work at a 125 year old, family run farm and have had to do a ton of research for my job.
“Organic” produce is sprayed just as much, if not more than traditionally grown produce. They simply use pesticides that have been deemed organic. Non of these pesticides have been proven to be any better or worse for you than traditional pesticides. The marketing of organic as healthier is a scam.
Obviously, an excessive amount of tradtional pesticides is bad for you.
What you want to look for is produce that is locally grown using the IPM (Intergrated Pest Management) system. IPM advocates working to not spray at all or keeping it to a minimum.
Examples of IPM strategies:
• begin growing in a greenhouse and transplant to the field when the plant is mature enough to fight off pests.
• plant a row of tobacco along side a row of lettuce. bugs would rather eat the tobacco.
• lay down reflective material around crops. flying bugs become confused between the ground and sky and fly away.
• giant fans in the fields to disrupt flying bugs airflow.
Spraying is a last resort. And then the choice should be the most effective spray (sometimes organic) so you have to spray only once or twice.
The farm I’m at, for example, has not sprayed it’s beets in over 25 years.
Look up UMass Boston and IPM for more info.