I've often touted the Environmental Working Group's Cleanest 12 [1] guide, a list of conventionally grown produce shown to have the lowest levels of pesticides. As a shopper on a budget (and who isn't?) I'll occasionally save money by buying conventionally grown bananas or avocados, knowing they pose little or no risk of contaminating my family with toxins.

But a recent New York Times article [2] is causing me to think again before buying non-organic [2] bananas.

It turns out the Latin American countries responsible for supplying Americans with many tropical or off-season fruits and vegetables are using some pesticides that are illegal in the U.S., or are using chemicals at a higher level than would be allowed here by the Environmental Protection Agency [3]. In fact, pesticide use there has drastically increased in the last 20 years, as Latin American farmers have tried to cater to our appetites for strawberries in January and plump grapes year-round.

The victims? Migratory songbirds and other feathered creatures, including bobolinks, Swainson's hawks, barn swallows and Eastern kingbirds. Populations of these birds have been declining, and biologists are blaming exposure on pesticides, particularly after captured birds have tested high for some of the chemicals used on crops. It's estimated that 33 percent of migratory birds that breed in the U.S. spend their winters in Latin America.

Coffee and banana farming are among the biggest culprits, says the article's author, Bridget Stutchbury, a professor of biology at York University in Toronto. She recommends American consumers avoid buying Latin American melons, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers and strawberries.

Some companies, such as Thanksgiving Coffee [4], are already working to help save migratory birds. Their organic Song Bird Coffee product line — a joint venture with the American Birding Association — is shade-grown, which means a return to the traditional coffee-farming methods of growing coffee under the canopy of the rain forests, before farmers started clear-cutting to increase yield. Shade coffee farms are home to an estimated 150 species of birds.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center [5] has even developed a "Bird-Friendly" seal of approval that you can look for when you're coffee shopping. While it might be a while before we see a Bird-Friendly seal on bananas, for now I'll buy organic and domestic produce wherever possible. And I'll look forward to hearing the birds sing outside my window for years to come.

Bobolink image courtesy pbonenfant [6].