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Is Organic Food Healthier

Author: Stanford University

 

Category: Organic

 

The growth in popularity of organic foods has been driven, to a large extent, by claims that they are healthier or more nutritious than those grown by conventional farming methods. Organic boosters argue that the synthetic pesticides and herbicides used by conventional farmers degrade the quality of the soil and result in more pesticide residue at potentially dangerous levels in our food. This is misleading as all pesticides in use today are tightly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and pose no threat to human health when used as directed. It should be noted that organic farmers also use pesticides, and often the same chemicals applied by conventional farmers.

Most independent studies indicate that there are no significant health or nutritional differences between food grown conventionally versus organically. There are limited examples of organic crops or conventional crops with greater levels of a particular nutrient, but at levels that are not materially significant. When the relative costs are taken into account, the cost per unit of nutrient, conventional crops come out far ahead. Most nutritionists argue that it is more important for people to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables—regardless of how they are grown. Newcastle University professor of ecological agriculture Carlo Leifert, who oversaw the meta-studies in cooperation with Charles Benbrook, a US-based economist formerly with Washington State University, claimed the studies were “further evidence of the health benefits of organic food,” and should prompt people to reconsider their food choices.

The conclusions echoed an almost identical set of claims made by a researcher team led by Leifert and Benbrook in a 2014 British Journal of Nutrition paper. Their review of 340 studies found organic crops had higher antioxidants, lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residue. There is no independently produced evidence in the scientific literature that organic foods offer any consistent nutritional or safety advantages over conventional foods. Some claimed advantages, like higher levels of antioxidants or omega-3 fatty acids or phenols, may not be advantages at all, say scientists. Other differences may be the result of whether a cow was grass fed or grain fed and have nothing to do with whether it was raised organically. Claims that organic crops are more “nutrient dense” have not been consistently supported in independent studies.

On the subject of pesticide residue in foods, scientists agree that conventional foods are more likely to contain higher levels of residues in some cases, but the elevated levels are insignificant. Stanford’s analysis, for example, found that organic food had 30 percent lower residues than conventional foods, but all conventional foods had pesticide levels well within global safety standards.

In sum, most crops, including organic foods, contain trace amounts of harmless pesticides. Approved crop protection chemicals used by conventional and organic farmers are safe; the differences in toxicity to humans are insignificant.

Chemical pesticides, whether synthetic or natural, are “essentially non-toxic” when used appropriately. They pose no serious harm to the farmers who use them or consumers who encounter trace residues in their food. As a result, the scientific consensus remains that organic fruits and vegetables are no healthier or safer than their conventional counterparts.

In short you decide if organic is better. The evidence at this point is inconclusive but we do understand that food grown in the earth or meat raised on field grass is going to contain a level of chemicals not found in a "true organic" environment.

 

 

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