My Body & Soul magazine arrived a couple of days ago–immediately, an article caught my attention. It’s entitled, “Is Organic Really Better For You?” The article analyzes some recent findings on this subject.
Apparently, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition released a report finding that organic food is no more nutritious than conventional foods. The authors of the report looked at 55 studies from the past 50 years and proclaimed that “despite a few findings to the contrary, organically and conventionally farmed crops and animal products don’t significantly differ in nutrient quality. The British government agency funding the report claims ‘no evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic food.’” As I read those words, I was mortified–how could this be? Well, read on!
According to Elizabeth Barker of Body & Soul magazine who is quoting Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., chief scientist of the Organic Center, a pro-organics nonprofit that tracks and generates studies on organic food, the older studies that were included in this report/review didn’t measure the antioxidant factor, since we didn’t start measuring antioxidants in food until the 1990s. Antioxidants are a significant indicator of the nutritional value of foods. According to Dr. Benbrook, the review also didn’t address the major differences between organic and conventionally grown food. Included in that comparison would be evaluation of phosphorous (which is an essential mineral and usually is at lower levels in conventional crops) and nitrogen (which appears to be higher in conventional crops and is considered a health hazard because of its potential carcinogenic effects). This review also included studies that never looked at factors that can impact nutrient density.
The Organic Center did its own review of the same studies, with the exception of studies that seemed unreliable. They determined that on average, nutrient levels in organic food were 25% higher than conventional. A recent study that was conducted this year by another organization indicated that “organic foods contain more antioxidants, minerals, and healthy fats than their conventionally produced counterparts.”
A huge area of concern for me which was not explored by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition report was the use of pesticides–it did not address pesticide residue in food. The Body & Soul article states that “many view pesticide exposure as a key incentive to go organic.” For me, this is absolutely a true statement. Knowing that pesticides are linked to an increased risk of certain cancers is cause for me to avoid conventional foods. This article also states that there are new studies coming out that might also link neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s to pesticide exposure. There may even be a link to type-2 diabetes!
The place to go to learn more about which foods retain the most pesticide loads, go to the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides which can be found at FoodNews.org. However, as Anna Lappe’, coauthor of Grub:Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen is quoted as saying at the end of the Body & Soul article, “We shouldn’t just be looking at whether an individual orange has fewer pesticide residues or more vitamin C, but how our diet as a whole affects our health, the health of the farmers who grow our food, and the health of our planet.”
After seeing first-hand this past September what the farm workers are exposed to when they work on a conventional farm, I am convinced–and so is my entire family, including my teenage daughters–that we should stick with organic foods simply because of pesticide usage. One last reason for me to eat organic foods is that they cannot contain genetically engineered or modified ingredients (GMO’s). We now know that GMO’s pose a health risk to people, animals, and natural ecosystems. Unless a food is organic, there is no way to know whether or not that food contains GMO’s.
Just about every reason for eating organic comes back to better health–for our families, our communities, those who grow our food, and Mother Earth herself. Maintaining and supporting a healthy state leads to quality life and longevity for all. Could there be any better reason?
