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Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

By Katherine Glover | Aug 5, 2009

The organic food community is livid over a recent study funded by the British Food Standards Agency. On the whole, the study found, organic foods don’t contain more nutrients than those conventionally grown. According to a London paper’s further interpretation of the results, “Eating organic food in the belief that it is good for your health is a waste of money.”

Huh?!?!? Seriously? The study didn’t even look at pesticide residue, much less long-term environmental impact. It focused only on nutrient levels.

The Organic Center has come out criticizing the methodology of the study, saying it didn’t look enough at levels of antioxidants and blah blah blah, but who even cares? It would be like critiquing the methodology of a study on how well seat belts prevent cancer. That’s not the point of seat belts. And higher nutrition content is not the point of organic food. The study was a complete waste of time and resources to begin with.

Okay, I’m exaggerating — unlike seat belts and cancer, there is actually some potential correlation between organic foods and nutrient levels. In fact, the study itself found higher levels of some nutrients in organic foods but lower levels of others, with the end result being neutral.

But who eats organic foods because of nutrients? I thought eating organic was about avoiding the accumulation of pesticides in the body, plus making sure that our food production methods are sustainable in the long term and don’t have environmental side effects that are detrimental to public health. Why was this study even commissioned in the first place?

As nutrition expert Marion Nestle put it, “I’m surprised that investigators of this caliber would focus so narrowly on nutrient content.

Katherine Glover is a Minneapolis-based print, radio and online journalist. She's written for Salon.com, Sierra Magazine and many others, and she does a weekly blog on immigration issues for MinnPost.

BNET User Analysis

Web Buzz:
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  •  
    1

    jobseeker6512

    08/05/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    Exactly what I thought, the study was so funny it was a big joke. No one that eats organic is looking to see if there is a difference in nutrition, we do not want the CHEMICALS!!! Get a clue. The study did bring to light one thing, SOME ONE IS PAYING TOO MUCH MONEY To research just about anything! Can't people/society spend their money on other more important things, like why we have to put up with recessions.

  •  
    2

    tommie72

    08/05/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    the study did appear to be very narrow in scope and focus. this clip I came across has facts that support industrial farming saying it actually pollutes less. http://www.newsy.com/videos/food_ethics_is_organic_the_right_choice

  •  
    3

    Nonna Maria

    08/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    Having been a commercial grower of bedding plants, there is one important thing everyone needs to know about pesticides.
    Pesticides that are used on food products are applied to the surface and not intended for ingestion. In order to apply, they are dissolved or diluted in tepid water and frequently we added sugar to get the product to stick.
    As the result, washing all fruits and vegetables with tepid water thoroughly should remove the Pesticides.
    Those pesticides that require capillary take-up are intended to only be applied to decorative plants used only for their decorative flowers.
    Due to the great cost of pesticides, growers only use them when and where necessary and are extremely careful with their applications.

  •  
    4

    bethward11

    08/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    what about the pesticides put into the ground that the plants are going to be grown in ? that becomes part of the dna of the plant, in turn we eat it. it was said agent orange wouldnt hurt anyone either because it was just used to kill plants, it was topical. we now know better. the stuff farmers use is so toxic they cant even walk into the fields for a few days or they will get sick. this is the ground they are using to grow the food we eat, and you dont think that could be bad for us?

  •  
    5

    Mediterraneo

    08/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    I have a farm and the present legislation has banned any kind of pesticides. On top of that, some fruits as avocado do not need any protection against insects or other plagues. We are using baits to fight the mediterranean fly in the mangoes.

    I always have known as a scientist that the content of an organic fruit is not different from the traditional one.

    No pesticides are spread on the ground, and if accidentally there were some... of course they do not "becomes part of the dna of the plant"

    A different thing are transgenic foods. They have the ADN altered and are prepared to produces pesticides by themselves.

  •  
    6

    wadcity

    08/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    I hear your complaints about this study, but the problem is not really with the researchers themselves or the narrow focus of the study, but the media coverage of it.

    The reason this study was done is because organic growers have sometimes stated that organic produce is more nutritious. It is a side-issue to be sure, but organic promoters are always going beyond pesticide/antibiotic issues and making grand statements about foodborne illness, nutrition, and so forth. It is important, if we want to be factual, objective, and science-based, to get to the bottom of these claims, and this study was but one attempt to do that. The scientific process involves hypotheses, and the simpler the hypothesis, the more powerful the results, usually. The danger comes in when the results of a narrow study are misused by making grand pronouncements that go beyond that hypothesis.

    So I do think the authors of the report could have done more to properly frame their argument as narrow - to make clear that there are other issues beyond vitamin levels that affect health, and that this study was only looking at a narrow set of concerns.

    Food presents a vexing set of issues with which to wrangle, from nutrition to foodborne illness to chemical residues to animal welfare to sustainability to industrialization, etc, and unfortunately it would be impossible to come up with a single report that captured all of the issues in a holistic manner.

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    7

    leroydecker

    08/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic

    I think this study is eye opening for the extreme critics on both sides. Yes-a fruit is a fruit nutritionally speaking. Yes-no one wants more pesticides and I believe farmers are looking to grow produce with as little additional pesticides as possible. Yes-this study actually points to the need to stop arguing about organic v conventional but processed v natural.

    Eat more one-ingredient foods whether conventional or organic:that should be the clear message.

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