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dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 04:23 AM Sep 2012

Study questions how much better organic food is

Last edited Tue Sep 4, 2012, 04:54 AM - Edit history (1)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me?

Unsure, Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out - and concluded there's little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and antibiotics.

Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides, including for children - but the amount measured from conventionally grown produce was within safety limits, the researchers reported Monday.

Nor did the organic foods prove more nutritious.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_HEALTHBEAT_ORGANIC_QUESTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-04-03-37-05


Eating organic food will not make you healthier, according to researchers at Stanford University, although it could cut your exposure to pesticides.

They looked at more than 200 studies of the content and associated health gains of organic and non-organic foods.

Overall, there was no discernable difference between the nutritional content, although the organic food was 30% less likely to contain pesticides.

Critics say the work is inconclusive and call for more studies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19465692

20 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Study questions how much better organic food is (Original Post) dipsydoodle Sep 2012 OP
Organic food is not genetically modified, doesn't have the chemicals and toxins of corporate grown.. AZ Progressive Sep 2012 #1
The title misstates the conclusions of the actual research. There are other factors pnwmom Sep 2012 #2
Headline changed to that of the AP. dipsydoodle Sep 2012 #5
Agreed. The premise is misleading. no_hypocrisy Sep 2012 #9
0% less likely to contain pesticides....THAT is what you are paying for; absence of pesticides. MADem Sep 2012 #3
Not really - you are paying for other types of insect and weed control ehrnst Sep 2012 #12
I buy celery not because they used garlic to keep away the bugs, but because they didn't use those MADem Sep 2012 #19
"Although it could cut your exposure to pesticides"?.. Cha Sep 2012 #4
And antibiotics and hormones. n/t pnwmom Sep 2012 #13
Human beings JustAnotherGen Sep 2012 #6
My feeling, too; whenever possible. Atman Sep 2012 #7
Part of the problem, here in the U.S. at least, is that some things labeled "organic" ...... marmar Sep 2012 #8
That is a problem. n/t pnwmom Sep 2012 #14
Once the USDA got in the middle of labeling organic fasttense Sep 2012 #10
I'll have what the rats are having... yellerpup Sep 2012 #11
There are also other reasons to prefer "organic" foods caraher Sep 2012 #15
It's not just about what goes into your mouth, it's about the world you live in hedgehog Sep 2012 #16
"Organic" is a marketing label to get yuppies to pay more. Odin2005 Sep 2012 #17
No, I've been eating Organic Cha Sep 2012 #18
The Stanford Organic Food Study..... DeSwiss Sep 2012 #20

AZ Progressive

(3,411 posts)
1. Organic food is not genetically modified, doesn't have the chemicals and toxins of corporate grown..
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 04:33 AM
Sep 2012

...food, and your much more likely to be supporting honest small businesses and fairly paid workers. This study has gone astray from the whole point of buying organic food.

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
2. The title misstates the conclusions of the actual research. There are other factors
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 04:39 AM
Sep 2012

besides nutritional content that affect the value of food products.

For example, the research shows that there is a 33% increase in antibiotic resistant infections among those who eat non-organic meat, due to the use of antibiotics to fatten the animals.

Just because there might be just as much protein or minerals in an organic vs. non-organic food product, doesn't mean that non-organic foods are just as healthy. No one benefits by including more antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides in their diets.

no_hypocrisy

(45,774 posts)
9. Agreed. The premise is misleading.
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 07:57 AM
Sep 2012

The issue should be whether organic food is safer for consumption and health than non-organic food.

And it is.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
3. 0% less likely to contain pesticides....THAT is what you are paying for; absence of pesticides.
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 04:40 AM
Sep 2012

Some things don't matter--bananas? They have skins. Celery, OTOH? I like organic celery.

 

ehrnst

(32,640 posts)
12. Not really - you are paying for other types of insect and weed control
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 10:03 AM
Sep 2012

It's not that organic growers don't use fertilizer or insect control - they just don't use the synthetic methods. They still cost money - to flood your field, mulch it, manually remove beetles, etc costs money.

And Organic growers are charged more for crop insurance than conventionally grown produce.

To be certified Organic, you must also pay to apply, and have your crops inspected to ensure that you are indeed organic. There are fees for this certification.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
19. I buy celery not because they used garlic to keep away the bugs, but because they didn't use those
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 10:06 PM
Sep 2012

crappy nasty pesticides.

That's me...

JustAnotherGen

(31,683 posts)
6. Human beings
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 06:04 AM
Sep 2012

Thrived for thousands and thousands of years without pesticides, steroids, and antibiotics being "grown into" their food. If possible - when possible - I'm eating like my father's grandparents and great grandparents did. And his greats include people that subsisted on a "slave" diet for much of their lives including post slavery - and they all made it into their 90s and beyond.

Atman

(31,464 posts)
7. My feeling, too; whenever possible.
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 06:23 AM
Sep 2012

I just can't see a downside to NOT putting unnecessary chemicals and GMOs into your body. Given the choice, whenever practical, I buy organic.

marmar

(76,985 posts)
8. Part of the problem, here in the U.S. at least, is that some things labeled "organic" ......
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 07:03 AM
Sep 2012

...... really aren't completely organic, thanks to the USDA's knuckling under to big food companies.


 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
10. Once the USDA got in the middle of labeling organic
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 08:06 AM
Sep 2012

(note they don't label GMO) organic foods immediately took a dive. You can do all sorts of crappy things to food and animals and still obtain a USDA organic label.

The researchers in the AP study used USDA standards for levels of pesticide, hormones and antibiotics that are safe. But the USDA is strongly controlled by Monsanto so who are you going to trust? I notice the article also mentions that the price of organic is higher. But if you are a careful shopper you can get organic type food without the high cost if you shop at farmer's markets.

The article from the AP does mention a taste difference but said it wasn't important. I really think the taste of my food is very important.

Both those articles sound like hit pieces for Monsanto. They sound like they are trying to convince you that real organic food is not any better, just more expensive. But when you buy meat in the Wal-Mart grocery store, you are buying meat that is injected with water and flavorings, meat that is gassed to make it look fresh and meat that is glued to make it look like a prime cut. You get ground beef with pink slime and all sorts of other additives.

Buying non organic in the grocery stores today, you don't know what kind of crap you are really getting.

caraher

(6,276 posts)
15. There are also other reasons to prefer "organic" foods
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 10:46 AM
Sep 2012

My biggest motivation to "buy organic" isn't whether there's a measurable health effect associated with organic foods, it's to provide some pressure against the worst practices of the industrial food machine. As noted by others, there is now an "organic food industry" that mimics many of the practices of the mainstream food industry; but this is why I prefer buying from small local producers - even if not "Organic (TM)" - over supermarket food.

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
16. It's not just about what goes into your mouth, it's about the world you live in
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 12:06 PM
Sep 2012

but it is true that fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss

Following the three years when the FST fields were being transitioned to organic production, the organic corn fields produced just as much as the conventional fields. And while conventional growers are now battling newly herbicide-resistant superweeds with more powerful chemicals, the FST organic crops hold their own against weeds, producing the same as the conventional fields without the assistance of herbicides.

Another long-term research project out of Iowa mirrors Rodale Institute’s work. A 12-year study of organic versus conventional methods found that after the transition period, organic corn and soybeans produced, on average, nearly identically amounts of food as the conventionally-managed plants.

Organic farming produces same corn and soybean yields as conventional farms, but consumes less energy and no pesticides, study finds

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/july05/organic.farm.vs.other.ssl.html

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Maybe you heard the hullabaloo over a 2010 journal review written by a well-known researcher who has spent a lot of time discrediting the nutritional benefits of organic food. In the article, Joseph Rosen, PhD, professor emeritus of food toxicology at Rutgers University, suggested that organic food might not be worth the cost. This "new" review didn't include any new content, or address dozens of recent studies that prove the nutritional value of organic food. Nevertheless, nutritional considerations certainly influence the food choices we make, so it's a worthy conversation to have.

That said, eating organic involves a lot more than the nutritional content of the food itself. In 2010, the mainstream medical community—in the form of the President’s Cancer Panel—took the major step of urging Americans to eat organic food because it's grown without chemicals, pesticides, drugs, and hormones linked to cancer, along with countless other ailments.

But back to nutritional content, where organic still appears to have an edge over conventional, even if the differences are more complicated to measure than you might think. "We agree that many variables impact the nutrient content of organic and conventional foods, that differences can vary by year, and that more research is needed to accurately quantify the differences," explains Chuck Benbrook, PhD, chief scientist at The Organic Center, which generates peer-reviewed research on organic farming and products. "The [UK-based] Soil Association and The Organic Center have never stated that organic food is always more nutritious,” says Benbrook. “But on average, across years, types of food, soils, genetics, and so on, it’s about 25 percent more nutritious. That’s what the literature shows."

http://www.rodale.com/organic-food-benefits
Over the 30 years of the trial, organic corn and soybean yields were equivalent to conventional yields in the tilled systems.

Wheat yields were the same for organic and conventional systems. (Wheat was
only added to the conventional system in 2004).


Read more written by the people who put "organic" front and center:

http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/fst30years

Cha

(295,929 posts)
18. No, I've been eating Organic
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 05:06 PM
Sep 2012

for a long time. Worked on organic farms and have many friends across the country who are organic farmers. They work hard and do a great service to our planet in not spreading the poison in the soil.

I'm very appreciative of our Organic Farmers.

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
20. The Stanford Organic Food Study.....
Fri Sep 7, 2012, 08:06 PM
Sep 2012

...brought to you by your friends at MONSANTO and CARGILL.

I rarely accept any so-called ''study'' put out by universities and authorized agencies these days because the colleges are bought and paid-for and the government agencies (I'm looking at you FDA!) like the whole fucking system -- is corrupt as hell.

- Always checked your sources for corporate cooties, I always say......

K&R

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