Organic Food Not Healthier Than Regular Food
To me food is food. I will eat anything that anyone puts in front of me and I don't really care if it is organic or not organic. There is a study that was published today in The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition. The study was actually conducted by the London School Of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the British government. I guess they looked at 162 scientific papers published over the past 50 years which discussed this topic and found out that despite the claims made and the higher costs associated with organic foods that it has the same nutritional value of regular food.
"A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance," said Alan Dangour, one of the report's authors.
I don't have any reason not to believe the study, but here is the one thing I think they are missing from all this. If you get people thinking about organic it makes them read a label. When people read a label I think it makes them more self aware of what they are eating. So, even though there might not be a difference between an organic chocolate chip cookie and a regular one, maybe someone looked at the label and discovered how much sugar is in both of them and said, how about an apple instead.
The organic food market is worth $48 billion a year so I am sure there will be some other studies that come out that say it is the greatest for you.
57 comments:
It's funny other than taste I do not find a huge difference between organic and non-organic food in America.
I find the taste to be so much better in organic produce. Most conventionally grown produce has zero flavor. Why bother eating something you don't enjoy?
Might be true, but I still think the enormous amount of additives in American food has contributed to making the country so fat, so fast.
Cookies tasted good in 1950 as well, when the U.S. population was half the size, so I'm not convinced the obesity epidemic is solely due to a lack of willpower.
The hormones in U.S. beef and chicken also scare me.
Jenny, I think a lot of conventionally grown produce has no flavor because it is picked before it is ripe and then shipped from far, far away.
Local, in-season produce tastes much better, organic or not.
Tomatoes in season! Heaven! Or freshly-picked strawberries!
tell me something i don't know already.
it's hit or miss with ANYTHING we put in our bodies. i do read labels, and try to make 'good' choices.
however, what i can afford to pay in food is what i'm gonna buy. no outrageous food bills for me.
"Local, in-season produce tastes much better, organic or not."
DITTO. i very much agree.
I eat organic whenever possible, not because I think it is more nutritious, but because I don't want to ingest a pile of chemicals.
I find study to be...weird.
I recently asked a friend of mine who is a doctor as to what the deal is with the massive amounts of people developing peanut allergies. He told me that no one knows for sure, but it's widely thought by physicians and researchers to be the result of the pesticides used on the peanut crops. Can anyone truly argue that peanut allergies aren't skyrocketing?
I think organic food prices are criminal, but if I had choice between organic and non-organic and the price was comparable, I'd go organic, hands down.
And, like some previous posters sort of said, if your great-grandmother couldn't buy it, then you probably shouldn't either. There are too many chemicals and hormones in our food.
tour an organic farm just once and you'll go back to your good old safeway food. you may not get chemicals, but you are getting a host of other nasty things they use to keep the bugs away.
in my experience anyway.
I agree with Kat. The issue isn't so much the amount of nutrients in organic vs. "regular" produce, it's what's not IN the organic produce that matters, i.e. less pesticides and chemicals.
Hmm, to me, it sounds like they only looked at the number of nutrients in the food, not whether any chemical additives are harmful or not.
organic isn't just about the nutritional value though. it's much more than that. it's about genetic altering of the products, hormones, pesticides and additives.
that's the shit that's probably harmed us. i always buy organic when i can and i'll keep doing so.
people eat so much crap in this country, anything that raises awareness can only be a good thing.
I never bought into the organic craze, anyhow, It's no different than any other trend in recent years- anyone remember the onslaught of low-carb everything when the Atkins craze was huge?
Eating helthy, in moderation, and exercising common sense when choosing what things to eat is the best plan to stick to, imo.
Eating healthy, ffs. Can't type today :P
What nancer said, though jax has got me wondering about what organic producers use now...I still think I'm more worried about the chemicals and pesticides, though.
Right, it's not the nutritional value -- a head of lettuce is a head of lettuce, nutrion-wise -- it's the fricken additives and preservatives and hormones etc.
There is also the issue of pesticides harming the natural environment. I don't think that taste is the main reason that more people are buying organic.
I thought the purpose of organic food was to get rid of pesticides and save the surrounding ecosystem, not higher nutrition.
The idea that a tomato grown in California and shipped to New Hampshire -- in February -- has the SAME nutritional value as a tomato plucked from one's own backyard is completely ludicrous.
"Organic" is a tricky label, though, and don't get me started on "free range." The ONLY foolproof way to know what you're putting in your mouth is to grow/kill it yourself, or shake the hand of the person who did.
Considering the amount of chemicals saturating the air we all breathe, the water we drink and bathe in... I hardly think worrying about lettuce is that important, really. Just my 2 cents.
*sigh*
I would urge some of you to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle or The Omnivore's Dilemma, but the majority of Americans like our shit freeze-wrapped and covered in eighty tons of cellophane. Eat what you want, I guess.
This is like that episode of Oprah with all the overweight teenagers, where they would compare different foods and let people guess which food was "healthier". In Oprah's worlds, "healthier" meant "less calories". Which is not at all the case.
It really is too bad that organic food is so much more expensive. Where I live, there is a very small selection of organics at the regular grocery store, or you can go to a specialty store that has a great selection, but is quite expensive, and also, filled with smelly, judgmental hippie assholes.
I just got back from a trip to Sweden, where it seemed everything was organic, or "ecologic", as they call it. Everything was available in its 'ecologic' version, and in many cases, the regular version is no longer sold because people won't buy it. It just made it really easy to make better choices, and in most cases, the difference in price seemed minimal.
organic chocolate chip cookies are the ewww. esp. the frozen ones you break off and bake at home. gag, gross, gag. *sticks to nestle tollhouse*
I agree with Mooshki...
More in depth, organic food is simply food made or grown to a certain quality standard. With the high amount of synthetically altered food on our shelves, organic has come to mean food or produce made or grown the traditional way. When I was a wee lad at UC Davis, the biggest university program for synthetic foods in the United States, I used to listen to all the Chem/bio junkie nerds get excited about growing larger, riper tomatoes by messing with its molecular structure. That is not natural. I will say the majority of scientists I know, work with and hang out with do not buy organic foods for nutritional value, in fact, synthetically altered foodstuff sometimes has more nutrients since you can inject them in between growth stages. They buy them because it is absent of risks that aren't known yet by consuming synthetic foodstuff.
For example, the EU and Japan has/had an embargo on US produce/rice because synthetically altered rice began mixing with long grain rice stock. The interior minister of Japan said "We will watch the American children grow. If they don't die, then we know altered food is safe for us."
Google Monsanto. Also please watch "The Future of Food'. It is a great documentary on all this. It is an even more important piece if you happen to live in the midwest.
Harriet, I, too, loathe those aforementioned "smelly, judgmental hippie assholes." TOTALLY. The local Co-Op in my town drives me nuts for that very reason, sometimes.
Have you tried a local farmer's market? Most communities have them on the weekends. You won't encounter Patchouli-soaked people named Phoenix and Peony, I promise -- in my experiences visiting markets around the country, most of the merchants are aging, honest, hardworking farmpeople who really KNOW about food. I trust them. And you can generally get BOMBASS bread for cheaper than you'd get it at the store, too.
Fuck Whole Foods and please support The Local Man is what I'm trying to say here.
"A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference."
These previously published papers were reviewed, and according to the previously published papers, there's no significant difference. Who did the original research? Scientists employed by Dow Chemical?
To me, it's not about organic food being "healthier" for you (I never thought it would be... a carrot is a carrot...) but at least the farmers growing it don't use nasty pesticides or poison water sources. My two cents...
The issue is the amount of pesticides and chemicals used, not the amount of nutrition.
Also, I am concerned about genetically modified foods.
Not exactly about organic food, but I highly recommend 'Slow Death By Rubber Duck', written by two Canadian scientists about the chemicals that leech on to your food and skin through the use and contact with plastic. It is linked to the occurrence of developmental issues in children (i.e autism, which seems to be influenced by a certain chemical which can be found in some vaccines), depression in children and adults (with the advent of the plastic generation, depression has skyrocketed!) and all sorts of cancers. In short, we're dying a slow and sad death.
What got me, too, was how they found that eating fish for a short time period would actually elevate mercury levels in blood to a dangerous degree, causing memory loss and compromised motor skills (Daphne Zuniga is cited as a reference here).
Anyway, if you can, read it. It'll change your life and make you throw away all of your plastic. Really great book that is being used as an argument to support the 'Rubber Duck' bill.
I'm on the no chemicals no pesticides less GMO'd foods bandwagon.
I do pay more for organic food, and often prefer to shop at my local butcher shop, where he carries organic meats from local farmers, which haven't been pumped with growth hormones or antibiotics and the likes (the growth hormones are the reason so many young girls are starting puberty at the tender age of 9. Nine!). Supporting your local market not only helps with anyone's local economy, it also puts in perspective how much you pay extra for transportation of said mass-grown produce and meats, which, as others have mentioned, ripen over long distances. (who likes those rock-hard nectarines? Anyone?)
I encourage everyone who can to grow a garden! At least some tomatoes, squash and cucumbers...those are pretty easy and so damn tasty. Plus tending a garden keeps you out of the nightclubs, away from the drug dealers, and pimps and hos are usually not found hanging around gardens. Good clean living.
if you have a local co-op, support it. that's better for everyone.
until we solve the FOOD problem---what we eat and how much we eat----the health care crisis in this country will NEVER be solved. it's a disgrace, really.
Katherine, it's funny you mentioned carrots 'cuz I just read an email about the chlorine used to clean 'em.
I heard from an organic farmer that he really has to jump through hoops to get the "organic" seal.
What has me thinking are the comments about autism and the increase in peanut (and other) allergies.
I'll go on a health kick once in a while, but these days it seems like everything's bad so I might as well enjoy a double double from In N Out.
I've been going over to Organic over the past year & a half now, but not because I thought it was more nutritional. For me it's definitely a pesticide/hormones/processing issue - I just don't trust it anymore. I think we may have done ourselves alot of damage that we don't understand yet. I tend to think that the more we mess w/the way nature intended things, the more we screw ourselves up.
Ok - that's my 2 cents. :)
I tried to grow a garden, but the bees and wasps were so bad that we couldn't go out back. I shop at the farmer's market, so I don't have to invest in one of those beekeeper suits.
I live on a farm, my father-in-law owns it. We do conventional and then organic a mile down the road. Let me just say that they are basically the same. There is such a fine line with the FDA on what is considered organic. They put a lot of the same things on them, all natural of course.
I bet a lot of you do not know that they use human waste, yes human, as a fertilizer for organic veggies. I find that disgusting. They also use horse and chicken waste for organic and conventional.
I agree the best is locally grown produce. Check farmers markets for the best selections.
Can't afford organic around here (resort area where even the frickin' CAT FOOD is expensive, as if any tourists bring their GD cat on vacation)...pisses me off so bad...
Another scary food is corn. The bulk of corn grown today is genetically modified to avoid disease, and the majority of it is turned into animal feed and high fructose corn syrup. Consuming food products that are not related to GMO corn is practically unavoidable.
How is organic doing in today's economy?
Years ago, a farmer came into my work selling cartons of grapefruits and oranges. I told her I didn't like grapefruits, too bitter. She gave me a sample and it was heaven. She explained that conventionally grown produce is picked while it is still green, injected with chemicals so they will stay fresh while they stay in a warehouse before shipping. I think a lot of stuff you get that is organic or at a farmer's market skips this process and that's why they taste so much better.
I can only go by my own experiences, but I've raised my daughter on about 85-90 percent organic foods since the day she was born, and while we do occasionally indulge in McDonalds, overall I just avoid anything with red dyes or excess chemicals or artificial whatever. And I never use plastic if possible, or use anything but natural chemicals and pest controls in my yard and home. What I have is a fabulously healthy kid who is NEVER sick (she never had anything but a well baby Dr. visit until she was 22 months old) even though she attends a daycare/preschool, and is incredibly bright. I can't say organics take all the credit, but I do believe that they have made a difference because of the lack of exposure to so many chemicals and additives.
And as far as genetically engineered foods - well, in my opinion, you can get a tomato from the grocery store imported from several states away, and compare it with a freshly picked, ripened by the sun, heirloom tomato from your back yard grown with no chemicals, and believe me - there is NO taste comparison! I'll grow my own as much as possible!
Actually organic is selling a lot better than conventional. It will be interesting to see if this study affects the sales of organic versus conventional. I will have to watch our sales more closely to see if there is a change, even is slight.
I know on our farm (which is considered small, only 3000 acres) We do no pick until it is ripe and we try to field pack, which means the product it put in a box right in the field and then loaded directly onto a truck. We try not to have to sort and pack in the packing house so that the product is shipped out sooner. I know lots of larger farms have the product sitting in their cooler for about a week before it is shipped to distributors, we try to keep it under 3 days. I guess it all depends on who you buy from.
You're my hero, Sonia. :-)
The results of research was commissioned by the British government's Food Standards Agency. This agency is in the pockets of Big Corporations. Nice try.
Look, if you happen to care about this world or your children, you will certainly not feed them toxic poison?
Saffron, if you think eating Organic it taking one to the big corps think again. Majority of Organic food is grown by big agribusinesses.
Of all the food that has was contaminated by E Coli, a whopping 8% was Organic, while conventional food was much lower.
Organic growing is far more inefficient which means prices are higher because food has to be shipped from much farther away. If we went 100 precent organic we could only feed 4 billion people on Earth, so thise starving kids in Africa will probably still starve.
I sort of re-trained myself a number of years ago to buy locally grown, in-season produce, period. It just tastes better when it doesn't have to get on a plane and fly here before it's ripe.
So, it means giving up certain fruits and vegetables in certain months, but what I learned was that winter squash can be very versatile. And oh, has seasonal deprivation made me appreciate the watermelon and blueberries currently in my refrigerator...
Um, nutrition..? That's not the end all and be-all of food production. How about how the ecosystem is affected by chemicals--do you want your kids to be able to swim in that nearby river? Do you want the fish in that river to have three eyeballs or two? There's a lot more to veggies than just Me Me Me..
Reading through the comments, I'm excited to see most of us still prefer organic because we don't want the chemicals/pesticides in our bodies!
One of my passions is reading/discussing nutrition & alternative medicine.
While there are studies showing organic produce is more nutritious, the real issue is the pesticides/chemicals used to grow produce. And the hormones injected in our meat (and milk)? No thanks!
Food allergies are on the rise. Humans do not seem to be adjusting to the processed food diet very well. Cancer is on the rise. And what do they tell us to eat to avoid cancer? Good old fruits & veggies.
the difference is the CANCER we get from the bug sprays.
I have a home garden where I grow everything from figs, peanuts, tomatoes to potatoes.
I use all old fashioned techniques without using any chemicals or pesticides. I plan on expanding next yr. It requires some time, but at least I know what I am eating.
Guttersnipey, I hear you loud and clear!
Miss X one of my passions also is nutrition and alternative medicine, simply because with these two tools you can be preventative about illness rather than fixing something after its happened like modern medicine does.
Thanks to everyone for the readin suggestions! Another book suggestion for anyone who's interested is - "In Defense of Food".
It would be nice to afford food that was organic all the time. Could someone please set a standard for things labeled "Organic". That would be helpful - not the government though.
i've tended to avoid paying for organic food. my mother tends to believe that preservatives are what have given us longer lives! :)
while i doubt that human waste is used in the US, organic farmers DO use manure (rabbit pellets are supposed to be excellent fertilizer, but not the urine. how do i separate the two?), and i believe that this is where the e. coli outbreaks have come from, and personally where my husband contracted it.
i think in general that produce sucks now days because of the distance it is shipped (and i live in california, where most of it is grown!)- tomatoes are one of my favorite things in the world, and the quality has gone downhill in the last 20 years. they also don't last more than a day, and a tub of those grape tomatoes are half gone over when you get them home.
and i just have to make a quick comment, somebody brought up the atkins/low carb craze-- i lost a ton of weight eating low carb BEFORE the low carb craze. then i was amazed at how everything was geared to low carb, it was everywhere, and i was no longer eating that way.
now, it seems that people are ANTI-low carb, and mister bunny (and mom bunny) are diabetic. it's very hard to find low carb items that are truly low carb.
it's very weird.
I think it's ridiculous that so many people appear to be scared of Teh Chemicallz and that's why they cling so much to the idea of organic food, but if you really think about it, everything in this universe is a chemical. What is a chemical? A mixture of various elements in chemistry, right? Everything in this universe is comprised of those various elements in chemistry. Just because certain compositions are made by humans in a Big Scary Laboratory (which is safer for you than your own home) doesn't mean that they're any less safe for you than the so-called "natural" alternatives.
Also, the quack "doctor" who had that really bad rationale for the increase in peanut allergies throughout the years should have his license taken away; peanut and other food allergies comes from parents being overzealous in their efforts to clean their children's environments, thus causing their children's immune systems to react inward and causing the development of more exotic allergies, and the change in diet amongst these same children in the first few years of their lives. This has been proven again and again and again.
And I really have to question the intellect of people who are scared of so-called "GM" foods; guess what, since the days of Mendeleyev, EVERY SINGLE FOOD OUT THERE has been genetically modified! Either to create bigger crops or better looking crops or higher yield crops, even the food your grandparents ate toward the beginning of the 20th century was genetically modified. It's only because people these days are so stupidly afraid of science and more willing to listen to crackpot snake oil salesmen who are more than willing to profit off of people's ignorance when it comes to science that the whole issue of "genetically modified" foods being somehow "bad for you" comes up. Ask the people in Africa who are fortunate enough to receive bulk food supplies from charities if they'd prefer to have their GM wheat and rice or if they'd rather the countries who provide those bags of precious food not be able to provide them anymore because their food supplies are no longer able to be as abundant. Ask any person in the world with any experience in being poor whether they'd rather pay twice the amount they pay now for food that some rich people in their gated, enclosed enclaves aren't "afraid" of or if they'd like to continue being able to afford a healthier, broader in spectrum diet.
I guess they looked at 162 scientific papers published over the past 50 years which discussed this topic and found l4d survival warehouse glitch out that despite the claims made and the higher costs associated with organic foods that it has the same nutritional value of regular food.
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