If you are shelling out big bucks for organic fruits and vegetables, you want to believe that they are better for you and most of the organic food shoppers I talk to say just that.But researchers at Stanford University dropped a bomb on the movement recently when they released an analysis of 240 studies of human health and the nutritional value of organics and found no significant difference in the amount of vitamins and minerals between conventionally grown foods and organics. That is not to say there were no differences. In fact this is one of those rare studies that had both side of the debate declaring victory.
Organics are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers and the researchers did find that 38 per cent of conventional produce contained measurable pesticide residue. Then again, so did seven per cent of organics. None of the samples exceeded government set safety limits.
The researchers also reported that children who ate organic fruits and veg showed fewer pesticide residues in their urine than kids who ate conventional foods. Children eat proportionately more fruits and vegetables for their size than adults, so parents tend to be keenly interested in these kinds of results.
Organic produce did contain significantly more phosphorus than conventional produce, but there is little chance your diet is deficient in phosphorus. Some individual studies have shown that organic fruits have more vitamin C than conventional, but if you regularly eat fruit of either kind you are unlikely to be deficient in Vitamin C.
Organic pork and organically raised chicken are less likely to be contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria than conventional meats. These bacteria are destroyed by cooking, but doctors are concerned about the use of antibiotic feeds called growth promoters. There is evidence that new drug-resistant germs are created that cannot be controlled with common antibiotics used in human medicine.
What this study and indeed every other study fails to address is: Does it really matter? Will eating organic have any measurable impact on my health and well-being?
It’s a question we may never be able to answer because the kind of study required would involve strictly controlling the diets of a large number of people over decades. For some people, the fact that organic farming reduces the amount of chemicals and pesticides added to our soil is enough to justify the price premium. I think a lot of people were really hoping organic would make them healthier and live longer too.
So far science has no answer for that question.