How Great The Yield From A Fertile Field

Random musings from an old farmer about life, agriculture, and faith

Friday, August 14, 2009

Organic Food

Ran across this news article recently. My sentiments exactly. But I'm not biased :)

LONDON (Reuters) - Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published Wednesday.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007.
A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.
"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.
"Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority."
The results of research, which was commissioned by the British government's Food Standards Agency, were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Sales of organic food have fallen in some markets, including Britain, as recession has led consumers to cut back on purchases.
The Soil Association said in April that growth in sales of organic products in Britain slowed to just 1.7 percent in 2008, well below the average annual growth rate of 26 percent over the last decade, following a plunge in demand at the end of the year.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Simon Jessop)

3 Comments:

At 3:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

apAlways more than one point of view :-) and interesting that this also comes from research done in the UK - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86972.php

One non-debateable point is that organice food doesn't have all the chemicals that conventional food does, whether more nutritious or not.

 
At 9:08 PM, Blogger Old Farmer said...

Not neccessarily true! A USDA study in California from 1994-1999 showed that 23% of organic food had pesticide residues. I've seen higher stats in some other studies.

 
At 10:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah well, Old Farmer, I guess one can always find "expert opinions" and studies to support their personal belief. We just happen to be on different sides of this issue. No problem - this is your blog. I will agree to disagree.

 

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