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WHY BUY ORGANIC?

Research is mounting about the benefits of eating organic foods. We thought it might be helpful if we provided some of the evidence for you to examine yourself.

Scroll sown this page to read the following:

• An excellent article by Nina Planck, author of Real Food. Her article is "Are Organics Worth The Price"
• European Union Funded Studies Show Organic Food Has Higher Nutritional Quality
• Study Finds That Pesticides in Kids Are Linked to ADHD

Also, here is a great website that talks about the benefits of Organic Food: www.soilassociation.org

Are Organics Worth Their Price?
As the recession lingers on, food writer NINA PLANCK tackles this controversial question.
By Nina Planck in a March 2010 magazine. Visit www.ninaplanck.com, she is the author of the book “Real Food’ (Bloomsbury USA) and "Real Food for Mother and Baby" (Bloomsbury USA)

When I was a kid, my summer job was selling vegetables at roadside stands and farmers’ markets near our Virginia farm. “Is this organic?” customers would ask. “No,” I’d say, “but we don’t use pesticides, our chickens run free on grass, and our produce is fresh and local.” I was barefoot, smudgy-faced, and barely 10 years old, which may or may not have enhanced my credibility. But I usually made the sale.

We didn’t bother to go organic officially because it involved a lot of red tape and extra expense, and at the time, there were multiple standards by multiple certifying bodies. Our food was certainly green, and out little farm thrived.

Today, however, the term organic is defined by a strict set of federal regulations. Crops bearing the USDA organic seal of approval are raised without synthetic pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge (semisolid leftovers from wastewater plants used as fertilizer). Organic animals consume organic feed and must have access to the outdoors. They are not treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. The organic label also means your food was not genetically engineered or treated with radiation to prolong shelf life.

These all seem like admirable standards with the consumer’s best interests in mind. So, understandably, it came as quite a shock to health-minded shoppers when the British government’s Food Standards Agency released a review last year pronouncing organic produce to be no more nutritious than the conventional kind. Organic advocates called the UK review flawed and incomplete, and its authors biased. They contended that the study didn’t include recent data showing that organic food delivers many advantages (less exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, for example), and that the concluding statement buried any pro-organic news the researchers did find (like the fact that organic produce contains more of certain beneficial minerals).

They claimed that some of the studies included in the review were poorly designed, others seriously outdates. “These findings are wrong,” Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, Britain’s leading organic organization, says flatly. “Organic food is better for the planet, and it’s better for you.”
Some reasons to buy organics are well known: The French Agency for Food Safety recently confirmed that they contain more antioxidants, heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids, iron, and magnesium that nonorganic foods. Even the UK review presented data showing more magnesium and zinc and more antioxidant phytochemicals, such as phenols and flavonoids, in organic crops.

And a five year study by 33 universities, research centers, and companies funded by the European commission-believed to be the largest study of its kind-determined that organic produce such as cabbage and potatoes contained more vitamin C (another antioxidant): that organic tomatoes contained more nutrients overall; and that organic dairy foods contained more omega-3 fatty acids and cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). This study, which will be published spring 2010, also uncovered lower levels of such contaminants as heavy metals, mycotoxins (by-products of fungal infections), and pesticide residues in organic foods. Several studies have linked pesticides used on conventionally grown produce to the neurological diseases Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

A lack of pesticide exposure is an important reason organic produce has higher levels of beneficial antioxidants like vitamin C, which fight the free radicals implicated in aging, cancer, and heart disease. Antioxidants are actually part of a plant’s own defenses. In fruits and vegetables, these bitter elements help fend off attacks by bugs and fungi. Organic crops contain more of these compounds because they have to work harder to protect themselves – no man-made pesticides to the rescue, says Holden.

In addition, organic produce is free of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which can also weaken plants’ health. “Nitrogen produces a watery, sugary cell sap that compromises the plant’s ability to build its immune system,” says Holden. Plants that come to rely on the chemical can no longer fend off pests naturally. Crops that are treated with the synthetic fertilizer also have overly leafy growth and poor flavor, as farmers have long known. That’s because the plants’ natural immune system of antioxidants is what makes produce aromatic and savory. In other works, a healthy plant makes a healthy meal -  and a tastier one.

The same could be said about animals. You are what you eat. In 2006 the Journal of Dairy Science published the results of a British study showing a direct link between organic farming and higher levels of omega-3 fats in cow’s milk. According to the research, the average pint of (British) organic milk contains 68.2 percent more omega-3 fats than nonorganic milk. That makes sense: Grass (rather than corn and soybeans) is what cows will eat when left to their own devices, and it’s loaded with these essential fatty acids. (In one of the unfortunate oversights in U.S. organic regulations, cows on some large-scale organic farms rarely graze on fresh grass, and instead are largely confined to feed lots. But this year a new USDA rule should close the loophole. To find dairy products that are produced from pasture-grazed cows, check the Dairy Scorecard at cornucopia.org.

While studies have shown that organic food can contain more nutrients, recent data highlights specific benefits to those who eat it. A 2007 Dutch study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that babies who ate organic dairy (and whose nursing mothers did, too) had a 36 percent lower incidence of eczema. A separate 2007 Dutch study gound that women who drink organic milk have breast milk with much higher levels of CLA, a fatty acid with significant antioxidant properties.

In the end it’s clear that organic food is worth the premium it commands at the grocery store. As the authors of the UK review put it themselves: “The differences in…nutrients and other substances between organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock products are biologically plausible and most likely relate to differences in crop or animal magagement, and soild quality.” That’s sciencespeak for precisely what organic farmers have said all along. Organic farming is not merely about eliminating bad things, like weed killer. It’s about raising soil fertility with proven methods, both modern and traditional, such as mulch and compost. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the healthier the plants and animals that depend on its nutrients – us included.

European Union Funded Studies Show Organic Food Has Higher Nutritional Quality
Three new European research projects have just revealed that organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic, supporting the results of research from America on kiwi fruit reported 26 March 2007.

Researchers found that organic tomatoes "contained more dry matter, total and reducing sugars, vitamin C, B-carotene and flavonoids in comparison to the conventional ones", while conventional tomatoes in this study were richer in lycopene and organic acids.

Previous research has found organic tomatoes have higher levels of vitamin C, vitamin A and lycopene.

In the latest research, the scientists conclude "organic cherry and standard tomatoes can be recommended as part of a healthy diet including plant products which have shown to be of value in cancer prevention"

A French study has found that organic peaches "have a higher polyphenol content at harvest" and concludes that organic production has "positive effects ... on nutritional quality and taste"

In a further study just published, organic apple puree was found to contain "more bio-active substances - total phenols, flavonoids and vitamin C - in comparison to conventional apple preserves" and the researchers conclude "organic apple preserves can be recommended as valuable fruit products, which can contribute to a healthy diet"

All 3 studies are published on this webpage:
http://orgprints.org/view/projects/int_conf_2007qlif_2_food_quality_and_safety.html

Here is a great website that talks about the benefits of Organic Food: www.soilassociation.org

Pesticides in Kids Linked to ADHD, Study Finds

May 17th, 2010
Researcher advises parents to buy organic, wash produce
MSNBC
By JoNel Aleccia
Exposure to pesticides used on common kid-friendly foods — including frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries and celery — appears to boost the chances that children will be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, new research shows.

Youngsters with high levels of pesticide residue in their urine, particularly from widely used types of insecticide such as malathion, were more likely to have ADHD, the behavior disorder that often disrupts school and social life, scientists in the United States and Canada found.

Kids with higher-than-average levels of one pesticide marker were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as children who showed no traces of the poison.
“I think it’s fairly significant. A doubling is a strong effect,” said Maryse F. Bouchard, a researcher at the University of Montreal in Quebec and lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

The take-home message for parents, according to Bouchard: “I would say buy organic as much as possible,” she said. “I would also recommend washing fruits and vegetables as much as possible.”

Diet is a major source of pesticide exposure in children, according to the National Academy of Sciences, and much of that exposure comes from favorite fruits and vegetables. In 2008, detectable concentrations of malathion were found in 28 percent of frozen blueberry samples, 25 percent of fresh strawberry samples and 19 percent of celery samples, a government report found.

ADHD affects 4.5 million U.S. kids. Bouchard’s study is the largest to date to look at the effect of pesticides on child development and behavior, including ADHD, which affects an estimated 4.5 million U.S. children. About 2.5 million kids take medication for the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Bouchard and her colleagues measured levels of six pesticide metabolites in the urine of 1,139 children ages 8 to 15 selected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2000 and 2004. The study included 119 children who were diagnosed with ADHD.

Unlike other studies of pesticides’ impact, Bouchard’s sample provided a glimpse into average insecticide exposure in the general population of children, not a specialized group, such as children of farmworkers. Because certain pesticides leave the body after three to six days, the presence of residue shows that exposure is likely constant, Bouchard said.

She found that kids with a 10-fold increase in the kind of metabolites left in the body after malathion exposure were 55 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Because the researchers didn’t review the kids’ diets, they couldn’t say why some children had such high levels of pesticide residue. Children are at greater risk from pesticides because their young bodies are still developing and may not metabolize chemicals as well as adults’.

The most alarming finding was a near-doubling in odds of ADHD diagnoses among kids with higher-than-average levels of the most common of the six metabolites detected. Kids with high levels of dimethyl thiophosphate were 93 percent more likely to have the disorder than children with with undetectable levels of the marker.
The research may add to anxiety about ADHD, which has no known cause, said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York. “It does seem to suggest that at non-extreme or more typical levels, there does seem to be some increased risk,” said Adesman, who is on the professional advisory board for Children and Adults with ADHD, an advocacy group.

Pesticides prey on nervous system
Boucher studied organophosphate pesticides, which account for as much as 70 percent of the pesticide use in the U.S. They work by interfering with the nervous systems of insects, but have a similar effect in mammals, including humans. Most people in the U.S. have residues of the products in their urine.
Cheminova, the Danish firm that is the leading manufacturer of malathion in the world, declined to comment on the conclusions of the new research. Diane Allemang, vice president for global regulatory affairs, said she hadn’t seen the study.

Parents of children with ADHD, however, said Bouchard’s work will give them one more than thing to worry about. “We’re all completely obsessed with food,” said Jamie Norman, 32, of Freeburg, Ill., whose 6-year-old son, Aidan, was diagnosed with ADHD six months ago.

The stimulant medication Aidan takes, Adderall XR, depresses his appetite, so Norman said she’s always trying to find good foods that he’ll want to eat. Other parents of kids with ADHD choose to use diet, not medication, to control the disorder and they’re constantly monitoring food, too.

News that some of the best foods for kids might be tainted with something linked to ADHD is worrisome, Norman said. “I’ve known for some time that strawberries, in particular, contain high levels of pesticide, but as far as frozen fruit, I don’t give that a second thought,” she said.

Buy organic, make sure to wash
The best advice for parents — and anyone who wants to avoid pesticides — is to choose foods least likely to contain them. The Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy organization, advises shoppers to buy organic versions of a dozen fruits and vegetables that grow in the ground or are commonly eaten with the skin, because they’re most likely to be contaminated.
Make sure to wash all fruits and vegetables under cold running tap water and scrub firm-skinned produce with a brush. Be sure to rinse frozen fruits and vegetables, too. But don’t wash produce with soap. The Food and Drug Administration says that could leave behind residues of detergent, yet more chemicals that everyone would do best to avoid.