Is organic food better for you?
Is eating organic food safer and more nutritious? I’ve asked myself this question often as I fork over the extra cash for organic fruits, vegetables, grains and meat every week.
The answer is no, according to Stanford University doctors who studied the issue.
They’ve concluded that there is little evidence to back up assertions that eating organic is healthier than eating conventional produce. That, despite the fact that demand for organic food is rising. Last year, we spent $31.4 billion on organic food — up from 3.6 billion in 1997, according to a government report.
The Stanford researchers primarily looked at two issues: the impact of pesticides and food’s nutritional value. They found that the amount of pesticides found in conventionally grown produce was within safety limits set by the federal government. They also concluded that the organic foods weren’t any more nutritious than conventional foods.
“There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over conventional foods,” from environmental concerns to taste preferences, one of the Stanford researchers, Dr. Dena Bravata, said. But when it comes to individual health, “there isn’t much difference.”
Does this information surprise you? Do you believe the study? Will you continue to buy organic?
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38 comments Add your comment
Organic Foods May Not Be More Nutritious – MedPage Today | Health News
September 4th, 2012
12:35 pm
[...] food is costlier, but more nutritious? No.Christian Science MonitorCBC.ca -NPR (blog) -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 671 news articles » Health – Google NewsBe Sociable, Share! [...]
Organic Foods May Not Be More Nutritious – MedPage Today | Health News
September 4th, 2012
12:36 pm
[...] food is costlier, but more nutritious? No.Christian Science MonitorCBC.ca -NPR (blog) -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 671 news articles » Health – Google News Share and [...]
William M.
September 4th, 2012
12:51 pm
The study does not say organic isn’t healthier. It just says that the nutritional content is supposedly the same. There is much more to healthy than the amount of vitamins you get.
Organic food is far safer and more sustainable than non-organic food, because organic cannot contain any genetically engineered ingredients. Genetic engineering (GE) is the splicing of genes from viruses, bacteria, and animals into our food crops. Much of the environmental and health consequences of genetically engineered crops are unknown. This new “technology” could create more allergens, toxins, and antibiotic resistance. Eating GE food can manipulate our DNA. For example, eating a single serving of genetically engineered soy can change the DNA of the bacteria in your gut.
...
September 4th, 2012
2:27 pm
Billy M. put down the conspiracy mags. I assure you no one is gene splicing seed corn. Organic means no antibiotics or pesticides are used, it has nothing to with the “genetics” of the seeds.
To ...
September 4th, 2012
2:51 pm
Perhaps you should do a little reading of your own. The fact that up to 85% of all US corn is genetically modified, up to 91% of soybeans, 88% of the cotton (from which we get cottonseed oil, in case you cannot make that connection on your own), and up to 95% of the sugar beets are all genetically engineered, does NOT alarm you? Gene splicing is EXACTLY what is happening, and the impetus behind it is the almighty dollar. Wake up and smell the coffee.
jd
September 4th, 2012
3:01 pm
The whole organic argument is so frivolous and shows a complete lack of knowledge…everything that is carbon based is organic…end of discussion
b
September 4th, 2012
3:05 pm
To…..
I would smell the coffee but those beans have been genetically modified. No thank you…
Daisy
September 4th, 2012
3:28 pm
I’m 67 years old and have eaten whatever we had available all my life. I bought an organic chicken (it was marked down from $17.00 to $5.81) the other day and it didn’t taste one whit better than the regular chicken I buy. I expect that there are some people who are sensitive or allergic to the pesticides. Those should eat organic, but for the rest of us, non-organic is just fine. I’ll still buy my regular chicken. By the way, this is National Chicken Month. Regular chicken, here I come.
vladamir sonovabitch
September 4th, 2012
3:40 pm
@Daisy – simply put…. You’re an idiot. Organic chicken and “regular” chicken do taste the same, but the hormones that were fed to the “regular” chicken to get it to a size where it can be slaughtered much faster is the difference. Those growth hormones have a significant impact on our younger generation. Have you not seen the size of girls and boys in High School these days? When I was in middle school, 13 year old girls didn’t have huge breasts and look like they were 20.
I have a friend that raised his daughter without eating fast food and hormone injected meats for most of the time. Her little friends, meanwhile, ate McDonalds, and other fast foods, hormone injected meats and poultry, etc… at age 10 1/2 her friends were growing breasts and starting their periods. AT TEN!!
Don’t think it makes a difference? Think again.
M.
September 4th, 2012
4:16 pm
Folks, this is ONE study. There are numerous studies saying otherwise. I will continue eating organic food or as our grandparents called it – FOOD. Food that was not sprayed with poison and was not engineered in a lab. Have a good day.
Mike
September 4th, 2012
4:31 pm
I have a family member who is a college professor in an agriculture-related field. His personal opinion is that organic food is not necessarily healthier and actually may be more of a risk due to less controls. I can certainly taste no difference and at 58 years old, have not been hurt by traditional foods. Do I buy organic? Occasionally when it is on sale, priced less than traditional and looks good. It’s your money though – if it makes you feel better, then buy it!
Melaine
September 4th, 2012
4:33 pm
I eat organic, grass fed, free range, locally grown and non-GMO as much as possible. The lack of difference in nutrition is not why. We have so many chemicals in our daily lives that we cannot control so why, if you have a choice, eat more of them? If a product has ingredients that I cannot pronounce and have no idea what are, I do not buy it. How many pesticides, chemicals, drugs have been taken off of the market in this country after a few years or decades because the long term or unintended effects have just been acknowledged? Why take the chance if you can do differently?
jeff lovely
September 4th, 2012
4:34 pm
the real question is what are the consequences of eating veggies and fruits and grains that has been genetically modified and animals that are forced to live a lifetime without light filled with hormones that make them to heavy to walk.
Spartacus
September 4th, 2012
4:34 pm
Oh no! The secret’s out!!
That’s OK, the yuppy crowd will still convince themselves that paying 2-5 times non-organic food is the right thing to do.
…..that’s good for me, for I am an organic farmer….laughing myself all the way to the bank!!!
…..sucker born every minute….
Spartacus
September 4th, 2012
4:36 pm
BTW…if organic is so healthy, why does Michelle O. have hips bigger than my Buick???
G
September 4th, 2012
4:37 pm
Folks it’s not that serious….To each it’s own. Whatever floats your boat do it
Chris
September 4th, 2012
4:39 pm
Eat what ever the heck you want to eat and shut up. Your not going to live any longer than the next guy by eating organic.
Kids are bigger these days because they sit around on their butts all day, play video games, and are not active. If you are active, you will not put on pounds like it’s going out of style.
This vladamir dude is taking one personal occurrence and labeling it as the norm, which it is not. I ate all that tasty fast food growing up, as did my sisters, cousins, friends, and so foth. None of us were genetic freaks, we all grew normally, and very few of us were over weight. The main reason is because we grew up in the south, our parents made us do actual work growing up, and in lieu of playing video games, we played sports year round.
Vladamir is totally off base, and doesn’t understand where the real problem is. If it looks good, taste good, and makes you happy…..eat it!!!
Lynnie gal
September 4th, 2012
4:45 pm
Pesticides are known hormonal disrupters, contributing to cancers in both men and women, especially breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer and uterine cancer. Pesticides don’t affect the nutritional value of the food, but saying that foods that are not grown with hormone disrupting pesticides is just as good as food that is laden with pesticides is misleading and dishonest.
GL`
September 4th, 2012
4:45 pm
There are costs and benefits beyond the price. Organic allows you to reduce chemical intake, avoid growth hormones, and capture the natural taste fully. Organic also exposes you to increased risks of certain bacterias and diseases which are less common in chemically treated plants and animals. Although organic is popular right now as a political statement, it is not yet sustainable. If we moved everything to organic food, we would not be able to sustain the food demands of the world. Again, there are costs and benefits.
Franklin Zappa
September 4th, 2012
4:53 pm
I think the common misconception is that organic food is “healthier” for you.
The goal behind organic foods is that it is healthier for the earth meaning, we’re not pumping the earth full of chemicals and poisons that will hinder the production in years to come.
That is the purpose of organic food; conservation.
Rachel
September 4th, 2012
4:56 pm
I’m not all that much into organic food and I won’t vote for her husband – but come on, Spartacus – no need to pick on Michelle O. Low blow.
kimmer
September 4th, 2012
5:13 pm
Where to start here. The whole organic mystique is based primarily on anecdotal information. Pretty much every peer-reviewed outcome based study has concluded that organic food is not significantly different than conventionally produced food in both nutritional content and safety.
First of all, everybody eats genetically modified food. The plants and animals we consume have been modified by breeding and selection until they scarcely resemble their wild ancestors.
Secondly, I hear people wanting to hearken back to our great grandfather’s day when developments in agricultural science has allowed us to feed more people on less land for less money than at anytime in history. The world cannot be fed using organic agricultural methods. Do you folks that want to use 1920’s agricultural science also want to go back to 1920’s medical science too?
From my perspective technology has created a world where we have the cheapest food supply and the longest expected life span in the history of the world. Looks like we have it pretty good to me.
Eric
September 4th, 2012
5:20 pm
I actually feed my dog an all organic dog food diet. I personally do not eat all organic, but will sometimes buy it if it appeals to me. But the point is that my dog is extremely healthy for a 5 year old. He jumps and plays like a puppy, and most people think he is much younger. His coat is incredibly shiney and smooth. Now I’m not attributing all of that to eating organic, but I do think it has had a positive effect on him. The only reason I feed my dog organic is that he is a boxer and they are very prone to cancer. By not feeding him all the chemicals in other dog foods, I am hoping to reduce his cancer risk. I do not know if this will actually work, but it certainly can’t hurt. He also takes vitamins for dogs and has pet insurance with a cancer rider just in case. While I understand that most people will think I am nuts for paying so much more for organic food…for a dog…but I really don’t care what they think. He is my absolute best buddy and I want the best for him, and I want him here for as long as possible. To me he is worth the extra money. In the end it may be wasted money, but it makes me sleep a bit easier at night.
Qwayshawna
September 4th, 2012
7:03 pm
Organic food is nothing more than another feel-good fad. If it makes you happy go for it, but it probably won’t add a day to your longevity. I just finished reading the online obit for the magnificent actor Michael Clark Duncan who died as the result of a heart attack; the article mentioned that he’s been a vegetarian for three years.
mimi's mom
September 4th, 2012
9:16 pm
Bring on the pesticides! I’d rather have that than worms in my food.
dan the nerd
September 5th, 2012
8:02 am
Wow. So many off-base posts.
First, GMO is in no way similar to linebreeding which has developed the foods & plants we eat. GMO is when the GENES are spliced to include Roundup or any other chemical which will make them more tolerant of pesticides/antibiotics or will turn them into a super-plant which will produce higher yields.
Second, no organic farmer is laughing himself to the bank. They do not receive any gov’t subsidies and that is the main reason their products are more expensive than conventional.
Third, the biggest difference between Organic and Conventional farming is the amount of petroleum inputs required to farm. Man-made fertilizers require substantial inputs whereas organic farming relies on cover crops and crop rotation – essentially what northern european’s were doing 800 years ago.
Finally, it is okay if you think Organic food is a fad. It may be. But we have to change the way we grow food in this country. We can not rely on fossil fuels/antibiotics/pesticides to grow plants to the extent we do today. I hope that we can work to a place where we can use some chemicals but still employ the baic tennents of Organic farming – maybe call it sustainable farming.
I'm with the GOVERNMENT, I'm here to help
September 5th, 2012
9:39 am
It seems like everyone just trusts the government and specifically the FDA. Do some research on the FDA and understand their motives and financial incentives. Vioxx was great wasn’t it? The missing piece is that Stanford researchers simply confirmed the the toxins and poisons contained in our food source is within the “safe limits” outlined by the GOVERNMENT. Wake up morons.
“…the amount of pesticides found in conventionally grown produce was within safety limits set by the federal government.”
jarvis
September 5th, 2012
9:40 am
dan the nerd, please post your data….from a reliable source. A study with controls similiar to the Stanford study posted about would be great.
Also, the world organically farmed until about a century ago. Take a peek at the level of worldwide starvation at the time.
I'm with the GOVERNMENT, I'm here to help
September 5th, 2012
9:42 am
The GOVERNMENT defined that Vioxx was safe also…for those of you, never mind.
jarvis
September 5th, 2012
9:44 am
I’m with the government, look up Rotenone, and then get back to us on the safe use of pesticides in organic farming.
JCJenny
September 5th, 2012
9:51 am
Everybody should watch Penn & Tellers’ BullS*#t video on Organic Food. It’s no better and could NEVER sustain the demand for feeding the world’s population.
Do your own thing but don’t criticize those who don’t believe what you do. Oh wait, that’s called a DEMOCRAT! Yup, I just went there………………….
dan the nerd
September 5th, 2012
10:06 am
Jarvis – Sorry, but the world did not use “Organic Farming” (as defined by the USDA) until this generation. Don’t confuse using manure and crop rotation with Organic Farming. Organic Farming uses some of the same principles but it is not the same.
I’m not against Organic Farming and everything I posted is pretty much available in a quick google search. My concern is with people blindly thinking Organic Farming is the be all, end all. It isn’t. You can still raise miserabley unhappy pigs, chickens, and cows on an organic farm. I want to see more animals on pasture – be it an organic pasture or not. And I want to see all farmers make a decent living wage. And I want to see all farmers recieve comparable subsidies. I hate that a cotton farmer makes money by leaving his fields empty while Organic Farmer’s HAVE to tote their goods to expensive markets in toney neighborhoods to make a living.
dan the nerd
September 5th, 2012
10:19 am
JCJenny – I think you are missing the point. Nobody has ever said that you can feed the world by using Organic Farming. The problem is that we aren’t able to feed the world using our current methods either.
Our current corn based economy is too relient upon fossil fuel to be sustainable. The synthetic fertilizer requires a tremendous amount of energy to produce – then you have to ship it to the enourmous factory farms which are nowhere near where the fertilizer is made. Then it has to be spread. Then the crop has to be harvested by enourmous combines. Then the crop has to be shipped back to where the people live. OR it is turned into ethenol which is then put into the gas tank of your car. Without getting too deep into the details of this, I think you can agree that the current system does not make much sense, right? Seriously, we are using petroleum to make fertilizer to grow corn to make ethenol to make a petroleum replacement which: Is about 60% as effecient as gasoline AND destroys the fuel lines/systems of modern cars/lawn care equipment.
Oh, and I am a Republican. And my family has about 3,000 acres of farmland. And I raise poultry and was the head of a national organization. So, I do know a little about this.
AndyInAtl
September 5th, 2012
12:54 pm
I don’t need FDA “safe” guidelines to look around and see that cancer rates are exploding. Don’t need any fancy and super long studies to see the bazillion of new immune system-diseases. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry with their cronies in government (and no, it doesn’t matter which party is in charge), keep beating the “find the cure” drum, while charging cancer patients exorbitant amounts for the drugs that have been around for ages. If they wanted to find a cure, they would’ve done so long ago. The problem is however, the cancer is a body’s response to something, and instead of treating that (symptom), perhaps they should look deeper at what’s causing the body reaction.
You don’t need study, to use your COMMON SENSE. Along with rise in use of chemicals in foods, air pollution and other chemical “innovations”, the rate of cancers, immune disorders and other diseases that have exposure to chemicals as one of the possible triggers, rose like mushrooms. Perhaps there’s no difference in amount of vitamins provided between organic apple and conventionally grown one. But there’s difference in the quality of the nutrients provided by them. If apple can just lay around for weeks without going bad, it’s not an apple; it’s frankenapple.
To all those who trust the government with everthing here’s few reminders to consider: eugenics, supposedly “good” chemicals in drinking water (fluoride among them), aspartame (that was safe, right?), and multitude of other garbage that was deemed “safe” by various govenment organizations, only to be banned later. I’ll take COMMON SENSE over FDA, or any other government organization anytime.
MrLiberty
September 5th, 2012
4:31 pm
Ah yes, parrotting the corporate/USDA line. Nice job with the serious reporting.
Turtle Man
September 5th, 2012
4:35 pm
the whole point of eating organically is to prevent risk from chemical contamination (from various synthetic chemicals including pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides), risk from supplemental hormones, overuse of antibiotics, and a plethora of environmental benefits (contamination of water and soil, etc.) Eating organic foods just tastes better plain and simple.
Turtle Man
September 5th, 2012
4:38 pm
www (dot) princeton (dot) edu/greening/organic4 (dot) htm
you can't be serious
September 7th, 2012
1:40 pm
—–They found that the amount of pesticides found in conventionally grown produce was within safety limits set by the federal government. —–
Oh yeah! Nothing like a good dose of regulated pesticides, makes me feel warm and cozy inside!!
These regulated pesticides have all kinds of unintended consequences. I want no part of them!!