Organic food is no healthier, study finds. Organic food not much healthier: study. The Associated Press Published Monday, September 3, 2012 7:12PM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, September 4, 2012 2:02PM EDT WASHINGTON -- Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me?
Unsure, Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out -- and concluded there's little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and antibiotics. Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides, including for children -- but the amount measured from conventionally grown produce was within safety limits, the researchers reported Monday. Nor did the organic foods prove more nutritious. "I was absolutely surprised," said Dr. "There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over conventional foods," from environmental concerns to taste preferences, Bravata stressed. The government has begun steps to curb the nonmedical use of antibiotics on the farm. That Flawed Stanford Study. I tried to ignore the month-old “Stanford study.”
I really did. It made so little sense that I thought it would have little impact. That was dumb of me, and I’m sorry. The study, which suggested — incredibly — that there is no “strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods,” caused as great an uproar as anything that has happened, food-wise, this year. (By comparison, the Alzheimer’s/diabetes link I wrote about last week was ignored.) That’s because headlines (and, of course, tweets) matter. In fact, the Stanford study — actually a meta-study, an analysis of more than 200 existing studies — does say that “consumption of organic foods may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.” Since that’s largely why people eat organic foods, what’s the big deal? Because the study narrowly defines “nutritious” as containing more vitamins. But they’re not. Clark is right: this junk science deserves a response.
Organic food exposed. I love my local organic food store.
From the moment I enter, I enjoy the aromas that greet me and the folksy look of the place. But is organic food really any better for me? The perceived wisdom is that it’s more ‘pure’ and ‘natural’, devoid of disease-causing pesticides; that organic farming “generates healthy soils” and “doesn’t poison ecosystems with toxic chemicals”. Organic food is riding a surge in popularity; across the globe, sales of organic food are burgeoning.