Filed under: Commentary
A new study published in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry’s (SCI) Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture claims that there is no evidence to support the argument that organic food is better than food grown with the use of pesticides and chemicals. However, The Organic Center’s Chief Scientist Chuck Benbrook, Ph.D., has the following to say about the study.
A study just out in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture is entitled “Effect of plant cultivation methods on content of major and trace elements in foodstuffs and retention in rats.” The Danish research team compared the retention of nutrients in rats fed a diet composed of organic and conventional dried fruits and vegetables. Only trace mineral levels were compared; no results were reported on vitamins, polyphenols, and antioxidants (nutrients that routinely are present at higher concentrations in organic food).
No differences were found in nutrient levels, leading the authors to suggest that such findings might dampen consumer demand for organic food. Some media outlets have picked up this finding, and have dramatically broadened it to support headlines and statements like “Organic food no more nutritious than conventional.” A review of the study’s experimental design, however, raises serious questions about whether this study’s results actually support the more narrow conclusions stated by the authors.
The team grew the fruits and vegetables in both the “conventional” and organic plots on soils that were previously managed organically. Accordingly, the conventional crops enjoyed all the nutrient-enhancing and plant-health benefits of heightened soil quality from prior organic soil management. Given the series of studies published in the U.S. in the last three years pointing to soil quality enhancement in organic systems as the major cause, or explanation of observed differences in nutritional quality, it is not surprising that this Danish study found no statistically significant difference in mineral levels in the organic and “conventional” crops that were harvested and fed to the rats.
In addition, the organic plots were grown under limited nitrogen, whereas the conventional crop was not. On the basis of the criteria the Center developed to judge the scientific validity of comparison studies, and used in completing our March 2008 report on the nutrient content of organic food, this Danish study is clearly “invalid” for purposes of comparing the nutrient content of conventional and organic foods.
The study was carefully conducted and valid for testing the impacts of the production conditions embedded in its experimental design, but by virtue of this design, little weight should be placed on its findings in terms of the differences in conventional and organic management on crop nutritional quality.
Source: Mette Kristensen, Lars Ostengaard, Ulrich Halekoh, Henry Jorgensen, Charlotte Lauridsen, Kirsten Brandt, and Suzanne Bugel. “Effect of plant cultivation methods on content of major and trace elements in foodstuffs and retention in rats,” Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2008
Filed under: Commentary
In mid-July, the American Council for Science and Health (ACSH), an industry-funded organization that works on behalf of the pesticide, biotechnology and drug industries, issued a critique of the Center’s March 2008 report “New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods.“ The ACSH report was written by Dr. Joseph Rosen of Rutgers University.
On July 23, Barry Estabrook of Gourmet Magazine posted a story on the critique, which provides a concise summary of Rosen’s comments. His piece is entitled “Politics of the Plate — Fighting Words”.
The response by the five co-authors of the Center’s report covers the major points of the ACSH critique, and has been posted on the Center’s website. Excerpts appear below.
“The American Council for Science and Health (ACSH) report by Dr. Joseph Rosen seems to accept, and does not argue with the factors we identified to screen published nutrient content studies for scientific validity. “
“But as he goes through the various sections of our report, he criticizes us for ‘cherry-picking’ results, excluding matched pairs where the results favor conventional food. That is not what we did. He misrepresents our methodology and offers inconsistent and illogical suggestions to correct what he perceives as ‘bias’ in our selection of the matched pairs of foods that were then used to compare nutrient concentrations. ”
“We applied the screening method and selection criteria consistently, and in fact eliminated more results favoring the organic food in a matched pair than the conventional food. Without our screening methods and criteria, the nutritional advantage of organic food would have been greater.”
Filed under: Organic Center In the News
The Organic Center is pleased to announce that four new members have been appointed to the Board of Directors –
- Sara Snow, host of TV’s Get Fresh with Sara Snow, Discovery Networks; media, consumer advocate
- Ken Cook, President of Environmental Working Group, an environmental consumer advocacy nonprofit organization
- Margaret Wittenberg, Global VP for Quality Standards and Public Affairs, Whole Foods Market; representing retailers
- Timothy Escamilla, VP for Procurement, Ready Pac; fresh produce industry
Current board members Michelle Goolsby and Anthony Zolezzi, were re-elected to new three year terms on the Board. Michelle Goolsby, former EVP of Development, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs for Dean Foods, is the Board Chair-elect, and will take over as Chairperson in November 2008. Alan Greene, M.D., Clinical Professor at Stanford University Children’s Hospital and Co-founder of DrGreene.com, is the current Board Chair.
Founding Board member Katherine DiMatteo, who was recently elected to serve as President of IFOAM (the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), and Walter Robb, Co-president and COO of Whole Foods Market, will be leaving the Board in November after many years of service. Their many contributions to the work of the Center will be sorely missed, but fortunately they have agreed to serve along with Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., as “Advisory Directors” of the Center.
New board members Snow, Cook, Escamilla and Wittenberg will be working together with existing board members including Alan Greene, M.D.; Kathleen Merrigan, Ph.D., Director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program, Tufts University; David Pimentel, Ph.D., Professor, Cornell University; George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley; Mark Retzloff, President, Aurora Organic Dairy; Sheryl Lamb, organic advocate; James White, Senior VP, Consumer Brands, Safeway; Anthony Zolezzi, Co-founder of Pet’s Promise and President of Zolezzi Consulting; David Gagnon, Interim Executive Director, Organic Trade Association; and Chair Elect Michelle Goolsby.
The Organic Center welcomes its new board members and officers and very much appreciates their contributions in furthering the mission of the Center to advance the scientific research behind the human health and environmental benefits of organic food and farming–and to communicate those findings to consumers, media, businesses, policy makers, academia and other thought leaders.
For more info, visit www.organic-center.org.
Filed under: Organic Center In the News
The Organic Center’s Chief Scientist Dr. Chuck Benbrook, Ph.D., will be a featured speaker at the upcoming annual convention of the American Dietetic Association on Oct. 25-28 in Chicago. According to Dr. Benbrook, it is an excellent opportunity to educate nutrition professionals who are becoming increasingly interested in the health and nutritional benefits of organic food, and who have an influence on a greater part of the population.
Dr. Benbrook also has accepted an invitation to give the Rachel Carson Memorial Lecture sponsored by the Pesticide Action Network-U.K. The event occurs Dec. 4, 2008, in London at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Chuck is working on scheduling other events during his trip to the U.K. He has been invited by scientists at the University of Newcastle to do two seminars, one on the Center’s organic food quality research, and a second on the impacts and future direction of biotechnology in U.S. agriculture.
Additionally, The Organic Center’s Development Director, Seleyn DeYarus, will speak on organic and sustainability at the University of Minnesota as part of a conference produced by the university’s Austrian Studies program. The event, Global Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture, and Bioresources: Challenges, Opportunities, and Choices, will take place on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota on Sept. 26, 2008. Seleyn will speak on a panel with Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Intelligent Nutrients and Aveda. Horst has lived for many years in the U.S. and is a native of Austria.
Filed under: Organic Center In the News
The well-respected Consumer Reports magazine, in its upcoming September 2008 edition, features information on the fruits and vegetables that carry the highest risk of dietary exposure to pesticide residues. The information in the article is derived from The Organic Center’s recent analysis of USDA and EPA pesticide data and published in a March 2008 report entitled “Simplifying the Pesticide Risk Equation: The Organic Option.” The report, as well as all publications from the Center are available for free download at www.organic-center.org. The report was also excerpted in a new Organic Essentials Pocket Guide (also available for free download on our website), geared toward educating consumers about which fruits and vegetables are the most important to purchase as organically produced.
The Consumer Reports article also notes that imported, conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, particularly cucumbers, grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches and sweet bell peppers, might harbor far higher levels of pesticide residues than domestically produced counterparts.
The top domestically grown fruits to buy organic include cranberries, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, pears, apples, cherries and cantaloupe. The top domestically grown vegetables to buy organic include green beans, sweet bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, peas and lettuce. For more information, visit www.organic-center.org
Filed under: Commentary
FoodNavigator.com in its Aug. 19, 2008, daily newsletter, posed the question to its readers, “Organics – fad or the future?” The Organic Center’s Chief Scientist Dr. Chuck Benbrook posted a response from his Oregon office, which we have excerpted on our blog for your review.
Organic food was once seen as a niche market but now major multinationals are offering organic products. In fact it has been one of the biggest trends in the food sector in recent years but do organics have staying power, or will consumers lose interest over time?
The scientific evidence linking organic production methods to enhanced nutrient density and lower food safety risks is growing more compelling. Two factors will define the future trajectory for organic food sales. First, whether and to what extent organic farmers and food companies focus on sustaining and expanding the inherent benefits in organic systems, e.g., by foregoing the temptation to push organic crop yields and animals beyond physiological limits where health is sacrificed to production. Second, whether and to what extent the rest of the food industry moves toward production systems and technologies that produce safer and higher quality foods.
Dr. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Organic Center