A new study just came out of the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture to determine whether or organically grown foods are more nutritious than conventionally grown foods.
Organically grown = low input of nutrients through animal manure, with no pesticides being used compared to conventionally grown = high input of nutrients through mineral fertilizers and pesticides, as much as allowed.
The foods tested were carrots, kale, mature peas, apples, potatoes and rapeseed oil. They tested the foods themselves as well as the “output” from rats consuming the foods. They tested major elements or minerals and trace elements or minerals. The major elements were calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium and potassium. The trace elements were iron, zinc, copper, cadmium, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, and vanadium. They didn’t test any water or fat soluble vitamins unfortunately. And of course, unfortunately this was done in rats and not humans, although some humans that I know possess rodential-like features and characteristics.
As the authors state “This study does not support the belief that organically grown foodstuffs generally contain more major and trace elements than conventionally grown foodstuffs, nor does there appear to be an effect on the bioavailability of major and trace minerals in rats.”
An interesting research question it is, but I think most consumers consume organic foods because they want to decrease their intake of chemicals and pesticides and tread more lightly on the earth. More research of the health impacts of these chemicals and pesticides needs to be further proven as well. The organic industry is huge and is growing like crazy. The Organic Trade Association calculated that sales from organic food and beverages totaled $20 billion last year. Wowsa. That puts in the ink in Organic, Inc.
I think more studies need to be done to assess the nutritional quality of organic foods –studying more than just trace and major elemental units, and preferably in less rodential-like creatures.
