Colleen Vanderlinden
DCL
You may remember all of the controversy a few months back when a British study was published, claiming that organic produce was no different from conventional in terms of nutritive value. I had my own opinions of the study (which I didn't exactly keep to myself...) because how can you deign to judge the overall healthfulness of a food without taking into account whether you're eating pesticides along with the food or not (the first study bypassed little details like that.)
Beyond pesticides and how much of them we're consuming with conventional produce, a new study by the University of Aix-Marseille for the French food agency (AFSSA) and published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development finds that yes, organic food really is healthier. Organically grown produce contains more minerals, such as iron and magnesium. It also has more antioxidants, such as phenols and salicylic acid. And the study didn't just look at produce. It found that organically-raised meat had more polyunsaturated fat than conventionally raised. It also, of course, was free of growth hormones and antibiotics.
Why Is Organic Better?
The most common theory for why organic produce contains more minerals and antioxidants has a lot to do with how plants adapt to their situation. The general idea is that because organically grown plants have to work a bit to defend themselves from pests, diseases, and other environmental stresses, they produce more antioxidants and absorb more minerals from the soil. (I think part of it is that organic farmers and gardeners also tend to be soil zealots, and show an almost obsessive interest in providing perfect soil for the plants to grow in. But I digress.) So, in readying themselves to do battle against any would-be attackers, organically-grown plants end up with this added nutritional value.
Compare that to a conventionally-grown plant: it gets regular applications of fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides. It basically has everything done for it. There is no need to build up its defenses, therefore we see fewer minerals and antioxidants in those plants.
What I do know, beyond theory and conjecture, is that organic produce hasn't been doused in pesticides, and that organic meat hasn't been grown with the aid of growth hormones and excess antibiotics. That's good enough for me.
WATCH VIDEO: Learn About Organic Ingredients with Organic A to Z
