Media Continues to Misrepresent Organics

This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its findings on organic food, and, unfortunately, much of the media, including much of the Canadian media, continued to mislead the public on the pros and cons of organic food.

The CTV website headline declared, “After study, pediatricians can’t say organic food is better”. The CBC website headline announced, “Organic food offers few advantages for kids, says U.S. study. The CBC artice went on to eulogize organics with the line, “Another study has cast doubt on the benefit of organic food, finding “no direct evidence” that it leads to better health in children. But that’s not quite what the report said. It said there is no evidence organic diet leads to improved health, but–and CBC left out the “but”–no large studies have looked at that issue. And, as for “another study,” see Vol. 16, No. 2 of The Natural Path for an analysis of what was wrong with the other study.

And how did the findings cast doubt on the benefits of organics? It found that organic food has the same nutrients as conventionally grown foods. But that’s not quite what it found. It found that 21 of 36 studies have found higher levels of the crucial vitamin C in leafy vegetables, higher levels of phosphorous in organic foods and higher total phenols. Phenols include some of the most important antioxidants. The report also conceded that the studies finding minimal nutritional differences are limited by inadequate controls.

And people don’t generally buy organics because they have more nutrients, but because they have less pesticide. And the report confirmed that belief. It concluded that “organic diets have been convincingly demonstrated to expose consumers to fewer pesticides associated with human disease”. It goes on to explain that we know that children are “uniquely vulnerable to chemical exposure” so the lower levels of pesticides in organic food “may be significant for children”. That doesn’t sound like few advantages.

The report also confirms another reason for going organic: it’s better for the planet. The report clearly states that “Organic farming has been demonstrated to have less environmental impact than conventional approaches”. It says that organic farms use less energy, produce less waste and reduce fossil fuel consumption by 30%. It also produces healthier soil.

So, contrary to the headlines, the two main reasons for going organic–less exposure to pesticide and greater benefit for the planet–were supported by the researchers.

American Academy of Pediatrics, “Organic Foods: Health and Environmental Advantages and Disadvantages
doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2579