Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Organic Food vs. Inorganic Studies

Non-organic fruits and vegetables are grown with synthetic pesticides and fertilizer. Studies show that more than 90% of children in the U.S. "have detectable residues of at least one neurotoxic pesticide in their urine." Neurotoxins are poisonous to your brain and nervous system.

Pesticides have been found to change hormones and reproductive systems of animals in the wild. A lot of our human systems are similar, so they must be hurting us too. These chemicals are considered hormone mimics and endocrine disruptors.

According to a study outlined in a 2003 Environmental Health Perspectives article, children "eating organic fruits and vegetables had six times lower levels of pesticide byproducts in their blood versus children eating conventional produce."

Choosing organic foods also provides more nutrients. Mother Earth News reports that organically raised chickens lay eggs that contain:

* 1/3 less cholesterol
* 1/4 less saturated fat
* 2/3 more vitamin A
* 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
* 3 times more vitamin E
* 7 times more beta carotene

There are more than 30 studies comparing the nutrient content of organic crops and those produced conventionally with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In these studies, various individual nutrients in individual crops were compared, such as zinc in organic versus conventional carrots, or Vitamin C in organic versus conventional broccoli. In the more than 300 comparisons performed in these studies, organic crops had a higher nutrient content about 40% of the time.

For three individual nutrients, Vitamin C, nitrates and protein quality, there is enough evidence to suggest that organic crops are superior to conventional ones. Compared to crops grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, organically grown crops generally have a higher Vitamin C content, a lower content of carcinogenic nitrates and better protein quality. Read more details on these studies.

Addtional Resource
How To Make Your Diet Eco-friendly On a Budget



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You stated that in the 300 plus comparisons, organic food was show to have a higher nutrient content 40 percent of the time. This means that the conventionally grown food would have had a higher nutrient content 60 percent of the time. Thus based on what you said, conventionally grown crops are on average more nutrient than organic crops.

sharingsunshine said...

A vegetable or grain, etc. is known to have a specific amount of nutrients. The research tested organic options against the already known factor of nutrition in the non-organic foods. 40% of the organic foods tested against the values of the non-organic items had a higher nutritional value than the non-organic. For me, that's great and a good reason to buy organic, but keeping the cancer-causing chemicals out of our soil and water is reason enough for many folks.

Anonymous said...

I feel like too many of you will always be set in your ways but for the record it isn't going to kill you. And if you think it is then that's a problem you should keep to yourself, especially when the food you want people to have can cost three times more than the other options.

sharingsunshine said...

The Bible says that "if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them." I think blessing the food has a lot of power over what it does in the body. However, when I can purchase organic without a ridiculous price, I will buy it since it's not just for the physical reasons, but for the care of this earth and it's creatures. The pesticides are killing off far too many things besides only people. I am blessed to live in an area that has a lot of organic at reasonable prices. That is not so for everybody. I believe prayer can make a difference there.

Anonymous said...

Your logic is completely faulty. 40% of the time organic food had higher nutrietnt content. 60% of the time the difference was immeasurable. Never was the conventional food more nutritious.

Anonymous said...

im doing a three page essay on how organic and inorganic foods foods affect teens today

Share This Post