Every year it seems some research paper or consumer group boldly states, “Organics aren’t better for you!!!!!” Then every news venue in the world picks up said story, people get whipped into a frenzy and everyone at the water cooler starts saying, “Hey, I told you it was a waste of money to buy organic.”
In fact, let’s recap shall we…
- 2009: Michael Mack, chief executive of Syngenta, a Swiss agribusiness giant that makes pesticides and seeds, states “Organic food is not only not better for the planet… it is categorically worse.”
- 2009: The UK’s Food Standard Agency says organic food is not more nutritious that conventional.
- 2010: A report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says, “organic foods aren’t any healthier than their conventional counterparts.“
- 2010: Everyone freaks out about how organic eggs aren’t more nutritious than conventional.
- And more…
Fast forward to now and yet another study has been published about nutrition comparisons between organic and conventional foods. This time Stanford University scientists are weighing in, shockingly concluding that fruits and vegetables labeled organic are no more nutritious than their conventional counterparts.
Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior affiliate with Stanford’s Center for Health Policy and the senior author of the paper, tells the New York Times, “When we began this project, we thought that there would likely be some findings that would support the superiority of organics over conventional food… I think we were definitely surprised.” Then of course all the media picked this up and there’s been an almost headache inducing rash of ”Organic foods not worth anything” articles all over the place. Luckily, there’s also been some debate.
Really?
God, it’s like super boring déjà vu right?
I honestly can’t even believe this has come up AGAIN. I try to imagine that people in the United States have critical thinking skills. I try… but after reading too many comments on articles from consumers saying, “Weeeee! I knew organics were a waste of money,” I’m failing.
I’ve said this oh, about a million times, but I guess I have to say it again. Organics contain fewer pesticides and other chemicals found in food products.
Let’s forget for a moment that organics are healthier for water areas, soil and wildlife, not to mention organics help prevent global warming. Let’s ignore the fact that organic farming methods cut down on erosion and that organics help grow small-scale local farming businesses. Forget that the President’s Cancer Panel recommended Americans quit eating foods grown with chemical pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, and antibiotics.
Ignore all of the above, and let’s focus purely on how organics contain more pesticides than their conventional peers.
Pesticides are designed to kill things.
Pesticides, especially organochlorine pesticides are designed in such a way that even long after you eat them, even in small amounts, they build up and even though years go by, they’re still hanging out in your body and in wildlife, our water and soil.
Make no mistake. Pesticides are poison. Are organics healthier? Who the frog cares. Do organics contain less poison? Yes. Honestly, organics could be LESS nutritious than conventional and I’d still give them to my son. Figuring out a nutritious diet is easier than cleaning the pesticides out of my kid.
If given the choice, do you want to serve your kids less poison or more poison?
I’m sick of it
I’m sick of this boring debate. I’m sick of the media slanting studies like this in such a way that make organics look overall lacking as opposed to reporting the actual facts. I’m sick of how everyone thinks it’s awesome to feed kids poison.
Want to convince me to quit saying organics are better? Here’s a tip.
I think that all these researchers, media writers who slant these stories in an anti-organics way, and pesticide makers should send a bunch of their own children into conventionally grown fields of crops, each week for years on end and spray them down with pesticides. Then I’d like these folks to complete a study about how well that turns out for said kids.
If the kids running around in poisoned fields of crops end up healthier than kids running around in organically grown fields of crops, well, then I’ll shut up.
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