Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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behind organic food purchases. A recent study shows that children who eat
organic food have significantly lower levels of pesticides in their urine. This
research indicates that “consumption of organic fruits, vegetables, and juice
can reduce children's exposure levels from above to below the United States
Environmental Protection Agency's current guidelines, thereby shifting ex-
posures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk” (Curl et
al. 2003, 377).
In addition to organic foods providing a level of safety for consumers,
there is evidence that organic foods have nutritional superiority. Compar-
isons of nutritional quality of foods are complex, as crop variety, cultural
practices, and growing conditions vary from farm to farm and even among
fields on a given farm. But a comprehensive survey of forty-one previous nu-
tritional studies included 1,240 food comparisons that encompassed thirty-
five vitamins and minerals (Worthington 2001). Although a wide variety
of food crops were included in these comparisons, lettuce, carrots, spinach,
and cabbage were common to most studies. This research shows that there
are higher nutrient levels in organically grown crops compared with con-
ventionally produced crops. Specifically, organic crops contain significantly
more vitamin C, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and useable protein (Wor-
thington 1998, 2001). At the same time, organic crops had lower levels of
nitrates and heavy metals than conventional crops. But these results should
not be relegated to the laboratory; rather, we must consider how people's
entire diets are affected. Research is just beginning to look at this very issue,
by studying people's “excretion of flavonoids and markers of antioxidative
defense.” In other words, people who have eaten an organic diet seem to
have more antioxidants in their system, as discovered through urine tests
(Grinder-Pedersen et al. 2003, 5671). Given that most Americans eat con-
ventionally produced food, the diminished vitamin and mineral content of
this food could lead to long-term nutrition inferiority and adverse health
effects.
The Soil Association is the leading organic certification agency and ed-
ucational organization in Great Britain. Their inclusive report “Organic
Farming, Food Quality, and Human Health” identifies clear benefits of or-
ganically grown food in terms of food safety and higher nutrient content
(Heaton 2001). They found that organic foods have lower pesticide and
nitrate residues and no increased risk of food poisoning comparedwith con-
ventional food. Since organic livestock do not receive the massive amounts
of antibiotics that conventional animals receive, they do not contribute to
the overuse and potential resistance of microorganisms that conventional
agriculture does. GMOs are prohibited in organic farming, which adds con-
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