Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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fidence to consumers seeking food safety. Primary and secondary nutrients
are higher in organically grown crops (namely, vitamin C, minerals, and
phytonutrients). This report concludes that consumers wanting to increase
their vitamin and mineral intake, while simultaneously reducing their in-
gestion of pesticide residues, GMOs, nitrates, and artificial additives, should
opt for organic food. Further, British consumers have been jolted by food
safety scares, such as mad cow disease (BSE), which led to growth in organic
production and consumption as a true alternative to these problems (Reed
2001). German researchers evaluated 150 comparative studies from 1929 to
1994 and found that organic foods provide a better option. Specifically,
organic vegetables, particularly leafy, tuber, or root varieties, have much
lower nitrate levels than their conventionally grown counterparts (Woese
et al. 1997). This research also shows that livestock prefer organic feed. In
an important Swedish review of the health benefits of organic food (Lun-
degårdh and Mårtensson 2003, 12), the authors conclude, “Organic foods
can strengthen the immune system and other defense systems depending on
an interaction between various favourable properties of organic foods. The
balance betweenmineral nutrients, content of pesticides and other contam-
inants and the contents of secondary metabolites may be most important
for beneficial effect.”
Danish researchers show that organic food is higher in secondary metab-
olites (the nutrients one level below vitamins) and that this added nutrition
would benefit human health more than nonorganic foods (Brandt and
Mølgaard 2001). In a study comparing organic and conventionally grown
strawberries, blackberries, and corn, Asami et al. (2003) found that organic
food had higher levels of antioxidants like vitamins C and E (Byrum 2003).
Flavonoids (measured in the study as total phenolic content) arewell-known
antioxidants, but they are much lower in conventional crops because plants
naturally produce phenolics, chemicals that help them defend themselves
from pests. In conventional food production, synthetic pesticides are ap-
plied, and this depresses a plant's natural defense mechanism. Flavonoids
are reduced, as are the antioxidant properties of this food. On the other
hand, organically grown plants still need their defense mechanism, so their
levels of antioxidants are high. In fact, conventional strawberries, black-
berries, and corn had 19 percent, 50 percent, and 58 percent fewer anti-
oxidants, respectively, than their organically grown counterparts (Byrum
2003).
Because of nutritional superiority, food safety, fresher taste, and envi-
ronmental concern, consumer demand is clearly strong and growing, as
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