Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Foods

Acg67
Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Stanford University scientists have weighed in on the “maybe not” side of the debate after an extensive examination of four decades of research comparing organic and conventional foods.

They concluded that fruits and vegetables labeled organic were, on average, no more nutritious than their conventional counterparts, which tend to be far less expensive. Nor were they any less likely to be contaminated by dangerous bacteria like E. coli.

The researchers also found no obvious health advantages to organic meats.

Conventional fruits and vegetables did have more pesticide residue, but the levels were almost always under the allowed safety limits, the scientists said. The Environmental Protection Agency sets the limits at levels that it says do not harm humans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/science/earth/study-questions-advantages-of-organic-meat-and-produce.html
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Replies

  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
    Interesting. Thanks for posting this.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    What I pulled from this: save your money.
  • jlnk
    jlnk Posts: 188 Member
    Interesting post, but I'm still buying organic. It isn't really that much more expensive and I'd rather NOT eat any pesticide, no matter what amount some government agency deems as safe.
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
    I've read a few things like this before, but try telling someone this and having them believe you! Everyone things organic is the only way to go, in all reality, it's just more expensive. They just want what TV says is good for them, IMO. I highly doubt fruit and veggies are the problem and not all the fast food and things like that.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    If I had money to spare, I'd go organic, just because I think ingesting fewer pesticides would be better than more, but as a poor student, I consider myself winning by eating fruits and veggies at all!

    Thanks for the article. I like the info
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
    Interesting post, but I'm still buying organic. It isn't really that much more expensive and I'd rather NOT eat any pesticide, no matter what amount some government agency deems as safe.

    Same here. I also think organic fruits taste better. Maybe it is all in my head but since it is available to me I will continue buying organic and grass fed beef.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,276 Member
    They were talking about organic vegetables on the news this evening. It said if you peel a fruit or vegetable, you don't have to buy organic since the pesticides are mostly on the surface of the food.
  • smokinjackd
    smokinjackd Posts: 341
    I never did think organic was more nutritious,it's always been about chemicals.
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
    Thank you for this post and the link. I'm reading the article now and will read the study. But when it comes to meats, I still do not like nor want the antibiotics and hormones found in most meat. I'll continue to buy grass fed organic meat and use grass fed whey protein powder.
  • OhKelsey1
    OhKelsey1 Posts: 139
    Oh, how I love people who have to say nay to something just because the majority says yay.

    I buy organic when I can because I don't like reading chemicals I can't pronounce on the ingredients list of products I'm putting into my body.
  • NeverGoinBack2012
    NeverGoinBack2012 Posts: 49
    I wonder who paid for the production of this article...seems to me big food and government don't like us growing and eating our own food naturally. Organically grown food will always be superior to mass produced and genetically modified stuff. I wouldn't trust this article as far as I could throw it.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I only click on your topics to see your abs. But good thing I do, because this was an interesting read. Thanks!
  • EricNCSU
    EricNCSU Posts: 699 Member
    I never knew there were any advantages in the first place........
  • Uuuhlexis
    Uuuhlexis Posts: 90 Member
    Just because the EPA or FDA deems the levels "safe" doesn't mean they are...
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    You can keep the genetically modified food.
  • EricNCSU
    EricNCSU Posts: 699 Member
    I wonder who paid for the production of this article...seems to me big food and government don't like us growing and eating our own food naturally. Organically grown food will always be superior to mass produced and genetically modified stuff. I wouldn't trust this article as far as I could throw it.

    Put your foil hat back on and leave the rest of us alone....thanks.
  • beansprouts
    beansprouts Posts: 410 Member
    If I had money to spare, I'd go organic, just because I think ingesting fewer pesticides would be better than more,

    Thanks for the article. I like the info

    Exactly...besides you have to take some of these "studies" with a grain of salt...If they come to the wrong conclusions...their research funding gets cut.
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
    Interesting post, but I'm still buying organic. It isn't really that much more expensive and I'd rather NOT eat any pesticide, no matter what amount some government agency deems as safe.

    same here!
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I wonder who paid for the production of this article...seems to me big food and government don't like us growing and eating our own food naturally. Organically grown food will always be superior to mass produced and genetically modified stuff. I wouldn't trust this article as far as I could throw it.
    Why is it superior though? That's the point.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    Yeah, I'll stick to my diet coke thanks. No pesticides for me.
  • kevinwk
    kevinwk Posts: 77
    On the Penn & Teller show BS, they did a program all about organic foods and if they really taste better. They did blind taste tests on several fruits and vegetables, even to the point of suggesting something was organic over a regular piece. Guess what...the majority thought that the non-organic food tasted better.

    http://youtu.be/8Zqe4ZV9LDs
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I wonder who paid for the production of this article...seems to me big food and government don't like us growing and eating our own food naturally. Organically grown food will always be superior to mass produced and genetically modified stuff. I wouldn't trust this article as far as I could throw it.
    Why is it superior though? That's the point.

    Don't be silly, it's cause it makes you feel superior to those common folk and their silly non organic fruits and veggies. Cross fit works much the same way
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
    Just because the EPA or FDA deems the levels "safe" doesn't mean they are...

    I agree. Too many special interests involved, so i'm going with "the less pesticides/chemicals in my food, the better" (as long as I can afford it).
  • Aunt_Kiki
    Aunt_Kiki Posts: 47 Member
    Everyone can make up their own mind on this topic, but I suggest you watch certain documentaries on it, like "Food, Inc" and "The Vanishing of the Bees". Educate yourselves on GMOs and decide if genetically modified food is something you want as part of your diet. I bought both regular Gala apples and organic ones on my last grocery trip and honestly can't tell the difference as far as taste. But, the core of the regular apple was still white the next day and the organic one was brown. Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't eat your apple fast enough before it turned brown? I just think there's too much tinkering with our food supply in the interest of big money. That's why I will continue to choose organic whenever possible.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    Everyone can make up their own mind on this topic, but I suggest you watch certain documentaries on it, like "Food, Inc" and "The Vanishing of the Bees". Educate yourselves on GMOs and decide if genetically modified food is something you want as part of your diet. I bought both regular Gala apples and organic ones on my last grocery trip and honestly can't tell the difference as far as taste. But, the core of the regular apple was still white the next day and the organic one was brown. Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't eat your apple fast enough before it turned brown? I just think there's too much tinkering with our food supply in the interest of big money. That's why I will continue to choose organic whenever possible.

    Documentaries are bad sources for information. They present one side of the opinion to the extreme. I'll take government funded studies over a fat dude with a video camera.
  • onedayillbeamilf
    onedayillbeamilf Posts: 966 Member
    Everyone can make up their own mind on this topic, but I suggest you watch certain documentaries on it, like "Food, Inc" and "The Vanishing of the Bees". Educate yourselves on GMOs and decide if genetically modified food is something you want as part of your diet. I bought both regular Gala apples and organic ones on my last grocery trip and honestly can't tell the difference as far as taste. But, the core of the regular apple was still white the next day and the organic one was brown. Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't eat your apple fast enough before it turned brown? I just think there's too much tinkering with our food supply in the interest of big money. That's why I will continue to choose organic whenever possible.

    I'm not into scare tactic documentaries deciding what I choose to eat.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    I wonder who paid for the production of this article...seems to me big food and government don't like us growing and eating our own food naturally. Organically grown food will always be superior to mass produced and genetically modified stuff. I wouldn't trust this article as far as I could throw it.

    Actually, big business loves organic. There's a much higher profit margin because there's less of it to go around. And that could be a problem too. Organic farming is much less efficient. Less food is produced per acre, and we have more mouths to feed than ever.
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
    Hmmmm sounds like the companies that want the 'organic' guidelines are scheming again to me so they can lower standard or what organic is and then be able to put 'organic' on their products and more people will buy at affordable rate and they get a profit.

    To me the issue has never been that organic was more healthy or more nutritious...the chemicals, pesticides and antibiotics with veggies/meats is astounding...as long as we all in the dark and blah blah and they put out a study like this...it is okay?
    So, why would I want a chicken with antibiotics when my parents grew up with farms where they had their own chickens that ate bugs worms etc?!
    Besides, many sites say some veggies and fruits are worse then others as far as absorption of the chemicals. So, it is still a matter of choice....but to believe what they say...it doesn't make a difference in how an antibiotic an animal took or a pesticide affects my body...I ain't buying it! Get it buying it! LOOOOOL!!!!!!!!! :D
  • jlnk
    jlnk Posts: 188 Member
    I wonder who paid for the production of this article...seems to me big food and government don't like us growing and eating our own food naturally. Organically grown food will always be superior to mass produced and genetically modified stuff. I wouldn't trust this article as far as I could throw it.

    ^^^ Exactly this!
  • RiverDancer68
    RiverDancer68 Posts: 221 Member
    Just because the EPA or FDA deems the levels "safe" doesn't mean they are...
    Agree!!

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