Organic no more better for you?

[MrsC]

I'd sooner eat veg with no chemicals, people can prepare whatever reports they want re - organic/non organic veg etc. Least the organic doesn't have all the toxicity of the non organic stuff sprayed with pesticides. Would like the FSA to do a nutrition report on the chemicals that are sprayed on crops?

[sewer rat]

Organic produces less. Yields have massively increased since the "green (ichemical) revolution".

And organic needs more hands on attention. It's hard to grow and harvest huge monocrop fields without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers.

And of course, there's the fact that they can get away with it!

Organic is indeed much more labour intensive - weeding takes up the majority of time whereas on a conventionally grown unit, chemical sprays do all the work in a matter of minutes.
Organic losses are higher too as there are no pesticides to keep all the nasties away.

I've seen this same argument time and time again - organic does not, as far as I am aware, claim to taste better or to be more nutritious - but it is safer due to lack of chemicals, and environmentally friendly. However, it almost always has a shorter shelf life and is usually fresher when sold so therefore tastier

[TEB]

I'd sooner eat veg with no chemicals, people can prepare whatever reports they want re - organic/non organic veg etc. Least the organic doesn't have all the toxicity of the non organic stuff sprayed with pesticides. Would like the FSA to do a nutrition report on the chemicals that are sprayed on crops?

What makes you think that there isnt any chemicals used in organic farming, I remember from a couple of years ago that an "approved chemical" was withdrawn because of potential links to (I think) Parkinsons disease.

[Capsid]

Organic is indeed much more labour intensive - weeding takes up the majority of time whereas on a conventionally grown unit, chemical sprays do all the work in a matter of minutes.
Organic losses are higher too as there are no pesticides to keep all the nasties away.

I've seen this same argument time and time again - organic does not, as far as I am aware, claim to taste better or to be more nutritious - but it is safer due to lack of chemicals, and environmentally friendly. However, it almost always has a shorter shelf life and is usually fresher when sold so therefore tastier

This site claims organic food is 50% more nutritious

Organic food info - Advantages of organic food - what goes in to your food?

And this one claims it is both healthier and more nutritious

http://www.mofga.org/tabid/166/Default.aspx

And this one

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...dbid=17#Health

[SarzWix]

This site claims organic food is 50% more nutritious

Organic food info - Advantages of organic food - what goes in to your food?

And this one claims it is both healthier and more nutritious

About MOFGA

And this one

WHFoods: Everything I Need to Know About Organic Foods

They're not claiming that in this country though? The second 2 links are American and the first is either American or Australian?

[Lottieval]

Haven't read the report but did they compare nutritional values of organic produce fresh from producer with super market stuff which had been on the shelves for a while and may well have been wrapped in an inert gas to keep it 'fresh'. It's a fact that vit C levels decrease rapidly with age and it's how Joe Public buys his veg that has real relevance to general health and well being, surely.

[rana]

As picked up by just a few grapes organic production methods are about being less harmful to the environment. It has little to do with nutritional values of the produce; in which repect the findings of the report are hardly surprising.

[Two_Sheds]

What I don't understand is why it is more expensive to buy organic when it has had less done to it,

actually organic has had more done to it, in the form of labour. Hand-weeding as opposed to spraying, for example, as others have said.

I choose to garden without synthetic chemicals, wherever possible, because I want to keep the birds & the bees.

Others may choose to use every spray under the sun, that's up to them, but I believe they should be informed of the consequences of their actions ... eg. Derris kills bees, glyphosate kills frogs and worms. It should state this on the tin, so the consumer can make an informed choice.

[Capsid]

They're not claiming that in this country though? The second 2 links are American and the first is either American or Australian?

Is the country relevant? The study by the FSA was not restricted to UK studies.

[Capsid]

As picked up by just a few grapes organic production methods are about being less harmful to the environment. It has little to do with nutritional values of the produce; in which repect the findings of the report are hardly surprising.

But there is a general perception that organic food is more healthy as shown by this survey

Growing awareness of the benefits of organic food - Natural Choices

[rana]

But there is a general perception that organic food is more healthy as shown by this survey

Growing awareness of the benefits of organic food - Natural Choices

Yes, because there have been many articles scattered throughout the media that support the view that organic produce has better nutritional value.

[Pumpkin Becki]

Yes, because there have been many articles scattered throughout the media that support the view that organic produce has better nutritional value.

...and I suppose, if people believe organic is better for you, they are more likely to buy it over non-organic produce. Thus, more demand for organic food, leading to more organic farms, which ultimately benefits the soil we grow in, the wildlife it supports and ultimately, the planet we live on.

So taking a long term view, buying an organic (and ideally locally sourced) tomato (for example) may not be nutitionally better for you over a non-organic one in the instant that you eat it, but in the long run we're using consumerism to benefit life itself.

[SueA]

As a lot of the others have said I think it's missing the point that organic food is probably 'better' for you in that it hasn't been treated with chemicals etc. I don't think there is much difference in taste if you're buying either type from a supermarket where they've been stored & transported over long distances but freshly picked from your own garden is better than either & not using chemicals is better for all of us & the environment in the long run.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Nutritional its no better for you....but its not full of chemicals....which is better for you.

I agree with you Nog, though I didnt grow my own for the nutritional value - though I must think that when you dig something up then eat it straight away then you MUST be getting more nutritional value than something that has been dug up days before and travelled lots of miles.

[MrsC]

What makes you think that there isnt any chemicals used in organic farming, I remember from a couple of years ago that an "approved chemical" was withdrawn because of potential links to (I think) Parkinsons disease.

Which chemical was that then