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Organic Food IS More Nutritious

Wouldn't it be nice if there was nothing wrong with our industrial agriculture and chemical food system? Wouldn't it be a relief to learn that it doesn't matter whether we buy organic or conventional food, because there isn't really any difference in their nutritional value?

In July, the corporate media, responding to a biased article in the British press, slandered the now mass-based organic food and farming movement withheadlines including, "Organic Not All That," "Organic Food No Better," "Organic Food Not Nutritionally Better," "Organic Food's Nutrition Questioned by Review," "Organic Food ‘No Healthier’," "Study Says Organic Food Offers Few Advantages," and "Organic Nutrition About the Same as Conventional."

Unfortunately, as you are probably already aware, chemical and energy intensive, GMO industrial farming degrades the soil, pollutes the environment, and destabilizes the climate with CO2, methane and nitrous oxide greenhouse gas pollution. Food produced with agri-toxic chemicals loses its nutritional value, while organic farming replenishes the soil, sequesters climate destructive greenhouse gases, and produces food which is safer and far more nutritious. Forty years of field trials and research have clearly demonstrated the superiority of organics, but no doubt your local media outlets probably missed this point when reporting on the bogus "organics are no better" story which was planted in the UK media.

Please enter your zip code below to send a letter to the editor. When you select a media outlet, a form letter will appear. We've done our best to craft a short letter debunking the myth that organic and conventional are the same, but you might want to do your own research and write your own letter. There are many good resources:

Background Information on This Topic: A Cancerous Conspiracy to Poison Your Faith in Organic Food
Alarming U.S. Government Data: Children's Pesticide Exposure in Food (PDF)
Links to Over 500 Articles on OCA's Website Regarding Past Studies Done on Organic Food's Nutritional Superiority
Organic Trade Association: Nutritional Considerations
Soil Association: Organic Food & Nutrition
The Organic Center -- State of the Science: Nutrition
Stonyfield Farm Criticizes UK Study

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A July 2009 review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that 55 studies conducted since 1958 fail to show a significant difference in the amounts of 8 of 11 nutrients in organic versus conventional food.

The news media reversed the meaning of this finding and gave an innacurate conclusion that industrially produced food is as nutritious as organic. Even putting aside the toxins that adulterate industrial food (pesticides, genetically modified organisms, growth hormones, antibiotics, and fertilizers made from chemicals or sewage, to name just a few), the conclusion that organic is not more nutritious belies common sense.

Nutrition comes from the soil. Industrial agriculture depletes soil. Organic agriculture makes the soil richer. Soil degraded through industrial farming produces less nutritious food. Soil enriched through organic farming produces more nutritious food.

In North America, industrial farming practices have depleted 85% of the mineral content of the farmland. Every 28 years, 1 inch of topsoil is lost to industrial farming. Of 13 major nutrients in fruits and vegetables tracked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1950 to 1999, six showed noticeable declines.

In contrast, organic farming can produce 6 inches of topsoil in as little as 50 years. The Organic Center found that 97 studies conducted since 1980 show that organic food contains, on average, a 25 percent higher concentration of 11 nutrients than conventional food. (New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods, www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/5367_Nutrient_Content_SSR_FINAL_V2.pdf)

As organic farming becomes more established, it will become increasingly clear that there is no more efficient and sustainable way to restore and improve the nutrition of farm products than to enrich the health of the soil through organic farming.

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