Organic food no more nutritious, study finds
This study would have a lot more credibility were it not for the fact that it’s a part of a deliberate propaganda campaign to wear down European’s resistance to genetically modified foods. International food treaties driven by agribusiness threaten your right to control what goes in your body. Whether it be resistance to labelling identifying GM food ingredients or legislation like the Tories’ failed bill C-51 that would have effectively criminalized and restricted the unregulated use of natural supplements and herbs, these companies are moving to legislatively monopolize the market in this basic human need.
Flashback: UK Environment minister calls for international food treaty, GM foods at Fabian Society address | Europe’s secret plan to boost GM crop production | Small Farmers Pushed to Plant GM Seed | Agribusiness positions GM crops as panacea to predicted global food shortage | Monsanto Plans to Save World with its Biotech Crops | Scientist who claimed GM crops could solve Third World hunger admits he got it wrong | Codex Alimentarius – An Emerging Threat | Codex Alimentarius Commission adopts more than 50 new food standards
CBC News
July 30, 2009
 |
| As of June 30, 2009, producers can choose to stamp their products with this logo if they wish to indicate their products have been certified organic by the CFIA. |
There is no evidence that organically produced foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally produced food, a new British survey suggests.
The massive study – covering 50 years worth of data from 162 separate surveys – was funded by the British Food Standards Agency. Carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and led by Alan Dangour. It found that organic food has the same nutritional content as conventionally developed foodstuffs.
“There is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority,” Dangour said.
The research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that for 10 out of the 13 nutrient categories analyzed, there were no significant differences between production methods in nutrient content. Conventionally produced crops had significantly more nitrogen, and organically produced crops more phosphorus and higher acidity, but it is unlikely that consuming these nutrients at the levels reported in organic foods would provide any health benefit, the report found.
Organic food proponents have been quick to discredit the study, arguing that it does not take factors such as pesticides, herbicides, pollution, environmental impact and animal welfare into account.
“We’re careful not to make nutritional claims about organics,” said Laura Telford, national director of the Canadian Organic Growers group. “It’s clear to us that there are health benefits to be had from organic food.… Among other things, they carry less toxic residue than conventional food…
“This report misses the mark in that organic food tackles some really big issues like soil fertility.”
On June 30, a federal law came into effect which legislates the use of labelling on organic food. Foods that claim to be organic must now pass through a rigorous verification process with independent monitors at every stage, Telford said.
It’s been estimated that the organic food industry is worth more than $48 billion worldwide. Prices of organic items are frequently higher than those of conventionally-produced food. But the environmental, social and health benefits of going organic are worth it, Telford argued.
“Flip it around and look at the consequences of not going organic. We’ve seen since the green revolution that agriculture in Canada has created a number of problems,” she said.
The British food agency stressed that the report dealt solely with nutritional issues, and the agency was explicit in stopping short of recommending people avoid organic food entirely.
“This study does not mean that people should not eat organic food,” FSA director Gill Fine said. “What it shows is that there is little, if any, nutritional difference between organic and conventionally produced food and that there is no evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic food.”
Source | See Also under Food: Listeriosis report urges cleanliness and – increased federalization of food safety | Ottawa considers culling 20% of pork industry | New Ontario regulations forcing local butchers out of market | Bisphenol A traces found in baby food: Health Canada | Bee population feels sting of cold, parasites as N.B. population drops | Elevated BPA levels in people drinking out of plastic bottles, study finds | Meet – and eat – the modified Atlantic salmon | Bee expert takes issue with dated UN data minimizing honeybee deaths | Researchers working on swine flu ‘vaccine corn’ | Will recession spark global food crisis? | High-fructose sweeteners linked to obesity, diabetes | Most Canadian producers excluded as new ‘Product of Canada’ label rules set | Tests find Bisphenol A in majority of soft drinks | Details being withheld of listeria discussion held prior to outbreak | Harper government withholds listeriosis notes | Doomsday seed vault’s stores are growing | Genetically Modified Seeds: Monsanto is Putting Normal Seeds Out of Reach | Milk trial defence: Raw milk is safe and food choice a right | Milk trial prosecution: Cow share contracts ‘a preferred customer list’ | Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury | Farmer turns to Constitution as defence at raw-milk trial | UK Hospitals will take meat off menus in bid to cut carbon | Raw milk crusader returns to court to fight charges | Listeria files withheld due to ’systemic’ problems with access to information | UK Environment minister calls for international food treaty, GM foods at Fabian Society address | SWAT Teams raiding Amish, Food Co-ops in Rural US | GM Crops Climb to Nearly One-Tenth of Global Crop Production | Raw milk producer fined $55,000 | “Trace amounts” of Melamine found in Canadian infant formula | FDA finds traces of melamine in U.S. infant formula | Rich countries, corporations launch great land grab | Genetically engineered meal close to your table | The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops | Ottawa to revive bill restricting natural health products | Europe’s secret plan to boost GM crop production | Ontario farmer found guilty of contempt in raw-milk trial | Health Canada adds bisphenol A to list of toxic substances | Listeria reporting rule dropped before crisis | Tests find melamine in candies, milk, infant formula from China | New study raises concerns Bisphenol-A could be related to heart disease | Govt. Report: Fluoride in Water Supply Harms Thyroid Function | Raw milk fans rally at court for dairy farmer | Bayer on defensive in bee deaths | Hunger in Africa blamed on western rejection of GM food | Shun meat, says UN climate chief | Are we already dining on clones? | Bisphenol tied to lower brain function | Radiation touted to protect meat | GM crops could lead to ‘disaster’: Prince Charles | Chemical Industry Source of Hyped FDA Study ‘Exonerating’ Plastic Bottles | You can’t stop the raw milk, activist says | Small Farmers Pushed to Plant GM Seed | American thinktanks sowed seeds of food crisis | Sludge biosolids decried as ‘toxic stew’, used as fertilizer | Home-grown veg ruined by toxic fertiliser | Agribusiness positions GM crops as panacea to predicted global food shortage | Monsanto Plans to Save World with its Biotech Crops | Naturopaths Fear Proposed Bill C-51 | Farmer Surveilled, Raided for Natural Milk Operation has Trial Delayed | High-level UN task force to tackle global food crisis | Farmers to kill off 150,000 pigs | Head of IMF says if food prices remain high, consequences are dire | Canada’s C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% Of Natural Health Products | Codex Alimentarius – An Emerging Threat | Codex Alimentarius Commission adopts more than 50 new food standards
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:25 am
[...] Organic food no more nutritious, study finds [...]
September 17th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
[...] sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child [...]
September 18th, 2009 at 2:37 am
[...] sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child [...]
October 20th, 2009 at 5:08 am
[...] It is too late to shut the door on GM foods | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | Researchers working on swine flu ‘vaccine corn’ | Doomsday seed vault’s stores are growing [...]
October 25th, 2009 at 5:55 am
[...] sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child [...]
October 28th, 2009 at 4:51 am
[...] sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child [...]
November 1st, 2009 at 1:20 am
[...] sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child [...]
November 25th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
[...] sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child [...]
March 2nd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
[...] will starve without GM crops, says major report | It is too late to shut the door on GM foods | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | Researchers working on swine flu ‘vaccine corn’ | High-fructose sweeteners linked to obesity, [...]
June 5th, 2010 at 5:22 am
[...] will starve without GM crops, says major report | It is too late to shut the door on GM foods | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | Meet  and eat  the modified Atlantic salmon | Researchers working on swine flu ‘vaccine [...]