Study: Organic food not more nutritional
Story
Highlights
* New study finds organic foods are not necessarily more nutritious
* The organics market in U.S. to exceed $25 billion in sales
this year
* Organic farming is becoming more popular in countries like
India
* Next
Article in Technology
By
Jessica Daly / For CNN
London
(CNN) -- If you've ever found yourself in your local supermarket
agonizing about whether the organic apples will be a more nutritional
and greener choice than the cheaper non-organic ones, you're
probably not alone.A new study reveals organic foods are not
necessarily healthier than non-organic food
Year on year the organic
food market grows as consumers look to make a greener and --
often thought -- more nutritional choice. A report by the UK's
Soil Association revealed that consumers there spent a record
$3.7 billion on organic products in 2006, that's more than 20
percent growth on 2005 spending on organic goods including food,
drinks and health and beauty products.
It's a similar story in
the U.S. where -- according to the Organic Trade Association
-- supermarket chains like Whole Foods have helped the organic
food and beverage market grow from around $1 billion in sales
in 1990 to around $20 billion in 2007. Total sales for organic
food and non-food products in the U.S. are expected to surpass
$25 billion this year.
However, one possible spanner
in the works for the organic sector could be the results of
a new study by the University of Copenhagen which revealed that
organic foods contained no more nutrients than non-organic foods
grown with the use of pesticides.
http://beta.soci.org/press-office/organic-evidence/
Researchers studied five different crops -- carrots, kale, mature
peas, apples and potatoes -- which were cultivated both organically
(without pesticides) and conventionally (with the use of pesticides)
and found that there was no higher level of trace elements in
the food grown organically.
Study leader Dr Susanne
Bügel said: "No systematic differences between cultivation
systems representing organic and conventional production methods
were found across the five crops so the study does not support
the belief that organically grown foodstuffs generally contain
more major and trace elements than conventionally grown foodstuffs."
This study -- published
in the latest edition of the Society of Chemical Industry's
(SCI) "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture"
-- is the first to assess the nutritional value of organic fruit
and vegetables. It should be noted that the study does not make
conclusions about the comparative levels of pesticides or chemicals
in conventionally and organically grown food or the health effects
of consuming such chemicals.
The study results could
be seen to support the idea that shopping organically is a lifestyle
choice.
When the idea of organics
being a lifestyle choice was floated in 2007 by then UK environment
secretary David Miliband it drew fierce reaction from proponents
of organic food, including the Soil Association, which represents
organic producers.
http://www.soilassociation.org/
He told the UK's Sunday
Times newspaper in January 2007 that organic food represented
a lifestyle choice consumers could make and suggested that the
use of chemicals and pesticides in non-organic foods didn't
necessarily mean they were of inferior quality.
So if organic foods aren't
necessarily more nutritional, are they better for the environment?
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According
to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, traditional agriculture
accounts for around 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions
each year, and the nitrous oxide found in fertilizers contributes
most to these emissions.
Even
still, in 2006 the UK's
Manchester Business School assessed the environmental
impacts of food production and consumption and concluded that
there isn't a clear cut answer to whether the environmental
impact is greater on a trolley full of organic food compared
to a trolley full of non-organic food.
Not
so, was the response from the Soil
Association. Do you believe organic food is more
nutritional?
It countered that: "Overall,
organic farming is better for tackling climate change than industrial
agricultural methods. As well as lower average energy use, organic
farming also avoids the very large nitrous oxide emissions from
fertilizer manufacture."
"Additionally, organic
farming builds up soil carbon, removing it from the atmosphere.
Organic farming also supports more local food marketing, reducing
food miles."
While the jury might still
be out about whether organic farming is, on the whole, better
for the environment, there is little doubt that it's a booming
industry which is starting to catch on in other parts of the
world.
The
United Nation's Food
and Agriculture Organization estimates that organic
farming now accounts for around 4.1 million hectares in Asian
countries like India, China and Russia.
In India where the Green
Revolution in the 1940s helped transform it into an agricultural
hub, organic farming is slowly expanding in specialist areas
like tea and spices. Perhaps an indication of the potential
of the organics market there is that the Prince of Wales is
looking to expand his organic food business to the sub-continent
by the end of 2008.
With
a mandate of sustainability, The
Energy and Research Institute (TERI) in India developed
an organic farm in the small village of Supi in Uttarakhand
in 2002. Here, local farmers are given the know-how and technical
skills to develop their own organic enterprises.
"Local farmers are
involved in cultivating oregano, parsley, thyme, peppermint,
rosemary, rose geranium, artimisia, stevia, lemon grass, and
several other herbal and medicinal plants," TERI's Madhu
Singh Sirohi told CNN.
The herbs are commercially
available to hotels and restaurants in the area and Hilton Hotel
executive chef Kuntal Kumar was so impressed with the quality,
he's authored an organic cookbook which makes use of the herbs.
Chef Kumar told CNN that
organic fruit and vegetables only make up around 14,000 tons
of the two million tons of food produced by India's agricultural
industry, but that measures like the "Original Organics
Cookbook" would help with wider awareness.
"Our approach is two
pronged; firstly we are trying to build awareness about organic
farming which is in its infancy in India and secondly we are
trying to build awareness within the culinary industry in India."
Kumar is sold on the superior
taste, color and texture of the organic foods he uses in his
kitchen, and he says the response from diners has been overwhelming.
"The response has been
very positive; they are overwhelmed that we are going so close
to nature and that their food is fresh from the farmland to
the table."
With increased consumer
awareness perhaps it won't be long before the choice between
the organic and non-organic apples will be played out in markets
across India.