Interesting study on organic foods

[john250]

From Alison's link:
Robb also says the authors of the Stanford study did not include more recent original research that found "the nutrient intensity of organic food was 20% to 50% greater" than that of conventional foods. He says over time scientists will conclude that organic food is a better choice nutritionally.

Nutrient intensity???

I can't count the number of times I've heard "new studies show organic yields equal conventional".
Now they want me to accept the concept of "nutrient intensity". Snake oil salesmen certainly have interesting vocabularies.

 

[dun]

From Alison's link:
Robb also says the authors of the Stanford study did not include more recent original research that found "the nutrient intensity of organic food was 20% to 50% greater" than that of conventional foods. He says over time scientists will conclude that organic food is a better choice nutritionally.

Nutrient intensity???

I can't count the number of times I've heard "new studies show organic yields equal conventional".
Now they want me to accept the concept of "nutrient intensity". Snake oil salesmen certainly have interesting vocabularies.

If you can;t dazzle them with brilliance baffle them with BS

 

[James T]

Thanks for that link Alison!

I think the key is "The researchers did find, however, that organic foods reduced consumers' exposure to pesticides and antibiotics. Organic foods are grown without pesticides and organic poultry and beef are not fed antibiotics."..... Rather than it's being better for you nutritionally. And, for sure, marketing plays a part!

People beat and beat on CAB but if they would just read the fine print on the label they might see that word "Brand". The CAB organization, IMO, is not saying their beef is 100% Angus. They are saying they have a brand which follows such and such protocols. But, I have heard it from the mouth of a grocery store meat cutter that a certain package of steak was 100% Angus and I politely corrected him. Marketing IS powerful!

 

[chippie]

I did not read the whole thread or the links.

I have a friend who is a hobby organic farmer (4 acres). She is a member of a CSA and on her bio she is listed as Organic - Exempt.

I looked that up. If a person makes or sells less than $5000 of product, they can claim to be Organic - Exempt without filling out all of the paperwork and getting certified. She does have to keep records, but they have never been checked.

 

[Chris H]

I did not read the whole thread or the links.

I have a friend who is a hobby organic farmer (4 acres). She is a member of a CSA and on her bio she is listed as Organic - Exempt.

I looked that up. If a person makes or sells less than $5000 of product, they can claim to be Organic - Exempt without filling out all of the paperwork and getting certified. She does have to keep records, but they have never been checked.

I never heard of that. Is that a state or federal designation?

 

[Douglas]

That's federal. Basically if you sell over $5,000 per year and call it organic you have to be certified. But not if you sell less than that.

 

[alisonb]

It's quite costly to transition to organic and then adhere to regulations thereafter, plus one still has to 'purchase' your certificate and renew annually. Keeping records of ever crop planted, mulched, fertilized etc is very time consuming and it would seem that you will be responsible to pay for the inspection fee as well....if they ever do send out an inspector? I don't know how it is handled in other countries. Our regulations in SA are still in the board room but organic is something that is certainly taking off here. I think a lot of people get organic farming mixed up with bio dynamic farming.