On Tue, 4 Sep 2012 07:45:53 -0400, songbird
wrote:

---from a google news headline in passing...---

The Guardian - ?1 hour ago?

Organic produce and meat typically is no better for you than
conventional food when it comes to vitamin and nutrient content,
although it does generally reduce exposure to pesticides and
antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a US study.

---

ok, so tell me, how does "reduce exposure to pesticides and
antibiotic-resistant bacteria" equate with "typically no better
for you" ?

Here is another take on the report.



Study questions whether organic food is better

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which
costs more, really better for me?

Unsure, Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to
find out and concluded there's little evidence that going organic is
much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and
antibiotics.

Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides,
including for children - but the amount measured from conventionally
grown produce was within safety limits, the researchers reported
Monday.

Nor did the organic foods prove more nutritious.

'I was absolutely surprised,' said Dena Bravata, a senior research
affiliate at Stanford and long-time internist who began the analysis
because so many of her patients asked whether they should switch.

'There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over
conventional foods,' from environmental concerns to taste preferences,
Bravata stressed, but when it comes to individual health, 'there isn't
much difference.' Her team did find a notable difference with
antibiotic-resistant germs, a public health concern because they are
harder to treat if they cause food poisoning.

Specialists long have said that organic or not, the chances of
bacterial contamination of food are the same, and Monday's analysis
agreed. When bacteria did lurk in chicken or pork, germs in the non
organic meats had a 33 percent higher risk of being resistant to
multiple antibiotics, the researchers reported Monday in the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine.

That finding comes amid debate over feeding animals antibiotics, not
because they're sick but to fatten them up. Farmers say it's necessary
to meet demand for cheap meat.

Public health advocates say it's one contributor to the nation's
growing problem with increasingly hard-to-treat germs. Caroline Smith
DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, counted 24 outbreaks linked to multi-drug resistant germs in
food between 2000 and 2010.

The government has begun steps to curb the non medical use of
antibiotics on the farm.

Organic foods account for 4.2 percent of retail food sales, according
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It certifies products as
organic if they meet certain requirements including being produced
without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, or routine use of
antibiotics or growth hormones.

Consumers can pay a lot more for some organic products but demand is
rising: Organic foods accounted for $31.4 billion sales last year,
according to a recent federal report. That's up from $3.6 billion in
1997.

The Stanford team combed through thousands of studies to analyze the
237 that most rigorously compared organic and conventional foods.
Bravata was dismayed that just 17 compared how people fared eating
either diet while the rest investigated properties of the foods.

Organic produce had a 30 percent lower risk of containing detectable
pesticide levels. In two studies of children, urine testing showed
lower pesticide levels in those on organic diets.

Bravata cautioned that both groups harbored very small amounts and
said one study suggested insecticide use in their homes may be more to
blame than their food.

Still, some studies have suggested that even small pesticide exposures
might be risky for some children, and the Organic Trade Association
said the Stanford work confirms that organics can help consumers lower
their exposure.

--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a
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