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New Studies Back Benefits of Organic Diet |
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By Stephen Leahy*
Foods grown organically protect the body from the harmful chemicals
in pesticides, but they are also more nutritious, say researchers.
TORONTO, Canada - Organic foods protect children
from the toxins in pesticides, while foods grown using modern, intensive
agricultural techniques contain fewer nutrients and minerals than
those grown 60 years ago, according to two new scientific studies.
A U.S. research team from Emory University in Atlanta analyzed urine
samples from children ages three to 11 who ate only organic foods
and found that they contained virtually no metabolites of two common
pesticides, malathion and chlorpyrifos.
However, once the children returned to eating conventionally grown
foods, concentrations of these pesticide metabolites quickly climbed
as high as 263 parts per billion, says the study published Feb.
21.
Organic crops are grown without the chemical pesticides and fertilizers
that are common in intensive agriculture; nor are hormones or antibiotics
used.
There was a "dramatic and immediate protective effect" against the
pesticides while consuming organically grown foods, said Chensheng
Lu, an assistant professor at the Rollins School of Public Health
at Emory University.
These findings, in addition to the results of another study published
in Britain earlier this month, have fueled the debate about the
benefits of organically grown food as compared to conventional,
mass-produced foods, involving academics, food and agro-industry
executives and activists in the global arena.
According to the new British analysis of government nutrition data
on meat and dairy products from the 1930s and 2002, the mineral
content of milk, cheese and beef declined as much as 70 percent
in that period.
"These declines are alarming," Ian Tokelove, spokesman for The Food
Commission that published the results of the study, told Tierramérica.
The Commission is a British non-governmental organization advocating
for healthier, safer food.
The research found that parmesan cheese had 70 percent less magnesium
and calcium, beef steaks contained 55 percent less iron, chicken
had 31 percent less calcium and 69 percent less iron, while milk
also showed a large drop in iron along with a 21 percent decline
in magnesium.
Copper, an important trace mineral (an essential nutrient that is
consumed in tiny quantities), also declined 60 percent in meats
and 90 percent in dairy products.
"It seems likely that intensive farming methods are responsible
for this," Tokelove said from his office in London.
Although controversial, a number of other studies have also found
differences between conventionally produced foods and foods grown
organically or under more natural conditions.
Organic fruits and vegetables had significantly higher levels of
cancer-fighting antioxidants, according to a 2003 study in Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The organic plants produced these chemical compounds to help fight
off insects and competing plants, researchers said.
A 2001 report by Britain's Soil Association looked at 400 nutritional
research studies and came to similar conclusions: foods grown organically
had more minerals and vitamins.
"Modern plant breeding for quick growth and high yields could also
be affecting the nutritional quality," says Katherine Tucker, director
of the nutritional epidemiology program at Tufts University in the
northeastern U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts.
Lower levels of minerals in food we eat is cause for concern, she
says, stressing that "magnesium, calcium and other minerals are
very important for proper nutrition."
Good nutrition and exercise are the major factors that can make
a difference in the incidence of many diseases, including cancer,
according to Tucker.
She recommends eating unprocessed foods, meat from free-range animals,
and grains, fruits and vegetables grown organically or at least
using more natural farming methods.
Farmers in other parts of the world should not adopt the intensive
farming practices of North America or Europe, says Ken Warren, a
spokesman with The Land Institute, based in the central U.S. state
of Kansas.
"It's an unsustainable system that relies heavily on chemical fertilizers
like nitrogen to keep yields high and produces 'hollow food'," Warren
told Tierramérica.
"Hollow food" contains insufficient nutrition and is suspected in
playing a role in the rapid rise in obesity, as people may be eating
more in order to get the nutrition they need, he said.
Crops take minerals, trace elements and other things from the soil
every year. All that modern agriculture puts back into the land
are some chemical fertilizers which do not replace what has been
lost, Warren said.
Moreover, herbicides and insecticides kill microorganisms in the
soil that play an important role in maintaining soil fertility and
helping plants grow.
Pesticide residues in modern agriculture are another cause for concern.
A 2003 University of Washington study found that children eating
organic fruits and vegetables had concentrations of pesticide six
times lower than children eating conventional produce.
The Land Institute advocates what it calls "natural systems agriculture."
This involves the use of perennial crops in polycultures, that is,
planting several different crops together as has been practiced
in traditional gardens in many parts of the world.
"Farmers in other parts of the world should learn from American
agriculture's mistakes. Looking to nature is a better model for
farming," Warren said.
* Stephen Leahy is a Tierramérica contributor.
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