A BBC Horizon programme, ‘Professor Regan’s Supermarket Secrets’ due to be broadcast on Tuesday, 26 February claims that there is little scientific evidence of organically produced food having any nutritional differences or benefits compared to non-organic food.
Robin Maynard, Campaigns Director of the Soil Association said,
“Contrary to the programme’s assertions there’s a large body of scientific evidence indicating significant nutritional differences between organic and non organic food. And the programme is well past its sell-by date when it comes to the latest published, peer-reviewed scientific evidence – only last November the British Journal of Nutrition published research showing a significantly lower incidence of eczema in children fed on organic dairy products compared to children consuming non-organic dairy products. And early results of the extensive £12 million 4-year EU Quality Low-Input Food study published in October indicated organic fruit and vegetables contain 40% more antioxidants compared to non-organic foodstuffs. The results also showed higher levels of other beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.
“The Food Standards Agency (FSA) accepts the evidence of nutritional differences; it is currently reviewing its position on organic food in the light of the gathering body of evidence that indicate that these also bring health benefits. While the FSA deliberates, consumers are making their minds up based on the available published science with a healthy dose of common sense. The fact that nearly 40 pesticides, which officials and industry assured the public were perfectly safe, have been banned or withdrawn from use over the past decade - including 2 just last year – shows science can lag behind public concerns. Presenter, Professor Regan, describes her lack of concern about pesticides as ‘silly’ - perhaps her most accurate comment. As an obstetrician, she seems strangely unaware of the well-established links between pesticides and human reproductive problems.”
Ends
For media enquiries contact Robin Maynard, Campaigns Director of the Soil Association: 0117 987 4607 / 07932 040 452
NOTES TO EDITOR:
Nutritional benefits of organic food - A summary of the evidence:
Direct health benefits
New Dutch research provides the first proof of a direct health impact from organic food. This peer reviewed study shows that if infants up to two years old and their mothers eat organic dairy foods, then the infants suffer a 36% lower incidence of eczema (a type of allergic reaction common among Western children) [ref 10]. The mechanism is unknown but could be due to the higher CLA level in organic milk and in the breast milk of mothers consuming organic milk (as shown by another recent study - ref 11).
Minerals
In 2001, an independent review of the evidence found organic crops had significantly higher levels of all 21 nutrients analysed compared with non-organic produce. This included statistically significant higher levels of iron (21% more), magnesium (29% more), phosphorus (14% more) and Vitamin C (27% more), and significantly less nitrate (a toxic compound) [ref. 1]. Organic spinach, lettuce, cabbage and potatoes showed particularly high levels of minerals.
In 2001, the Soil Association also conducted a systematic review of the evidence on mineral and vitamin content and found that, on average, organic food contains higher levels of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium, as well as more vitamin C, and a higher dry matter content, than non-organic food [ref 2.]
Vitamins and antioxidants
Since then, more research has been published; confirming organic food has higher levels of both Vitamin C and a range of secondary metabolites including anti-oxidants (which play a role in preventing cancer). Studies published during 2006 and 2007 include:
1. A University of California, Davis, study concluded that organically grown kiwis had significantly higher levels of vitamin C (14%) and polyphenols (17 %) [ref 3]
2. A Polish study found that organic apple puree contained more phenols, flavonoids and vitamin C in comparison to non-organic apple preserves [ref 4]
3. A further Polish study found that organic tomatoes contained more dry matter, vitamin C, B-carotene and flavonoids, while non-organic tomatoes were richer in lycopene and organic acids [ref 5] (Previous research has found organic tomatoes have higher levels of vitamin C, vitamin A and lycopene.)
4. A French study found that organic peaches have a higher polyphenol content [ref 6]
5. A controlled 10-year study by the University of California, Davis, found that organic tomatoes contain almost double the level of two antioxidant flavonoids, quercetin and kaempferol, which were on average 79 and 97 per cent higher respectively than in non-organic tomatoes and are believed to reduce heart disease [ref 7]
Omega- 3 fatty acids
In total, six studies have now found that organic milk has more fat-soluble nutrients - omega-3 fatty acid, Vitamin E and beta-carotene - than non-organic milk, as well as a healthier omega 3:6 ratio (skimmed milk does not have these nutrients) [ref 9].
The most recent study by Glasgow and Liverpool Universities, found that UK (whole) organic milk has on average 68% higher levels of the essential fatty acid omega-3 and a healthier omega-3:6 profile than non-organic milk.
Meat
On 31 October 2007, the World Cancer Research Fund published its second report on red meat and cancer, recommending that people eat less meat and avoid processed meats, because of the links to cancer. The WCRF does not differentiate between industrially produced and free range, grass-fed meat - the latter may actually be beneficial in terms of cancer. There is evidence that organic grass-fed meat has higher levels of CLA and a better Omega 3:6 ratio, as well as higher levels of vitamin E and beta-carotene which are known to protect against cancer [refs 12,13, 14]. The association with cancer found by the WCRF review may also be due to the use of growth promoting hormones for beef production in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Regan ‘Silly’ On Pesticides
Professor Regan, from programme transcript:
‘Well I’ve never been very worried about pesticides, no I haven’t. Perhaps that’s silly of me.’
Perhaps…
‘Long-term exposure to pesticides can lead to serious disturbances to the immune system, sexual disorders, cancers, sterility, birth defects, damage to the nervous system and genetic damage’
European Commission, 2006 [ref 15]
31,000 tonnes of pesticides are sprayed onto UK farmland every year – half a kilo for everyone
40% of fruit and vegetable items on sale in the EU are contaminated with pesticides – one food item in 30 contains pesticides above European legal limits [ref 16]
In 2004 the Ontario College of Family Physicians [OCFP] released the most comprehensive study ever done in Canada on the chronic effects of pesticide exposure at home, in the garden and at work. "The review found consistent evidence of the health risks to patients with exposure to pesticides," the study noted, naming brain cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer and leukaemia among many other illnesses. The evidence was so strong, according to the OCFP, that they urged citizens to avoid the chemicals in any form, citing agricultural exposure, residues on food and even a tick collar on the family cat as risks. [ref 17]
A recent USA, study found that the urine and saliva of children eating a variety of non-organic foods groceries contained biological markers of organophosphate pesticides. When the same children went on an organic diet, signs of pesticides were not found. "The transformation is extremely rapid," said Chensheng Lu, the principal author of the study published online in Environmental Health Perspectives. "Once you switch from conventional food to organic, the pesticides (malathion and chlorpyrifos) that we can measure in the urine disappears. The level returns immediately when you go back to the conventional (non-organic) diets." [ref 18]
Many pesticides in common usage are known to be endocrine disruptors - synthetic chemicals that, when absorbed into the body either mimic or block hormones and disrupt the body’s normal functions, causing problems ranging from decreased sperm count to cancers of the reproductive organs. [ref 19]
References
1. Worthington V. Nutritional quality of organic versus conventional fruits, vegetables, and grains. Journal of Complimentary Medicine 2001; 7 No. 2: 161–173
2. Soil Association (2001) Organic Farming, food quality and human health: a review of the evidence
3. Amodio M, Colelli G, Hasey J & Kader, A. (2007) 'A comparative study of composition and post-harvest performance of organically and conventionally grown kiwifruits', Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 87, 7: 1228-1236
4. Rembialkowska, E, Hollmann, E, Rusakzonek, A; Influencing a process on bio-active substances content and anti-oxidant properties of apple puree from organic and conventional production in Poland
5. Hollmann, E, Rembialkowska, E,; Comparison of the Nutrative Quality of Tomato Fruits from Organic and Conventional Production in Poland; Improving Sustainability in Organic and Low Input Food Production Systems; Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress of European Integrated Project Quality Low Input Food; March 2007; University of Hohenheim, Germany
6. Fauriel, J.; Bellon, S.; Plenet, D. and Amiot, M.- J. (2007) 'On-farm influence of production patterns on total polyphenol content in peach'. Paper presented at 3rd QLIF Congress: Improving Sustainability in Organic and Low Input Food Production Systems, University of Hohenheim, Germany, March 20-23, 2007
7. Mitchell A, Hong Y, Koh E, Barrett D, Bryant D, Denison R & Kaffka S. (2007) 'Ten-year comparison of the influence of organic and conventional crop management practices on the content of flavanoid in tomatoes', Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, published on the web 23/06/2007
8. "The antioxidant myth: a medical fairy tale", New Scientist, 5 August 2006
9. University of Liverpool (Ellis et al., 2006); Nielsen et al., 2004 and Nielsen and Lund-Nielsen, 2005; Bergamo et al., 2003; Robertson and Fanning, 2004; Dewhurst et al., 2003
10. Kummeling et al, 2007. Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands, Louis Bolk Institute Department of Health Care and Nutrition, Driebergen, the Netherlands. British Journal of Nutrition (2007).
11. Rist et al, 2007. Influence of organic diet on the amount of conjugated linoleic acids in breast milk of lactating women in the Netherlands. British Journal of Nutrition (2007), 97, 735–743
12. Dhiman T R, Seung-Hee, N and Ure, A L, 2005. ‘Factors Affecting Conjugated Linoleic Acid in Milk and Meat’. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 45:463-482 http://www.usu.edu/trdhiman/publications/FSN-463.pdf
13. Ponnampalam, E N, Mann, N J and Sinclair, A J, 2006. ‘Effect of feeding systems on omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid and trans fatty acids in Australian beef cuts: potential impact on human health’. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 15: 21-29
14. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060801132100.htm
15. European Commission, July 2006, proposed EU Thematic Strategy on Pesticides
16. www.pesticidewatch.eu//?page+071010
17. (http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/2004/Just-A-Weed24apr04.htm – Globe & Mail (Toronto) 24 Apr 2004) + OCFP report.
18. Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children's Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides
Chensheng Lu,1 Kathryn Toepel,2 Rene Irish,2 Richard A. Fenske,2 Dana B. Barr,3 and Roberto Bravo3
1Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; 3National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
19. Ten Years of Mixing Cocktails – a Review of Combination Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Andreas Kortenkamp doi:10.1289/ehp.9357 (available at http://dx.doi.org/) Online 8 June 2007).
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| | | » Soil Association welcomes Climate Change Committee report | 10/07/2008 | |
| | | » Soil Association calls for urgent ban on dangerous pesticides linked to honey bee deaths | 09/29/2008 | |
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| | | » Soil Association's new independent Standards Board now complete | 08/06/2008 | |
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| | | » Tesco carbon footprint study confirms organic farming’s energy efficiency but excludes key climate benefit of organic farming – soil carbon | 04/28/2008 | |
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| | | » Soil Association response to Horizon programme | 02/22/2008 | |
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( : archived document) |