Are there studies to back up the belief that organic food is better?

Question

Are there studies to back up the belief that organic food is better?

Answer 1

not sure on studies, but I know from going to culinary arts school, that fruits and veggies that have been altered to grow bigger, last longer and keep pest away are not bad for you. These processes make it easier and cheaper to grow and ship food, that why we have so much more variety today than 50 years ago. I'm for progress!    E

Answer 2

Organic food is food free of the c**p they use to keep bugs from eating it, among other things and it's totally natural. Are there any studies to back up the belief that non-organic food isn't harmful? Think about it.

Try it for yourself and see what happens. A month of non-organic stuff. Write down everything.

Then go for the organic stuff and see what happens and YOU tell US what you find out. Those who use organic stuff already know what it does. No study will convince them otherwise.

Answer 3

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname...

organic foods are better for us and the environment because they dont use pesticides.

Answer 4

Organic food does not automatically mean the quality of the produce is better . It merely means that no artificial or chemical was used. But it does make sense to assume that organically grown food is better in terms of overall quality as th farmer usually took the time and effort to grow the best quality produce without the potential negative effects of chemicals. That;s why they are relatively more expensive than the "usual" variety of produce.

A "true" organic is one that finds in the wild. If you compare say "organic" wild strawberries to ones produced by commercial farms, it would be quite obvious that the wild organic one is not superior in quality at all.

However, a growing number of producers are cashing in on this "organic" trend. Even if the quality of the foods are not recognizably superior, the organic label (most countries require certification before one can be called and organic farm) misleads a lot of people.

Answer 5

I believe it is a personal choice.  Do you feel comfortable eating foods that have been chemically treated?  Do you perceive any danger in consuming these things?  For example, one might perceive that consuming a lot of chemically treated food could cause cancer.  If this is your perception, then you would choose organic foods.  It's all about your own beliefs.  I don't think there will ever be a study to prove this.  I read a book in college about pesticides and how they were making all of the animals sick and killing them.  Personally, that is a big red flag and I don't need to wait for a scientific study to tell me that it is not healthy.

Answer 6

You really don't have to look too far to see that there is concern about the level of pollutants in food. Intake of fish for example is limited for children due to its contamination. The new frontier is the genetically modified food debate which is is just hotting up. If you want an objective discussion about food intake look into the farming industry as they don't seem to need to be so guarded about discussing what's going on with their animals. Politics and  vested interests unfortunately enter into the debate when it comes to humans.

Answer 7

Like many things, there are studies on the pro and con side. Let me try to find some studies that 'appear' to be politically biased.

This is a study that shows that going organic does significantly lower exposure to pesticides, which are of course harsh chemicals and a lot of unnatural and harsh chemicals have been linked to things like cancer.

http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/educ... & http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2003/5754/...

And here are some more articles with varying sides and information regarding studies:

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/organic-foods-heal...

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/no...

It appears more research really needs to be done to come to a clear conclusion. Hope this helps though.