Is there scientific evidence stating that organic food is healthier than non-organic?

Question

All of your research is about the soil and water. Not non-organic food.

Answer 1

As you mentioned scientific evidence, the answer seems to be no or a very limited amount (as in I haven't found a well designed, properly conducted, not confounded experiment to support that statement, but it is a big world out there) of support for this concept.

One of the problems is the statement "healthier" is a rather subjective term.  Science experimentation is best in the quantitative world, not the subjective or qualitative world.

Were you able to look at something like crude protein value (which is just percent N * 6.25) or potassium level or acetic acid concentration, you might find information to support your point.  But even that is questionable.  One of a more often quoted study found that organic tomatoes were higher in a wide variety of nutrients (amino acids, certain vitamins, phosphorus levels) than the store bought tomatoes.  However, the organic tomatoes were picked, ripe, off the vine and taken to the lab for analysis.  The store bought tomatoes had been grown in California, picked green, shipped to the east coast, ripened with ethylene during shipping, placed on the shelf, then purchased, taken to the lab and finally analyzed.

The problem becomes one of confounding.  It has been shown in several studies that allowing fruit to ripen on the vine increases the concentration of a wide variety of nutrients.  So which statement is correct.. organic tomatoes are more nutritious than conventional tomatoes, or vine ripened tomatoes are more nutrient dense then green picked, artificially ripened and then purchased tomatoes.

Good luck with your search.

Answer 2

It depends on your definition of healthier. And for whom? Organic foods don't get treated with the chemicals, preservatives, antibiotics, growth hormones, herbicides and insecticides, which can be carried through in one form or another to our dinner plates at home.

However without these additives, food spoil sooner without preservatives, animals may be sick prior to butchering, and aren't as meaty which reduces protein need by our bodies, plants compete for survival from insects and weeds, which produces lower yields and smaller potions which may be infested.

Have there been studies yes I'm sure there has but the answer is like most cases it depends (even by what food).

Boiling or cooking certain veggies removes the nutrients. Most plants with edible peels the skin is the healthiest part, but we remove that before we eat it. Mercury and lead are natural but if you put them in your body they effect your mind. Chemo and radiation therapy are not natural and they are used to save Cancer patients.

All things in moderation, take a vitamin and eat what you like.

Answer 3

Yes. Chemical fertilizer can have health issues associated with them like increased levels of radioactive elements in phosphorus fertilizer, and cancer associated with nitrogen fertilizers. I think a bigger direct health issue, though, is pesticide residues in and on our foods. Indirectly, chemicals harm the environment with respect to some conventional agricultural practices and this is a grave indirect threat. Take your pick, chemicals are really not in our best interests.

Answer 4

yes there have been several peer reviewed papers that have come out in the past 5 years that state that certain organic foods are higher in certain nutrients. The UK's Soil association will in the next 4 to 10 years release a series of scientific papers showing that organic foods are healthier

http://www.organicconsumers.org has at least the abstracts for most  these papers if not the entire report.

Answer 5

sorry no evidence that would qualify as truly "scientific", most reports of organic foods superiority are empirical , not scientific, however, food products grown "organically" are still more sought after, in many circles, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Answer 6

Well, since your body is made of organic material, organic foods are naturally healthier then foods with chemical ingredients (which are generally used to extend expiration date).

Answer 7

our body is an entire organic body and not non-organic one so organic food is healthier than non-organic food

Answer 8

no