Are Organic Foods Worth The Hype?
In this 2 part segment Josh meets with Matt Finkelstein, director of San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project from UCSD, to raise awareness and exposure of the truth behind local food and the demise of health in America.
GMO’s and pesticides are being pumped into your food daily, do you know about the link between petrol-chemicals and your dinner table?
Is there a link to a longer and happier life by eating clean, local, sustainable and organic foods?
Part 1
Part 2
Check out this related post on Forbes to learn more about this topic in 2015:
In 2008, consumers spent $23 billion on organic food. The market, which grew by 16% last year, is seen by many as an alternative to the practices of industrial agriculture; organic food is largely produced without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics. And though most organic food producers don’t bill their products as more nutritious than conventionally grown food, the organic label tends to confer increased health benefits.
Yet according to a recent comprehensive review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there is no evidence to support the claim that organic food has higher quantities of vitamins and minerals. In addition to that finding–contested by many organic food advocates–the USDA announced this month that it would audit the National Organic Program, which develops standards and accredits organic certifiers. The decision came at the behest of industry members who say the integrity of the program had been compromised in recent years with less-than-uniform guidelines.
This news points to how it’s become increasingly difficult to trust the claim that organics are healthier for you–and the confusion has a lot to do with the complicated evolution of scientific research.
The Nutrition Debate
The trouble with relying on just one well-designed study to prove a claim is that another equally competent study may contradict its findings.
That’s why Dr. Alan Dangour, the lead author of the AJCN study and nutritionist for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, set out to compare the nutritional content of organic and conventional crops by conducting a systematic review of studies published in a 50-year time span. The study was funded by the U.K.’s Food Standards Agency, a government body that had no role in…
