Topic: FSA find no nutritional benefit from organic produce

[Melbourne12]

A very interesting study by the Food Standards Agency here http://tinyurl.com/kvgoh9

It needs to be stressed that this study doesn't say anything about the claims for better flavour and/or lower pesticide levels made for organic foods.  It specifically looks at nutritional content.

I was much taken with the diagram on page 7, which shows just how complex the whole issue is, and with the table on pages 19/20 which shows that of the very few studies that have claimed nutritional superiority, most don't stand up to scrutiny.  And the same table shows just how few nutrients are involved in the debate anyway.

[shirlton]

All I can say is that the food we grow as organically as we can does taste better.Even our house rabbits won't eat bought veg.

[manicscousers]

for us, it's the taste and the lack of chemicals  :)

[cjb02]

personally, I can easily believe there is no nutritional difference. but for me it is the lack of pesticides, low carbon miles, knowing where my food has come from, better flavour from crop varieties selected for flavour and not long shelf life and the exercise

it is also here on the bbc
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8174482.stm

[GRACELAND]

for us, it's the taste and the lack of chemicals  :)

to true :)

[Digeroo]

But what about this one?  Seems to be saying the opposite,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7067100.stm

[saddad]

It hasn't got any nutritional benefits if it tastes so bad you don't eat it....  :-X

[OllieC]

I don't buy organic anything apart from milk... As a method of gardening it is one, rather rigid but pretty ethical way of doing things. As a method of commercial food cultivation it is a marketing tool. It is still open to abuse & can still be done on a huge scale by large producers in an environmentally damaging way.

[Deb P]

But what about this one?  Seems to be saying the opposite,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7067100.stm

Ah yes, that will be the lies, d**n lies and statistics........... ::) ;D

[Mr Smith]

I know that my veg from the lotty does taste better than the supermarket stuff people have told me, although my allotment was sprayed last year with Roundup and some of my veg was sprayed with bug killer this year is it now classed as not organic?, Bloody NOoooooooooooo who cares, ;)

[RSJK]

I think that it is the freshness of the produce from your allotment/garden that makes it taste so good not the fact that it is organic or not.

[Obelixx]

I expect the FSA was testing commercial organic produce against commercial agri-chemical produce, both of which can have untold food miles and delays between picking and appearing on the shop shelf not to mention fridge life when bought.

I do know that my home grown simple foods like salad leaves, fennel, brassicas, sweetcorn, soft fruits and so on have an incredible flavour compared to shop bought stuff.   I bet the vitamin content is higher but accept that mineral content depends on the soil or "terroir".

The whole point of growing one's own produce is that it's cheaper and fresher and tastier and you can avoid, if you so wish, all the organo phosphate sprays and other chemical cocktails whose consumption and long term effects over extended periods can only be guessed at.  Nutritional values can be as much about what isn't there as what is.

[GodfreyRob]

I think that it is the freshness of the produce from your allotment/garden that makes it taste so good not the fact that it is organic or not.

Agree 100% with that-fresh is best. If its fresh then its also more likely to be in season too.

For me the decision to use organic food is not so much about taste/nutrition as the impact on the environment. At least growing organically tries to lower the negative environmental effects.

I think a lot of organic food is overpriced but also much of the non-organic is underpriced in the sense that the food producers are squeezed by the supermarkets and lots of farm workers are really badly paid and/or work in dangerous conditions (no adequate protection when using pesticides, etc).

[BarriedaleNick]

I agree with most of what has been said here but would like to add that organics growers also tend to use and produce different varieties of fruit and veg.  For example most mass supplied toms are grown for shelf life, consistency, colour etc and not for flavour.  It's all about shelf appeal not about the taste.

[dtw]

The food we grow ourselves does taste better because it is fresher, supermarket veg is held in warehouses for days and sprayed with water to keep it appearing fresh.
You only have to look at leeks for evidence of this, see how much they grow in storage.

Organic is just an excuse for the supermarkets to charge extra for the same thing.
It should be cheaper, as no expensive chemicals are used in producing it.

[Obelixx]

Organic is more expensive to buy because it is grown less intensively and yields per acre are much lower.    It also tends to be mor elabour intensive so no savings on mechanisation.

[tim]

Should be cheaper?   What about the huge wastage through not spraying?

Our main Organic buy is Milk, in an effort to keep just a couple of British suppliers in business with a better life for the animals.

Free Range is different - we buy nothing but - or Freedom Food - whatever that achieves.

[cleo]

I believe in feeding the soil and using no persistent chemicals but this `organic` thing sometimes gives me piles.

I live where we have an `organic` pitch on the market.

Is it fresh-no

Is it local?-maybe but I cannot grow in season what I see for sale

Is it expensive-yes very..

But folks pay through the nose to buy it.


As gardeners I feel we can find a middle way between supporting factory farming,buying produce doused in chemicals and yet not being conned by the label `organic`

[Old bird]

I suppose what they are actually saying is that a lettuce grown organically and not sprayed has the same nutritional value as a lettuce grown with pesticides etc and the eventual outcome - not including the taste/freshness etc - ie in the body is the same!  I suppose that I can see that argument.

But I certainly would not eat the rubbish that they put in those "salad bags" where the contents are washed in water with bleach'ish additions to "de-bug" it!

I ate a couple of tomatoes this morning and - wow - they taste sooooooooo good - you would not get that taste in the supermarket or even in the organic section of the supermarket!!

Old Bird

 ;D

[powerspade]

I seem to remember that about 3 years ago they tested carrots bought in Tescos asda and all the other leading supermarkets. The finds were that they contained around 400 different chemicals in them. My carrots that I`m pulling at the moment contain no chemical other that that which nature has provided. They taste mmmmmm very good unlike supermarket carrots which taste like dehydrated cardboard