Disturbing Facts About Organic Food

Nom, nom, ummmm?
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RESOURCES:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/07/18/mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-organic-food/#ixzz2nxBNYxJh

https://www.msu.edu/~howardp/organicindustry.html

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-organic-food/#ixzz2nxEgTP00

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/how-much-more-does-organic-food-cost-and-why.htm

http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/blog/global-environment/organic-farming-environmental-benefit-yield-cost/

FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS PHOTOS:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tecfan/504383882/sizes/o/
apples by tecfan

Pears
pears by S Baker

http://www.flickr.com/photos/design-dog/1249337589/sizes/l/
bananas by ian ransley design

Tomatoes
tomatoes by iamrenny

Lily's Organic Produce, Satellite Beach FL
tangerines by rusty clark

Soybean Field
soybeans by United Soybean Board

Kelowna Wine and Cuisine
organic seafood by kelowna09

Tomatos
tomatoes by Thelonius Gonzo

Odwalla
odwalla by Hanna Rosin

Are Organic Foods Safer?

Organic food consumption appears to reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Subscribe to Dr. Greger’s free nutrition newsletter at http://www.nutritionfacts.org/subscribe and get a free excerpt from his latest NYT Bestseller HOW NOT TO DIE. (All proceeds Dr. Greger receives from the sales of his books, DVDs, and speaking engagements go to support the 501c3 nonprofit that runs NutritionFacts.org.)

This is the second of a 5 part video series on organic versus conventional foods. What about the relative nutrient content? See my last: Are Organic Foods More Nutritious? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/Are-Organic-Foods-More-Nutritious)

Here’s what to look forward to next:
• How to Make Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Wash (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-make-your-own-fruit-and-vegetable-wash)
• Are Organic Foods Healthier? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-organic-foods-healthier)
• Are the Benefits of Organic Food Underrated or Overrated? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-the-benefits-of-organic-food-underrated-or-overrated)

For more on the infectious disease implications of organic vs. conventional, see Superbugs in Conventional vs. Organic Chicken (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/superbugs-in-conventional-vs-organic-chicken/). Organic produce may be safer too. See: Norovirus Food Poisoning from Pesticides (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/norovirus-food-poisoning-from-pesticides/). Organic eggs may also have lower (http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/156/7/654.long) Salmonella risk, which is an egg-borne epidemic every year in the U.S. See my video Who Says Eggs Aren’t Healthy or Safe? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/who-says-eggs-arent-healthy-or-safe/)

More on Parkinson’s and pesticides in Preventing Parkinson’s Disease With Diet (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/preventing-parkinsons-disease-with-diet/).

Those surprised by the California data might have missed my video California Children Are Contaminated (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/california-children-are-contaminated/).

Have a question for Dr. Greger about this video? Leave it in the comment section at http://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-organic-foods-safer and he’ll try to answer it!

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38 thoughts on “Disturbing Facts About Organic Food”

  1. We ate organic food during all history untill man made funguscides and pesticides were introduced recently together with other mistakes like DDT. That's where people started experiencing chronic illness. Grow organic food yourself,even if its herbs on your windowsill 🙂 The plants and fruits you grow adapt to your bodies requirements are powerful medicine for you! 👌

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  2. we are talking a about produce fruits and vegetables which most people don't even eat on a daily basis anyways

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  3. This video is nonsense! How is it "bad" that organic food is produced by large companies? And what's wrong with natural pesticides and natural bacteria? The body is designed to process these things – it is not designed to process synthetic man-made chemicals. And no strong evidence that organic is healthier? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

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  4. Everyone who's standing against GMO products, please tell me what your plan is to save the world from famine. The main goal of GMO is to increase food supply so if you can afford the organic foods then go ahead buy all the organic foods you want but for people who can't afford quality food, depend on products that are genetically modified.

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  5. Organic food I think still is better. The amount of pesticides on fruits and vegetables today probably cause more problems. Like digestive issues, and skin issues.

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  6. True story. I personally know a woman who had cancer twice, and has MS. She only lived through and beat cancer because she's an organic vegan, and she also said the small amount of energy she does have is completely contributed to her lifestyle change over to organic veganism. That's more than strong scientific evidence to support organic foods, at least fruits and vegetables, are healthier. Explain to me why inorganic processed food with preservatives like McDonald's cheeseburger and fries NEVER DECAY???

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  7. This comment section is absurd. Did you know that EVERYTHING can be labeled as a carcinogenic agent?
    And pesticides (which are the worse) are present in both so ummmmm eat whatever you find most suiting and stop following non-sense.

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  8. Something about eating unmodified food that was grown the good ol fashion way sounds a lot better than food that's been pumped with chemicals and genetically modified.

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  9. Roach sprays build up over the years. Most apartments spray regularly all over houses and it seeps into countertops and walls and floors and never goes away. old housing and practices are a big health problem.

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  10. So what about eating fruits Wich you don't eat the skin? Like mangoes, bananas, etc. I can presume that with those the exposure to pesticides is lower than eating non organic apples (which is what I do).
    Or what do you think?

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  11. Great video. It is possible that the higher cost per nutrient in organic versus conventional would be offset if organic were subsidized as are conventional crops. Perhaps, the more we vote for organic as consumers, the more likely profit hungry conventional food corporations will make the switch. I feel good about putting some of my discretionary budget towards funding the campaign for safer more nutritious foods that build rather than deplete soils and that do not make us dependent on the closed loop of certain farming machinery, pesticide and seed that the federal government requires subsidized farmers use. My dollar, my vote.

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  12. Also – you question if eating pesticides actually harms health. The science is well and truly in for that, including a study published by the WHO/IARC last year which lead to the reclassification of glysophate as a 'probable human carcinogen'

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  13. Correction – the latest and largest study of its kind (recently published in the British Journal of Nutrition) has now proven that there IS significant nutritional differences between organic and so-called 'conventionally grown' fruits/vegetables, meat and milk (up to 69% more phytonutrients in the veg and up to 50% more omega 3 and 6 fatty acids in the meat/milk). This was a combination of primary research and a huge meta study which measured the results of 340+ independent studies into the nutritional differences of organic vs conventional.

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  14. Hi, i'm a student, and where i live in canada all we have around here is walmart,sobeys, and superstore. How can i make sure i get healthy clean fruits and veggies? are conventional that bad for health?

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  15. I have a difficult time reading scientific studies myself, but am wondering how thorough the studies for organic vs conventional were. My question: it was looking for conventional pesticides. But it wasn't looking for organic pesticides and herbicides. Testing for them would be a completely different set of criteria. Currently, there is very little, if any regulation on organic pesticides, and some, like chrysanthemum, is a very potent neurotoxin. Yet, can be sprayed all over our food, in unlimited quantities. Is this better? Or are we safer with regulated chemicals? The cost alone is moving me to question this whole messed up situation. I've been a huge supporter of organic foods, but can't spend less than $125 at the grocery store for 2 people, sometimes twice a week… This isn't sustainable, seemingly in either case. Real answers and responses please. I'm actually wanting to figure this out.

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  16. As per your advise, we should eat the rinds and peels of fruits and veggies to achieve higher nutrition/antioxidants, , but what about pesticides? In your book, you addressed that a fruit not being organic is no reason to not eat it. However, for example, given the choice between conventional berries (probably sprayed with tons of pesticides but highly nutritious, as you claim) and conventional melons (which you say are not as nutritious by comparison), which do you eat? For the melon, you will not be eating the peel, therefore probably avoiding consumption of many pesticides and for the berries it is inevitable.

    To take this further, what about conventional berries vs. organic bananas. We know berries are the king of fruits, but whats the better choice?

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  17. I can't afford organic so I buy frozen veggies. 80-90% of residual pesticides are removed through the blanching and freezing process. That's good enough for me. For fruits, I wash until squeaky clean then peel.

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  18. Organic is just too damn expensive.  Maybe if you're single and/or making bank, it's doable.  Even putting costs aside, the closest Whole Foods (or organic friendly store) to me is a 90 minute drive away.  It's just not worth it, especially when conclusive studies involving pesticide intake/disease don't exist.

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  19. Funny how times have changed in the USA. I remember when I had to take the TOEFL when I first arrived…There was a multiple choice question "What does the cow feed on?" A) Slop B) Grass C) Grain…I got it wrong because I chose B) Grass…This is because in Africa where I was born, that was what cattle ate. Strange wasn't it? That was how I found out why the food was so different.
    Personally,  I purchase organic food from Costco; but wonder how we can even be sure that organic grains, fruits and vegetables, are grown from whole and natural seeds in the West?
        In Africa, the term organic food is irrelevant; food  is grown naturally; from original seeds and seedlings, as well as animals raised on the land, in unindustrialized fashion, using old fashioned systems of farming. Poverty and starvation is only prevalent on the continent  not because our farming techniques are small scale, but rather due to socioeconomic reasons, stemming from mass corrupt leadership and lawlessness.

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  20. "logical precautionary approach" 90 percent reduction in exposure to pesticides where does the 10% come from?  How much does it add to health care costs? I bet more the cost of the food.

     Allow the homeless/ out of work people reasonable working conditions. Such as sun, heat and bug protection clothing. As in a one piece jumper with a head covering off the face. It could have a breathing filter and be lined with tubes to cool the body using supercapacitors for the power to circulate water from a back pack with ice and water. A simple regulator to let in more ice water when it gets too warm. This allows working people to not get sunburn, overheated or bit by chiggers, fleas, ticks mosquitoes and so on.

    They can Work a few hours picking weeds and vacuuming bugs in exchange for shelter and food. Additional work can also be done for extra goods and services. telephone, internet, Transportation and so on.  Food needs washing preparing cooking and clean up. Plus the animals we consume to be treated humanely and for our safety need better looking after. there is also road repair maintenance for public places. It is a WIN Win for all. We who have private jobs get better food at lower costs. They get what they need doing meaningful work under good working conditions. I would do it if i did not have work because it is good for me personally and necessary for our long term survival of our species. Cant be adding untold millions and millions of pounds of pesticides and herbicides to water supply every year without tainting the water enough to cause long term health problems.  Also because I was not getting burnt, bit, or over worked on tasks to the point it breaks down my body unnecessarily. There are tens of millions of people needing work and many hands make light work. Now we just need to get voting for it, to make it a reality.

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