Organic Food A Scientific Debate

While organic farming may prove more beneficial to the environment and increase biodiversity, the sad truth is that it is not sustainable for our future and an anticipated population of 9 billion people by 2050.

 How Erewhon Became L.A.’s Hottest Hangout

With a little help from celebrities and influencers, the health food store became the place to see and be seen.

 Is organic food bad for the environment?

You might find yourself faced with a conundrum each time you go to the grocery store: whether to buy organic. Though it’s more expensive, it seems to be better for both you and the environment. But is it actually?

 Organic food health benefits have been hard to assess, but that could change

Right now, we don’t know if an organic diet improves health, but based on our recent research, I believe we can find out.

 Organics Have a Deserved Good Reputation

Organic foods reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals, promote ecological farming practices and conserve vital resources like soil, water, and biodiversity.

 The Organic Industry Is Lying to You

But when it comes to the $47-billion-a-year organic industry, the FDA gives a complete pass to blatantly false and deceptive advertising claims. Consider the Whole Foods website, which explicitly claims that organic foods are grown “without toxic or persistent pesticides.” In fact, organic farmers rely on synthetic and natural pesticides to grow their crops, just as conventional farmers do, and organic products can contain numerous synthetic as well as natural chemicals.

 The truth about organic food and cancer

There’s a lot we don’t know about organic food. But one thing we do know? That being a person who both can afford to buy organic and chooses to do so generally means you’re a healthier person. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean organic food makes you a healthier person. That's the central issue at the heart of a recent study published in JAMA that's making headlines for purportedly showing that eating organic reduces your risk of cancer. Like so many studies claiming that any specific lifestyle choice will prevent cancer, there's a lot more to this story.

 Why That 'Organic' Label Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

Organic farms that resemble standard industrial operations exist because the USDA's organic rules are specific for pesticides and synthetic hormones, but its animal welfare guidelines are vague and not vigorously enforced. That leaves it to organic farmers and agribusiness to make decisions about raising organic animals. A factory farm now only requires a few meaningless adjustments to its welfare practices before it can market meat as organic and drastically boost revenues. Predictably, corporate farms are capitalizing on the opportunity presented by loose organic standards and consumers' willingness to pay a premium for what they believe to be humanely raised animals.

Dirty Dozen

EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Buying organic veggies at the supermarket is a waste of money

It has happened to all of us. You’re standing in the produce aisle, just trying to buy some zucchini, when you face the inevitable choice: Organic or regular? It’s a loaded question that can mean many different things, sometimes all at once: Healthy or pesticide-drenched? Tasty or bland? Fancy or basic? Clean or dirty? Good or bad?

Is organic food any healthier? Most scientists are still skeptical

Indeed, a few experts wonder if the endless debate over organic versus conventional might even be counterproductive: "I worry that some consumers might actually reduce their consumption of fruits and vegetables because of pesticide residue concerns," notes Winter, "which would do them more harm than good."

The Inconvenient Truth About The Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen List

Many consumers believe that organic farming means “no pesticides.” That isn’t at all true because pests are definitely a challenge for organic farmers as they are for any kind of farmer. Organic growers are allowed to use a large list of pesticides that are considered “natural.”

The shifting economics of organic food

Anyone who's set foot in a supermarket or farmers market in, oh, the past decade has noticed that organic food is considerably pricier than conventional food. But this "organic premium" — the difference between the two — can vary widely from product to product. And in some cases, the gap is actually shrinking quite dramatically.

Buying organic veggies at the supermarket is a waste of money

If you want to know more about your fruits and vegetables, buy them at the local farmers market, organic or not. The prices are often competitive with supermarkets, the in-season goods will be fresher than those shipped long distances, and any questions you have on production practices can be asked and answered on the spot. If you can’t make it to the farmers market, don’t waste your money on that little label.

Can Organic Food Feed the World?

Some think organic one day could replace conventional agriculture. But do the technological limits that define organic farming—no synthetic fertilizers, irradiation or genetic engineering, for starters—leave it less room for growth?

Can You Trust That Organic Label On Imported Food?

Maybe you've wondered, while looking at the price tag on some organic produce, whether that label is telling the truth. Peter Laufer, a writer and professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, doesn't just wonder. He's an outright skeptic, especially because the organic label seems to him like a license to raise prices. And also because those products are arriving through supply chains that stretch to far corners of the world.

Conventional Produce Is Not Dirty, But The Marketing Tactics Of Big Organic Are

In its latest campaign, EWG is singling out a few crops for added demonization – notably spinach. They highlight certain specific chemicals that were detected in spinach samples by the USDA in 2015. I have looked in detail at this same, publicly available data. It turns out that 7% of the 2015 spinach samples were organic. The very same chemicals that EWG choses to talk about were found on those organic samples.

Defining Organic: The Difference Between Sustainable and Local

One of the reasons people are suspicious of the organic enterprise is a widespread confusion about what organic production methods are.

Goodwin’s Organics: Honest to Goodness Organic

Finding healthy food is easier today than for your parents. But what about finding a 100% organic grocery store that has a lot of choices and still is in business!

How Much of Your Food Labeled as Organic Is Actually Organic?

When is "USDA Organic" not organic? More often than you probably realize. The USDA keeps a "National List" of inorganic products that can legally go into foods labeled as organic.

Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture: a comprehensive review

This review summarises existing evidence on the impact of organic food on human health. It compares organic vs. conventional food production with respect to parameters important to human health and discusses the potential impact of organic management practices with an emphasis on EU conditions.

If we only ate organic it would be an environmental disaster

Should the world’s farms go 100 per cent organic to protect the environment? Absolutely not. One huge problem is that organic farming requires far more land than conventional farming to produce the same amount of food. According to a study out today, going all-organic would require up to a third more land to feed the world by 2050 (some studies say more than twice as much land would be needed).

If You Think 'Organic' Food is 'Organic', Think Again

The organic food industry has outgrown the original regulations meant to protect it and its consumers. How 'organic is organic food' is even more important now than in the past.

Is organic food any healthier? Most scientists are still skeptical.

For now, there's little evidence to suggest concrete health benefits from eating organic. In the meantime, some commentators have suggested that this endless health debate has become a distraction. Marion Nestle of New York University argues that the best reasons to buy organic produce involve environmental impacts and production values. Any nutritional benefit is a "bonus," if there even is one.

Is organic food better for you? Here's the truth about the benefits

Claims about the health benefits of organic foods are often linked to their higher levels of vitamins and antioxidants. Is organic food really better for you?

Local and organic food has extra safety risks. Just ask Chipotle

Chipotle likes to emphasize the quality of its food, a goal summed up in the company's slogan, "Food with integrity." So it might seem paradoxical that Chipotle, of all companies, has gotten hit by a string of food safety problems.

Organic food no better for you: study

Organic food may come with less pesticides but there’s little evidence it’s better for you, say researchers from Stanford University.

Organic Food Sales Are Booming; Why Are American Farmers Crying Foul?

Organic grain is flooding into the U.S., depressing prices and drawing complaints from domestic organic farmers who fear their harvests are held to stricter standards than foreign-raised crops.

Organic Shmorganic

Conventional fruits and vegetables are perfectly healthy for kids.

Organic vs. Non-GMO Labels. Who’s Winning?

Organic and non-GMO companies push for prominence—and meaning for their labels.

The Case For Organic Fruits and Veggies

Recently, some online musings have been bouncing around Twitter and Facebook claiming that there isn’t much, if any, difference between organic and conventional foods.

What Does Organic Really Mean, and Is It Worth My Money?

I know some people who swear by organic food. They say it has all kinds of benefits, and I should start buying it too. What does it really mean to be "organic," anyway? Should I buy organic food?

What Eating Organic Food Does for the World

Sure, I eat organic food because I think it’s healthier for me than food grown with synthetic, toxic agrochemicals or food that’s been genetically engineered or injected with growth hormones. But equally important to me are the multiple ecosystem services and broader benefits for society that organic farming provides.

Why An Organic Diet Is A Healthy Investment, According To Nutritionists

Our daily food choices have a long-term impact on our health and happiness. Teaching your kids to make healthy choices at mealtime will give them the long-term skills that they need to nourish their bodies and their brains.

Why I Don't Buy Organic, And Why You Might Not Want To Either

I don’t buy organic foods. In fact I specifically avoid doing so. It’s not my place to tell anyone else what to do, but I’d like to lay out three, seriously considered factors that have shaped my personal stance on organic...

Why Organic Food May Not Be Healthier For You

But if you're thinking that organic produce will help you stay healthier, a new finding may come as a surprise. A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds scant evidence of health benefits from organic foods. "There's a definite lack of evidence," says researcher Crystal Smith-Spangler at Stanford University School of Medicine, especially when it comes to studies of people. She and her colleagues collected 200 peer-reviewed studies that examined differences between organic and conventional food, or the people who eat it.