The 5 Key Points Missed by Stanford's Study on Organic Food Mother Jones

Two weeks ago the internet was abuzz over this Stanford study claiming organic produce was no more nutritious than conventional. But did they miss some key points? Yes, argues one writer at Mother Jones.

As commenters noted on that post and everywhere, nutritional content isn't really the reason most people choose to buy organic anyway! Now Tom Philpott, former editor of Grist and current sustainable food advocate, strips the study down in a recent article for Mother Jones and explains why he thinks the Stanford researchers underestimated the most important reason to buy organic: pesticide exposure.

The Stanford study confirmed that organic produce harbored fewer pesticides than conventional produce, but researchers essentially dismissed that finding as unimportant because "conventional produce carries trivially small levels of pesticides, and you might as well save your money and forget organic," as Philpott notes. But the problem with this logic is five-fold. Here's why:

1. Pesticide residue on conventional produce is actually much worse than the study suggests. In this detailed critique of the study you can see it boils down to a statistical error.

2. The study also didn't distinguish between single pesticide trace and multiple traces, or between light traces and heavier traces. For example, Philpott notes that essentially the study says that "an organic apple carrying a tiny residue of a relatively innocuous pesticide is equivalent to a conventional apple containing a cocktail of several relatively toxic pesticides."

3. The study fails to mention the risks posed to unborn children who are exposed to pesticides while in utero.

4. The study also ignores the "cocktail" effect, or the effect that happens when one is exposed to several pesticides at once from a single fruit or vegetable.

5. Finally, we actually know very little about how exposure to low levels of multiple pesticides affects us over time. According to Philpott, we know more about how pesticide exposure affects amphibians, and the results aren't pretty.

For more insight on each of these points, read the whole article linked below.

Read More: 5 Ways the Stanford Study Sells Organics Short Mother Jones

Related: New Study Says Organic Produce Is No More Nutritious Than Conventional

(Image: Joanna Miller/The Kitchn)

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New Study Says Organic Produce Is No More Nutritious Than Conventional Food News

Are organic fruits and vegetables more nutritious than their conventionally-grown counterparts? The debate has raged for years, and now the results from a four-year study conducted by scientists from Stanford University say that, no, organic produce doesn't get any extra points for nutrition. But organic food advocates say the study missed a few key points:

According to The New York Times, the study, which combined data from 237 studies and examined a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meats over a four-year period, concluded that "vegetables labeled organic were, on average, no more nutritious than their conventional counterparts... Nor were they any less likely to be contaminated by dangerous bacteria like E. coli." The conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables did have more pesticide residue, but "the levels were almost always under the allowed safety limits."

The study did find that organic produce contained higher amounts of phosphorus and more more compounds known as phenols, which some believe can help prevent cancer. But the "size of the difference varied widely from study to study," so researchers took that result with some level of caution. It appears that produce ripeness had more to do with nutritional value than any other factor. As the NYT states, "a lush peach grown with the use of pesticides could easily contain more vitamins than an unripe organic one."

So what does this mean for organic food? Has it just been a marketing ploy to get consumers to pay more? Not so fast. Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group, says "organic organic food is living up to its promise."

Advocates for organic farming said the Stanford researchers failed to appreciate the differences they did find between the two types of food -- differences that validated the reasons people usually cite for buying organic. Organic produce, as expected, was much less likely to retain traces of pesticides. Organic chicken and pork were less likely to be contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria... The study also found that organic milk contained more omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered beneficial for the heart.

Advocates also say the study "sidestepped" the debate over the current "healthy" levels of pesticides. But regardless, advocates say that nutritional value is only one reason why people choose to buy organic.

[Other reasons people buy organic include] concerns about the effects of pesticides on young children, the environmental impact of large-scale conventional farming and the potential public health threat if antibiotic-resistant bacterial genes jumped to human pathogens.

Read the whole article and then come back and tell us what you think! Does this study in any way affect whether or not you will continue to buy organic fruits, vegetables, and meat in the future?

Read More: Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce The New York Times

Related: It's True! Organic Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better

(Image: Ekaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock)

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