No obvious health advantages to eating organic vegetables and meats
Published The Straits Times, 5 Sep 2012
NEW YORK - Does an organic strawberry contain more vitamin C than a conventional one?
Maybe - or maybe not.
Stanford University scientists have weighed in on the "maybe not" side of the debate after an examination of four decades of research comparing organic and conventional foods.
They concluded that fruits and vegetables labelled organic were, on average, no more nutritious than their conventional counterparts, which tend to be far less expensive.
The researchers also found no obvious health advantages to eating organic meats.
"When we began this project, we thought that there would likely be some findings that would support the superiority of organics over conventional food," said Dr Dena Bravata, a senior affiliate with Stanford's Centre for Health Policy and the senior author of the paper, which appeared in yesterday's issue of the Annals Of Internal Medicine. "I think we were definitely surprised."
The conclusions will almost certainly fuel the debate over whether organic foods are a smart choice for healthier living or a marketing tool that gulls people into overpaying.
The organic food market has grown quickly, accounting for grocery sales of US$26.7 billion (S$33.5 billion) in 2010. This is a sevenfold increase over a dozen years, according to the Organic Trade Association, based in Brattleboro, Vermont.
In Singapore, according to FairPrice, demand for its organic greens has grown 25 per cent year on year since 2008, when the trend first took off.
The production of organic food is governed by a raft of regulations that generally prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, hormones and additives.
The findings, however, seem unlikely to sway many fans of organic food. Advocates for organic farming said the Stanford researchers failed to appreciate the differences they did find between the two types of food - differen-ces that validated the reasons people usually cite for buying organic produce.
Dr Bravata agreed that people purchased organic food for a variety of reasons - 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.
"Those are perfectly valid," she said.
NEW YORK TIMES, BLOOMBERG
Stanford researchers' findings
STANFORD University researchers reviewed data from 237 studies that compared either the health of people who ate organic or conventional foods or nutrient and contaminant levels in the foods themselves. They found:
- Organic foods offer no more vitamins and nutrients than conventional products.
- Organic foods were 30 per cent less likely to have pesticide residue but were not 100 per cent free of the chemicals.
- The studies reviewed offered inconclusive evidence of health benefits from consuming organic foods, for illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.
- Organic foods had higher levels of phosphorus but researchers said this is of little importance as very few people are deficient in this.
- Organic pork and chicken were 33 per cent less likely to carry bacteria resistant to three or more antibiotics.
- Some studies suggested that organic milk had higher levels of omega-3 fatty acid.
IN SINGAPORE
Growth in demand likely to continue
By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 5 Sep 2012
NEVER MIND what the people in white laboratory coats are arguing about. Organic food has been, and will likely continue to be, a big hit with Singaporeans.
Supermarket chain FairPrice said its range of organic products, which include fresh produce, groceries and household items, have quadrupled to more than 800 items from 200 in 1998.
Pasar Organic, its housebrand organic range, offers 35 varieties of vegetables, up from about 10 in 2008. The chain sources the vegetables from 11 farms in Thailand.
Sales of organic products at FairPrice's selected supermarkets soared by 35 per cent last year compared to the previous year, said Mr Tng Ah Yiam, the chain's managing director of group purchasing, merchandising and international trading.
Consumers here are also opting increasingly for the organic option even when it comes to non-perishable consumables such as juices and dried foods.
Mr Foo Kok Sin, managing director of Unitednature (Far East), a wholesaler which specialises in such organic goods, said that in the last five years, his business has seen a fivefold rise in turnover.
He recalled bringing in five to 10 items "to test the market" when he launched the business in 2001. Today, he imports nearly 200 items from beetroot juice to bamboo salt.
He attributes the growing interest to greater consumer awareness of pesticides, additives and colouring agents used in food production because of media reports and the Internet.
"In 2001, my customer was someone who had resided overseas in a place like Germany where there is more awareness of organic products," said Mr Foo. "Today, my typical customer is a middle-income Singaporean in her 40s."
Consumers interviewed by The Straits Times said the study published yesterday by Stanford University that showed organic food was not likely to be more nutritious than non-organic food would not change their preference for organic produce.
In the study, the researchers looked at data from 240 studies from 1966 to last year, and determined that there were no "clinically meaningful differences" in vitamin and nutrient content other than phosphorus, which few people are deficient in.
They also found organic food was 30 per cent less likely to contain residual pesticides, though researchers noted there was no difference in health risks as such amounts were within safe limits.
Those interviewed yesterday said for them, the main draw of organic foods is the absence of pesticides. "Organic food may not be more nutritious but it is still the safer and more healthy choice," said 55-year-old housewife Sharon Lim.
"I don't have to waste as much time and water re-rinsing the vegetables to make sure I get rid of all the pesticides."
No comments:
Post a Comment