In brainstorming the benefits of organic food, I immediately thought of health benefits, such lower pesticide exposure and increased nutrition. In fact, in Michael Pollan’s book which we read for this class, he states that “For most of our food animals, a diet of grass means much healthier fats (more omega-3s and conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA; fewer omega-6s and saturated fat) in their meat, milk, and eggs, as well as appreciably higher levels of vitamins and antioxidant” and “that soils rich in organic matter produce more nutritious food. Recently a handful of well-controlled comparisons of crops grown organically and conventionally have found appreciably higher levels of antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamins, and other nutrients in several of the organic crops” (58). Thus, perusing the University of Washington library for scholarly articles on the health benefits of organic food yielded quite different results. Many articles claimed that studies done on this topic were generally “inconclusive,” and lots popped up with titles such as “Is Organic Food Really Worth the Extra Cost?” The body of another article discussed the negative effects of the endocrine disruptors in nonorganic foods and then concluded the article by saying that it’s safe to feed your children nonorganic food. I don’t know if there are truly no health benefits to organic food, if enough studies simply haven’t been done, or if there is bias in the research community.
