Organic, conventional foods similar in nutrition, safety, study finds - The Checkup - The Washington Post

Organic, conventional foods similar in nutrition, safety, study finds

By Jennifer LaRue Huget

 

Organic foods offer little benefit over conventionally farmed foods, a new review of existing research finds.

Crystal Smith-Spangler of Stanford University culled the scientific literature for research into the health benefits and risk of contamination among organic and conventional produce and meats.

Her review of 17 human studies and 223 evaluations of nutrient and contaminant levels in foods ranging from milk and grains to pork, beef and chicken detected mostly minor differences between organic and conventionally farmed versions.

Overall, her research, published Monday afternoon in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found little scientific evidence to support organic food’s superiority over conventionally farmed food. Among the mixed bag of chief findings:

- Eating organic produce instead of conventional produce may reduce risk of exposure to pesticides by 30 percent. But in general, both organic and conventional produce’s pesticide levels were within limits regarded as safe.