I usually only troll in here, but thought this was worth mentioning. I buy only organic baby food for my son because I worry about pesticides and hormones in food. May all be media created fear but I don't want to take any chances with him.
Organic foods have been shown to be higher in certain nutrients than conventional foods. Taste is also an issue, as you can, without effort, take a 5 gallon spackle bucket and some dirt from your back yard, and grow tomatoes that taste 100 times better than the tasteless ones at your local supermarket. That being said, not taking pesticides and herbicides into account was priceless, and typical of these kinds of studies. And it plays right into what I tell my patients that ask me about going organic. I tell them that they have to look at organic food, not as being good for you, but as being not bad for you.
Yessir! Almost all home grown veggies and fruit are. They don't just taste better, but they look better too. Brighter and richer colors often mean more pigment = more antioxidants ect.... However, alot of organic studies can be wildly inconsistent. They are small scale studies, and each farm can use different farming methods. Some organic veggies show 5% more Vit C and/or other nutrients than conventional veggies, while other farms may yield the same produce with 100% more or higher. My parents have an organic farm in north central PA. While I'm in heaven when I visit, there are some things they grow that are just so damn potent, I can't eat them. Their regular green peppers are like forest green color and when my mom says shes making stuffed peppers, I ask her to make some stuffed tomatoes for me instead.
I don't really focus on getting organic food, but I do work at limiting the amount of processed foods I eat. Sometimes that involves the organic choice. Most of the time though it just means cooking myself (rather than buying prepared foods) or getting meat, diary, fruits and veggies from local ranchers and farmers. As for the study, I thought it was ridiculous that it ignored pesticide and chemical residue. The people I know who do purchase organic regularly do so primarily to avoid chemicals and pesticides. AFAIK nobody believes that organic food is healthier b/c it provides extra nutrients above non-organic food. They believe its healthier b/c it lacks chemicals and pesticides. Personally, I think your body has the ability to filter out many chemicals and pesticides but limiting the amount it has to handle makes it easier on your body and prevents exposure to those things it can't filter out.
I remember a segment from SNL News by Jane Curtin. Doing this from memory so it may be a little off: "After extensive study with random test subjects, the Center for Disease Control has now confirmed what has long been suspected: Oat bran does in fact cause cancer." (Crowd roars in approval)
