There is no evidence that organic food is healthier than conventionally grown options, claims a Harvard University professor.
More than two-thirds of Americans believe these foods, which claim to be grown with fewer pesticides and often cost significantly more than regular food, are healthier.
Dr. However, Robert Paalberg, a professor at the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University, said evidence suggesting organic food is more nutritious is unreliable and consuming fewer pesticides may not have an impact on health.
“There is no reliable evidence to show that organically grown food is more nutritious or safer to eat,” he said.
“If we follow the science, organic food loses its apparent benefit.”
To be considered organic by the USDA, these foods must have been grown on soil that does not contain any of these banned substances for at least three years prior to harvest.
Dr. Robert Paalberg, professor at the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University, said evidence suggesting organic food is more nutritious is unreliable and consuming fewer pesticides may not have an impact on health.
Dr. Paalberg pointed to a 2012 review of Stanford University, which looked at 237 studies on organic food. The researchers found no compelling differences in nutrients or health benefits between organic and conventional foods.
The main difference was that organic foods contained fewer pesticides.
Dr. Dena M Bravata, senior author of the study, said at the time of publication: ‘There isn’t much difference between organic and conventional food if you are an adult making a decision based solely on your health.’
Organic foods still use pesticides, but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these are usually limited to natural sources, such as copper and sulfur, while conventional products may use synthetic pesticides.
However, organic farmers still have limited access to 25 synthetic pesticides, while conventional farming can use more than 900.
Dr. Paalberg said banning synthetic pesticides in organic food has no health benefits.
‘The organic ban on synthetic chemicals also does not improve food safety in the US, because pesticide use is now significantly regulated in conventional agriculture (insecticide use today is 82 percent lower than in 1972), and because the produce in supermarkets washed to remove almost any chemical residue left behind,” he said.
He pointed to A 2021 USDA Analysis of pesticide residues on more than 10,000 conventional food samples. It found that more than 99 percent of the samples contained residues safely below the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) tolerance levels, which are one in a hundred parts of exposure.
‘Food scientists at the University of California, Davis, conclude from such studies that the “marginal benefits of reducing human exposure to dietary pesticides through increased consumption of organic produce appear insignificant,” said Dr. Paalberg.
To be considered organic by the USDA, these foods must have been grown on soil that does not contain any of these banned substances for at least three years prior to harvest.
Organic meat regulations require that animals be raised under conditions that suit their natural behavior, such as grazing in a pasture fed 100 percent organically, and that no antibiotics or hormones are administered.
Still, about 40 percent of Americans believe that at least some of the food they eat is organic, according to Pew Research data. And 68 percent believe organic food is healthier than conventionally grown produce.
This may be due to the higher price tag of organic food, but also due to some studies suggesting it could be healthier.
For example, in 2018, a French study in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that among 70,000 adults, those who consumed organic foods had 25 percent less cancer than those who never ate organic foods.
Two years earlier, a meta-analysis in the British Journal of Nutrition found that organic meat and milk provided 50 percent more omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for brain and heart health, than non-organic products.
Dr. Paalberg suggested that Americans are more attracted to organic food because they think it supports smaller farmers, but this is not the case.
‘Many consumers still think organic food comes from small local farms, but most now come from remote industrial farms. By one estimate, “still only 8 percent of U.S. organic sales were made by small farmers through farmers markets or community supported agriculture in 2014,” he says.