Is Organic Produce Really Any Better?

In an announcement that made parents everywhere scratch their heads in disbelief, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement last month questioning whether organic food was really any better for children than conventional food.  The statement, which was published in the Journal Pediatrics, comes on the heels of a highly flawed Stanford University study released in September 2012 touting similar conclusions. 

Dr. Janet Silverstein, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville and co-author of the Academy’s statement, said that the science is lacking as to whether eating pesticide free food makes people any healthier.

Hold on just one minute!

The American Academy of Pediatrics actually needs “rigorous” scientific data to prove that eating food without poison is better than eating food with poison simply because the poison is “within safety limits”?

Doesn’t this strike you as just a wee bit ridiculous and tantamount to saying that science hasn’t proved that the sun comes up in the morning so we are going to assume it doesn’t until further studies are done?

As my grassfed dairy farmer is fond of saying, “You just can’t fix stupid”.

For those of you who might have been more than a little confused by this statement, I filmed a brief video to discuss organic versus conventional food as it relates to produce in particular.   I also attempt to clarify the not so obvious point that locally grown fruits and veggies are where it’s at nutritionally speaking even when compared to organics.

Interesting how the American Academy of Pediatrics statement completely omitted this salient point!

The video also discusses how to best clean off pesticide residue from locally grown produce that might have been minimally sprayed or simply not “certified organic”.

What did you think of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ statement?   Did you laugh and shake your head like I did?  Did you roll your eyes in dismay?   Will you change any of your buying habits as a result of it?

 

References

American Academy of Pediatrics Says Organics No Better

The Hydroponic Invasion of USDA Organic