The media is wrong!

When I read the news article titles about how British scientists compare the nutritional values of organically grown fruits and vegetables to conventionally grown ones, I cringe!

Using the phrase "Not Healthier" is simply wrong. Perhaps the press ought to be responsible and employ the term "Not More Nutritional". Here's my complaint, borne out of scientific fact.

1. Indeed, as has been printed here since our site's inception, we recognize that when you compare vitamins and minerals, and stuff like sugar and fiber, there is very little difference between conventional and organic. Although some scientific reports claim otherwise, the largest percentage that we have found show little nutritional difference.

2. But when one uses the term "healthier", one must look beyond just nutritional value. One must look to overal health concerns, environmental degradation, and human disease. After all, if the water we drink is contaminated with toxic petroleum run off, does that not negatively impact our health?

3. Pesticide use is really important! Pesticides--the foundation of conventional produce production--is poison, toxic, and scientifically linked (read: causal relationship!) to all kinds of human and animal conditions and diseases. Is this not a topic under the "health" rubric? Indeed it is.

A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that children eating conventionally grown fruit had pesticide residue in their urine, which decreased after just five days on an organic diet. This stuff sticks around...and that is unhealthy!

4. GMOs. Genetically modified foods are more and more linked to adverse childhood diseases. Watch more about this in the future, as more scientific reports are uncovered.

5. Environmental health is also part of our overall human health cycle and cannot be ignored. Pesticide and synthetic fertilizer run off is harmful to our air and water. To suggest for a moment that there is not discernable "health" difference between organics and conventionals is simply not factual--especially when it comes to making our environment so sick.

6. Human health and animal health. I largely make human health arguments, but when it comes to "health" we must also look at animal health and wellness. Let's not forget that conventional animal production has a sour track record--raising its animals in factories, confined, and fed all sorts of chemical to keep them alive until slaughter time.

My advice to the media and press: stick to the facts and pick up a dictionary!