There are lots of studies on the issue, and as usual most of them are bad and disagree with each other.
I tend to trust the one by the UK Food Standards Association because it’s big and government-funded. Mayo Clinic agrees. I think there are a few studies that show organic foods do have lower pesticide levels than normal, but nothing showing that it actually leads to health benefits. Pesticides can cause some health problems in farmers, but they’re receiving a bajillion times the dose of someone who just eats the occasional carrot. And some “organic pesticides” are just as bad as any synthetic ones. There’s also a higher risk of getting bacterial infections from organic food.
Tastewise, a lot of organics people cite some studies showing that organic apples and other fruit taste better than conventional—I can’t find the originals of these and there are equally questionable studies that say the opposite. Organic vegetables taste somewhere between the same and worse, even by organic peoples’ admission. There’s a pretty believable study showing conventional chicken tastes better than organic, and a more pop-sci study claiming the same thing about almost everything. I’ve seen some evidence that locally grown produce tastes better than imported, but that’s a different issue than organic vs. non-organic and you have to make sure people aren’t conflating them.
They do produce less environmental damage per unit land, but they produce much less food per unit land and so require more land to be devoted to agriculture. How exactly that works out in the end is complex economics that I can’t navigate.
My current belief is that organics have a few more nutrients here and there but not enough to matter, are probably less healthy overall when you consider infection risk, and taste is anywhere from no difference to worse except maybe on a few limited fruits.
Of course, “organic” covers a wide range. I tend not to be blown away by the organic veggies and fruit at Whole Foods. I’ve had extraordinarily good produce from my local (south Philadelphia) farmer’s markets.
There are lots of studies on the issue, and as usual most of them are bad and disagree with each other.
I tend to trust the one by the UK Food Standards Association because it’s big and government-funded. Mayo Clinic agrees. I think there are a few studies that show organic foods do have lower pesticide levels than normal, but nothing showing that it actually leads to health benefits. Pesticides can cause some health problems in farmers, but they’re receiving a bajillion times the dose of someone who just eats the occasional carrot. And some “organic pesticides” are just as bad as any synthetic ones. There’s also a higher risk of getting bacterial infections from organic food.
Tastewise, a lot of organics people cite some studies showing that organic apples and other fruit taste better than conventional—I can’t find the originals of these and there are equally questionable studies that say the opposite. Organic vegetables taste somewhere between the same and worse, even by organic peoples’ admission. There’s a pretty believable study showing conventional chicken tastes better than organic, and a more pop-sci study claiming the same thing about almost everything. I’ve seen some evidence that locally grown produce tastes better than imported, but that’s a different issue than organic vs. non-organic and you have to make sure people aren’t conflating them.
They do produce less environmental damage per unit land, but they produce much less food per unit land and so require more land to be devoted to agriculture. How exactly that works out in the end is complex economics that I can’t navigate.
My current belief is that organics have a few more nutrients here and there but not enough to matter, are probably less healthy overall when you consider infection risk, and taste is anywhere from no difference to worse except maybe on a few limited fruits.
Of course, “organic” covers a wide range. I tend not to be blown away by the organic veggies and fruit at Whole Foods. I’ve had extraordinarily good produce from my local (south Philadelphia) farmer’s markets.