Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Sources Organic
– Over the last few years organic food has spread like wildfire.
#The World of organic agriculture. Statistics & emerging trends 2016, 2016
http://orgprints.org/31151/1/willer-lernoud-2016-world-of-organic.pdf
(estimates world sales of organic food and beverages increased from 15,2 to 80 billion US dollars between 1999 and 2014, S. 134/137)
– Different regions have different definitions and rules.
#§ 7 CFR Part 205, Subpart C - Organic Production and Handling Requirements, 2018
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/part-205/subpart-C
(Definition of organic in USA, no GMOs, no sewage sludge)
#Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, 2007
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:189:0001:0023:EN:PDF
(Definition for the EU by the EU, no GMOs, no Sewage sludge, crop rotation, definition of “organic”, certification)
#Laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control, 2008
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:250:0001:0084:EN:PDF
(Definition for the EU, update on regulations, definition of “organic”)
– Organic is farmed without GMO seeds, synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides.
#§ 7 CFR Part 205, Subpart C - Organic Production and Handling Requirements, 2018
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/part-205/subpart-C
(Definition of organic in USA, no GMOs, no sewage sludge)
#Organic agriculture FAQ, What is organic agriculture?, 2018
http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq1/en/
(no preservatives, USA)
#Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, 2007
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:189:0001:0023:EN:PDF
(No GMOs, no Sewage sludge, crop rotation, definition of “organic”, certification)
#Laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control, 2008
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:250:0001:0084:EN:PDF
(Definition for the EU, update on regulations, definition of “organic”)
– Indeed several studies found that organic foods contain more antioxidants.
#Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses, 2014
(main conclusion, organic crops, on average, have higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower concentrations of Cd and a lower incidence of pesticide residues than the non-organic comparators across regions and production seasons)
#Berry fruit supplementation and the aging brain, 2008
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18211020
(consumption of diets rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory polyphenolics, such as those found in fruits and vegetables, may lower the risk of developing age-related neurodegenerative diseases)
# Organic Food and Health: A Systematic Review, 2017
(higher amount of antioxidants and vitamins)
#Initial Reflections on the Annals of Internal Medicine Paper “Are Organic Foods Safer and Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives? A Systematic Review”, 2012
http://www.tfrec.wsu.edu/pdfs/P2566.pdf
(Vitamins increased)
– Plants produce antioxidants as a sort of homemade pesticides
#Antioxidant,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant
(Definition of antioxidants)
– Scientists are still on the fence about health benefits of Antioxidants.
#Are antioxidants helpful for disease prevention?, 2010
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093095/
(Antioxidants have visible positive effects on the skin and one of them (selen) might reduce cancer incidence. No further effects were seen, the vitamins e and c are even believed to be harmful in some regard)
#Chronic Supplementation With a Mitochondrial Antioxidant (MitoQ) Improves Vascular Function in Healthy Older Adults, 2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29661838
#Antioxidants and Disease Prevention, 2014
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262525852_Antioxidants_and_Disease_Prevention
(Antioxidants are healthy and play important roles in the prevention of multiple diseases)
#Mortality in Randomized Trials of Antioxidant Supplements for Primary and Secondary Prevention, 2007
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/205797
(Too much Antioxidants harmful to cancer patients)
#Antioxidants Accelerate Lung Cancer Progression in Mice, 2014
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/221/221ra15.short
(Lung cancer in mice enhanced by antioxidants)
#Natural Antioxidants in Foods and Medicinal Plants: Extraction, Assessment and Resources, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5297730/
(Generally, these natural antioxidants, especially polyphenols and carotenoids, exhibit a wide range of biological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-aging, and anticancer)
#Antioxidants and disease prevention; an obscure association with great significance, 2017
http://annresantioxidants.com/index.php/ARA/article/view/243
(Effects of antioxidants is still debated, since the effects of certain antioxidant supplements can have positive effects in men but negative in women and vice versa. More research is needed)
– Organic food can have slightly higher concentrations of vitamin C and omega 3.
#Organic Acids Concentration in Citrus Juice from Conventional versus Organic Farming, 2012
#Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century, 2016
https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2015221
(deliver equally or more nutritious foods that contain less (or no) pesticide residues)
#Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture: a comprehensive review, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5658984/
(More omega 3)
#Effect of organic and conventional cropping systems on ascorbic acid, vitamin C, flavonoids, nitrate, and oxalate in 27 varieties of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), 2012
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22393895
#Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses, 2014
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24968103
– Only small differences in nutritional value
#Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review, 2009
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19640946
#Organic Food and Health: A Systematic Review, 2017
(Lack of studies can’t claim organic to be overall better)
#Nutritional quality of organic, conventional, and seasonally grown broccoli using vitamin C as a marker, 2008
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17852499
– Eating fruits and veggies in general is good for you
#Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Benefits and Progress of Nutrition Education Interventions- Narrative Review Article, 2015
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4644575/
(study on health benefits from eating fruit and vegetables)
#Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases, 2018
http://www.who.int/elena/titles/fruit_vegetables_ncds/en/
– People buy organic to avoid artificial pesticides and fertilizers
#Report on the results of the public consultation on the review of the EU policy on organic agriculture conducted by the directorate general for agriculture and rural development (15 january-10 april 2013), 2013
(Report on why and which people buy organic)
#Food Choice Motives When Purchasing in Organic and Conventional Consumer Clusters: Focus on Sustainable Concerns (The NutriNet-Santé Cohort Study), 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5331519/
– Less pesticide residue on organic products.
#The 2015 European Union report on pesticide residues in food, 2015, endorsed 2017
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4791
#Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?, 2017
https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for-the-environment
(Far less pesticide residues)
#Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses, 2014
(Less residues of pesticides, more antioxidants)
– Less pesticide does not mean none at all. While pesticides are supposed to be a last resort in organic farming, they are not forbidden.
#Laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control, 2008
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:250:0001:0084:EN:PDF
(List of pesticides used for organic farming in the EU, Annex II)
#Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, 2018
(List of substances allowed in organic farming in the U.S.)
– But there are synthetic substances as well
#Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture: a comprehensive review, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5658984/
(Most of the pesticides approved for organic agriculture are of comparatively low toxicological concern for consumers because they are not associated with any identified toxicity, Two notable exceptions are the pyrethrins and copper. Pyrethrins, a plant extract from Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium, share the same mechanism of action as the synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, but are less stable. Copper is an essential nutrient for plants, animals and humans, although toxic at high intakes and of ecotoxicological concern due to toxicity to aquatic organisms.)
– Organic pesticides are not necessarily safer than conventional ones.
#Going organic: Are organic pesticides safer than their synthetic counterparts?, 2017
(Organic pesticides are not safer than conventional ones)
– Copper sulfate, often used on organic apples, is actually more harmful to humans.
#Organic food: Helping EU consumers make an informed choice, 2015
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/557009/EPRS_BRI(2015)557009_EN.pdf
#Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture: a comprehensive review, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5658984/
(Copper in excess is harmful to humans, but allowed for organic farming)
– A 2018 study from France associated never eating organic food with a higher risk for certain cancers. The study was criticized a lot though: the participants reported their dietary habits themselves, while no actual tests of pesticide in their bodies were done.
#Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk
Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study, 2018
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2707943
In the same issue of JAMA Internal Medicine a critical commentary about the study from Harvard experts was printed that pointed out flaws about the methodology (self-reporting, no empirical measurements proving any connection between higher pesticide residues in the body and cancer incidence.)
#Organic Foods for Cancer Prevention—Worth the Investment?, 2018
More comments on the study:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2707943
– Danger from pesticides for an adult similar to a glass of wine every three months.
#Corrigendum to “Refined assessment and perspectives on the cumulative risk resulting from the dietary exposure to pesticide residues in the Danish population”[Food and Chemical Toxicology 111 (2018) 207–267], 2018
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691518300437
– Pesticides are regulated and tested very strictly in the EU and the US.
#Regulation (ec) no 396/2005 of the european parliament and of the council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC, 2005
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32005R0396
#European commission. Legislation on Maximum Residue Levels – 2018, 2018
https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/max_residue_levels/eu_rules/mrls_2018_en
(Maximum pesticide residues regulation of the EU)
#Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. PART 180 – Tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues in food, 2018
(Maximum pesticide residues regulation of the U.S.)
– Every year thousands of food samples are screened for pesticides.
#The 2016 European Union report on pesticide residues in food, 2018
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5348
(Initiator for food safety reports: European Food Safety Authority)
#PDP Databases and Annual Summaries, 2016/17
https://www.ams.usda.gov/datasets/pdp/pdpdata
(USDA screening food samples)
– The majority of samples have no residues or just a fraction of the tolerance level.
#Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?, 2017
https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for-the-environment
(Far less pesticide residues)
#Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses, 2014
(Less residues of pesticides, more antioxidants)
– Risk for bacteria and fungi contamination from organic food and non organic food is the same.
#Putting the safety of organic food into perspective, 2003 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nutrition-research-reviews/article/putting-the-safety-of-organic-food-into-perspective/5C8EC98C76B56852375507CE9B29EE1F
(Less pesticide residues, but danger for environmental contaminants are equally present in foods of both origins)
– No production method is clearly better for the environment
#Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?, 2017
https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for-the-environment
(Organic takes in some cases more resources than conventional farming i.e. energy and land)
#Litteraturstudie av miljöpåverkan från konventionellt och ekologiskt producerade livsmedel, 2016
Summary:
#Organic vs. conventional farming: Which has lower environmental impact?
– Demand is rising constantly.
#Organic Trade Association, Maturing U.S. organic sector sees steady growth of 6.4 percent in 2017, 2018
https://ota.com/news/press-releases/20236
(Organic sales at 49.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2017)
#The World of Organic Agriculture 2017, 2017
https://www.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/en/news/2017/mr-world-organic-agriculture-2017-english.pdf
(Global number for organic sales: 81.6 billion U.S. dollars estimated in 2015)
– Spain grows tons of regular and organic vegetables in vast green house areas.
#Spanish Organic Sector 2018, 2018
http://www.ecological.bio/en/sectorbio2018/
(Organic domestic market value: € 1.686 Mill (Spain is ranked 10th among world markets)
- Per capita expenditure in Spain: €36.33 (up 12.58% from 2015)
- Organic market share: 1.69% of the total food market
- Organic agricultural area: 2.01 million hectares (ranked 1st in terms of size in EU, 5th globally))
#Caracterización del sector de la producción ecológica española en términos de valor y mercado, referida al año, 2015
English Summary:
#Spain: 60% of organic product exports are fruits, vegetables and legumes, 2014
( 2014 (the latest available data), organic exports were worth 724 million Euro; a 7.8% increase compared to 2013 and 23% more than in 2012. Of this, 60% were fruits, vegetables and legumes.)
– Vast green house areas which use a lot of energy
#Comparative analysis of environmental impacts of agricultural production systems, agricultural input efficiency, and food choice, 2017
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5/meta
– Production causes great amounts of plastic waste.
#Europe's Dirty Little Secret: Moroccan Slaves and a 'Sea of Plastic', 2015
(Waste from the “farms" is reported to run off into the Mediterranean Sea, including the chemical waste, plastic waste and human waste of the workers. Entire industries have popped up in the area simply to make the massive amount of plastic for the greenhouses which has a short lifespan and is sometimes discarded, strewn across the landscape or washed into the sea.)
#Plastic Merges into China’s Farmland: Report, 2013
https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/plastic-merges-into-chinas-farmland-report/?_r=0
– This has lead to reports about labelling frauds.
#Organic food fraud leads Congress to weigh bill doubling USDA oversight, 2017
#US Organic Produce Import Data Raises Concerns of Fraud, 2018
http://www.foodauthenticity.uk/blog/us-organic-produce-import-data-raises-concerns-of-fraud
#Trade gap between domestic and imported organic soy & corn raises questions about fraud, 2018
#Mismatch in organic food data in raises fraud questions in US, 2018
– Stop seeing organic and conventional farming as irreconcilable.
#Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?, 2017
https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for-the-environment
(Organic takes in some cases more resources than conventional farming i.e. energy and land)
#Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century, 2016
https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2015221
(a blend of both production types would fit best)
– Further reading:
–Number of organic producers in the U.S.
#USDA: Certified Organic Survey 2016 Summary, 2017
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/census17.pdf
(Number of the certified organic producers in the U.S. in 2016: 14,217)
– In the US, organic foods are certified by the USDA
#Organic Labeling, 2018
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/labeling
(USDA responsible for organic label)
#Organic Enforcement, 2018
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/enforcement/organic/
(Together, AMS and organic certifiers protect consumers by protecting the integrity of the USDA organic seal)
– Ethical reasons to buy organic
#European Commission, Agriculture and Rural Development, Organic Farming, Environment, 2018
https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/consumer-trust/environment_en
(Organic is supposed to save soil, biodiversity and groundwater)
#Organic agriculture FAQ, What are the environmental benefits of organic agriculture?, 2018
http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq6/en/
(Protection of Soil, (ground)water and biodiversity)
– Organic farming is time consuming and cost-intensive
#Organic agriculture FAQ, Why is organic food more expensive than conventional food?, 2018
http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq5/en/
(Higher costs because of smaller quantities, higher costs because of more effort to keep organic separated from conventional))
#European Commission, Agriculture and Rural Development, Organic Farming, FAQ, 2018
https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/organic-farming/frequently-asked-questions_en#faq_answer_3
(Higher production costs due to certification processes, lower quantities than demanded)
–Plants can have different nutritional values
#Influence of Environmental Factors on the Active Substance Production and Antioxidant Activity in Potentilla fruticosa L. and Its Quality Assessment, 2016
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28591#results
(nutrition values differ based on the environment where they have grown, genetics and secondary metabolism)
– Difficult to test the impact of a purely organic diet
#Organic food and the impact on human health, 2017.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29190113
(Long term studies are needed to determine the effects on humans)
#Health effects of an organic diet—consumer experiences in the Netherlands, 2012
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jsfa.5614
(Investigation of the perceived health effects experienced by consumers of organic food using a free access online questionnaire)
#One man's 3-year experiment in eating organic food - all the time, 2008
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/health/04iht-snparker.1.18329349.html
(Self test of Dr. Alan Greene to go organic for three years. Says he feels more energetic and wakes up earlier)