ents. Some of the nutrients studied in organic produce were twice
that of conventional equivalents. Many vegetables have been studied,
including carrots, cabbage, lettuce, kale, tomatoes and spinach, with
a variety of fruits studied by various researchers. The increased nutri-
ents found in certified-organic vegetables and fruits are most likely
due to better care of the soil through organic farming methods,
including composting, crop rotation and cover crops.
I’ve also conducted my own research and found that some organ-
ically grown vegetables had significantly higher levels — 10 times or
more — of certain nutrients such as folic acid, compared to the same
vegetables tested and listed in the USDA database.
For years, nutritionists insisted that today’s conventionally
grown foods were as high in vitamins and minerals as the meals of
our grandparents. There is now sufficient evidence indicating this is
not necessarily the case. Reductions in food quality have taken place
since the mid-1940s, when the use of chemical fertilizers and pesti-
cides rapidly became the norm in U.S. farming. A study in the British
Food Journalcompared the 1930s nutrient content of 20 fruits and veg-
etables with foods grown in the 1980s. Significant reductions were
found in the levels of calcium, copper and magnesium in vegetables;
and magnesium, iron, copper and potassium in fruit. Similar trends
can be found in foods produced in the United States, with reductions
in some nutrients of as much as 30 percent.
Most foods are farmed with chemical fertilizers and pesticides,
with the exception of certified organic foods, which contain signifi-
cantly less nitrates and heavy metals, both of which can be very
harmful, especially to children. Heavy metals enter the plants
through certain chemical fertilizers — some of these fertilizers are
even derived from industrial waste. As discussed earlier, important
phytonutrients have been genetically engineered out of some com-
mon foods to make them less bitter. Organically grown foods don’t
contain genetically engineered ingredients or genetically modified
organisms, making them a better choice.
Then there’s another factor to consider when choosing organic
food. Many of the foods in grocery stores are imported. The countries
of origin may not have as stringent restrictions regarding the use of
fertilizers and especially pesticides as we have in this country. In fact,
ORGANIC FOODS • 105