A recent write up of systematic reviews and meta-analysis (among the highest grades of scientific evaluation) confirmed previously-reported differences between organic and conventional foods. While scientific rigor and peer-review prevents the report from drawing firm conclusions against long-term disease outcomes, absence of data does not indicate safety.
It’s our opinion that it is very much worth choosing and consuming organic foods over conventional wherever possible.
This text is taken from the original article, with our highlights:
- organic crops have higher antioxidant activity and between 18 and 69% higher concentrations of a range of individual antioxidants; increased intakes of polyphenolics and antioxidants has been linked to a reduced risk of certain chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers (discussed by Barański et al. [12BarańskiM, Średnicka-Tober D, Volakakis N, et al. Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. Br J Nutr. 2014;112:794–811. [Google Scholar]]);
- conventional crops have higher levels of the toxic metal cadmium, and are four-times more likely to contain detectable pesticide residues; there are general recommendations to minimize the intake of pesticides and cadmium to avoid potential negative health impacts (discussed by Barański et al. [12BarańskiM, Średnicka-Tober D, Volakakis N, et al. Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. Br J Nutr. 2014;112:794–811. [Google Scholar]]);
- conventional crops also have higher concentrations of protein, nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, respectively; increased intakes of these compounds have been linked to both positive and negative health impacts (discussed by Barański et al. [12BarańskiM, Średnicka-Tober D, Volakakis N, et al. Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. Br J Nutr. 2014;112:794–811. [Google Scholar]]);
- organic meat, milk, and dairy products have approximately higher concentrations of nutritionally-desirable omega-3 fatty acids; intakes of very long chain omega-3 fatty acids in Western diets and there are EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) recommendation to at least double their intake (discussed by Średnicka-Tober et al. [13Średnicka-ToberD, Barański M, Seal C, et al. Composition differences between organic and conventional meat: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(06):994–1011. [Google Scholar],14Średnicka-Tober D, Barański M, Seal CJ, et al. Higher PUFA and n-3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acid, α-tocopherol and iron, but lower iodine and selenium concentrations in organic milk: a systematic literature review and meta- and redundancy analyses. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(06):1043–1060. [Google Scholar]]);
- organic milk was reported to contain higher levels of total conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), higher iron and α-tocopherol concentrations, which are all considered to be nutritionally desirable, although the evidence for health benefits of CLA is mainly from in vitro and animal studies (discussed by Średnicka-Tober et al. [13Średnicka-ToberD, Barański M, Seal C, et al. Composition differences between organic and conventional meat: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(06):994–1011. [Google Scholar]]);
- conventional meat has slightly, but significantly higher concentrations of the saturated fatty acids myristic- and palmitic acid, which were linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (discussed by Średnicka-Tober et al. [14Średnicka-ToberD, Barański M, Seal CJ, et al. Higher PUFA and n-3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acid, α-tocopherol and iron, but lower iodine and selenium concentrations in organic milk: a systematic literature review and meta- and redundancy analyses. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(06):1043–1060. [Google Scholar]]).