The organic advantage

BY JULIE SEAMER
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007

The biggest study into organic food has found it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may lengthen people's lives.

The study, which is peer reviewed and will be published over the next 12 months, is a $27 million four-year European Union-funded project that is likely to end years of debate over whether organic food is more nutritious than other food.

Shane Heaton, a nutritionist and spokesperson for the Biological Farmers of Australia welcomes the study. He says, "This adds to the growing body of evidence from around the world that organic produce not only contains less of the things you don't need, but also more of the things you do need in your diet".

Research from this study has already found that organic fruit and vegetables contain between 20 and 40 per cent more antioxidants, which have demonstrated anti-cancer and life-giving properties, helping cut risk of the disease which threatens so many Australians.

Other findings from this project:

organic milk has 60-80 per cent more nutrients in summer than conventional milk, and 50-60 per cent more in winter
organic milk also has higher levels of vitamin E
organic cheese can have up to twice as many nutrients than conventional varieties
organic tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and wheat have 20 to 40 per cent more antioxidants than conventional produce
organic spinach and cabbage have been found to have more minerals, including iron, copper and zinc.

Co-ordinator of the EU-funded project, Carlo Leifert reports that the health benefits were so striking that moving to organic food was the equivalent of eating an extra portion of fruit and vegetables every day.

Heaton adds, "Of course organic consumers have known this for years". This latest research should help everyone else, including some of our leading official advisory bodies, to be better informed and catch up with the organic movement".

"Organic food isn't a luxury." Heaton continues, "It's how food is meant to be".