You will likely see articles, such as this one, that pop up in the blogosphere proclaiming that conventionally grown produce is as healthful as organically grown produce.
This is utter nonsense.
The largest study (a meta-analysis of 343 peer-reviewed publications) ever conducted on this issue should have put this myth to rest in 2014, but the conventional produce writers must like to confuse the public into not believing the science…sounds like the infamous tobacco industry tactic.
Myth #1: Conventionally grown produce is as nutritious as organically grown produce.
False: Organically-grown produce contains 19-69% higher concentrations of anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients compared with conventionally-grown produce.
- (Image above) Each data point on the RIGHT side of the vertical line indicates that there are more phytonutrients in organic compared with conventionally-grown produce.
(Image above) Here’s a slide I present in my anticancer nutrition talks showing the significantly higher concentrations of mineral micronutrients in organically-grown produce versus conventionally-grown produce. Why are these micronutrients higher in organic produce? The answer is likely that the soil in organic farms is less depleted of these minerals compared with the soil in over-farmed conventional growing operations.
(Image above) This slide shows significantly greater anticancer activity and antioxidant activity from organically-grown produce extracts compared with conventionally-grown produce extracts.
Myth #2: Conventionally grown produce is not any more toxic than organically grown produce.
False: The frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was 400% higher in conventionally-grown crops than in organically grown crops.
- (Image above) Each data point on the left side of the vertical line indicates a lower amount of pesticide residues in organically-grown produce compared with conventionally-grown produce. As you can see, the organically-grown produce contains significantly less pesticides.
The Bottom Line:
Organic produce have greater concentrations of micronutrients and phytonutrients than conventionally-grown produce, and they obviously have less pesticide residues.
