Organic Food No More Nutritious than Nonorganic, Study Finds

You'd hope that the pricey organic food you eat has more nutrients than food grown with pesticides (in addition to being healthier for the planet).

And yet: A new study by British researchers published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that's not the case. The Los Angeles Times' Melissa Healy reports briefly on the study in the Times' Booster Shots blog:

"Surveying 50,000 studies conducted over 50 years, the authors focused on 55 that met their standards of scientific rigor. The studies that led to the group's controversial conclusions covered a wide range of crops and livestock that are raised and marketed under organic standards. For 10 out of 13 food crops studied, the researchers found no significant differences. Where they did find differences, those were attributed to differences in fertilizer use (say, the use of nitrogen vs. phosphorus) and the ripeness level at which the crops were harvested. Theauthorsjudged the differences observed 'unlikely' to 'provide any health benefit' to consumers."

Ouch. No word on whether news of the study is causing Whole Foods Market's stock to dip slightly, by about 1.4 percent, today. Share your thoughts in the comments below. Want to comment but aren't yet a member of ReportingonHealth.org? Click here to join. It's easy, free and quick!