Steve Diver wrote:
> >I can't recall whether this has been addressed in this forum before
> >or not...but an organic farmer I am working with recalls a federal
> >study which found that organic food is superior in some nutrients to
> >conventional food. She says she recalls that some nutrients were in
> >the hundreds and even thousands of percent greater in organic food.
> >
> >Does anyone know if this study exists and where to get a copy?
> >Thanks.
> >
> >Mark
>
> The Sanet archives contain a number of posts relating to the
> nutritional quality of organic foods.
>
> In addition to references previously posted, here are three more
> sources:
>
> 1.
> "The Healing Power of Minerals, Special Nutrients and Trace Elements"
> by Paul Bergner (1997, Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA) includes USDA
> figures that show a decline in mineral and vitamin content of several
> fruits and vegetables between 1914, 1963, and 1992. Table 1 is a
> summary of mineral decreases in fruits and vegetables over a 30-year
> period, adapted from Bergner's book.
>
> Table 1. Average changes in the mineral content of some fruits and
> vegetables*, 1963-1992
>
> Mineral Average % Change
>
> Calcium -29.82
> Iron -32.00
> Magnesium -21.08
> Phosphorus -11.09
> Potassium -6.48
>
> * Fruits and vegetables measured: oranges, apples, bananas,
> carrots, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, celery, romaine lettuce, broccoli,
> iceberg lettuce, collard greens, and chard
>
> 2.
> In England, Anne Marie-Mayer compared food composition over a 50-year
> period using data from the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
> Food (MAFF). Her study, "Historical Changes in the Mineral
> Content of Fruits and Vegetables" was presented at the Agricultural
> Production and Nutrition conference held at Tufts University School of
> Nutrition Science and Policy on March 19-21, 1997.
>
> Table 2, adapted from Marie-Mayer's paper, summarizes the average
> ratio of nutrient content and dry matter of 20 vegetables and 20
> fruits. A ratio of 0.81 for Ca, for example, means that over an
> approximately 50-year period the average content of calcium in
> vegetables has declined to 81% of the original level.
>
> Table 2. Average ratio of mineral content and dry matter (new/old)
> for vegetables and 20 fruits*
>
> Ca Mg Fe Cu Na K P D.M.
> Vegetable ratio 0.81* 0.65* 0.78 0.19* 0.57* 0.86 0.94 0.97
>
> Fruit ratio 1.00 0.89* 0.68* 0.64* 0.90 0.80* 0.99 0.91
>
> The symbol * indicates a statistical difference
>
> 3.
> In 1997 an extensive literature review was published:
>
> "A comparison of organically and conventionally grown foods --
> results of a review of the relevant literature" by Katrin
> Woese, Dirk Lange, Christian Boess, and Klaus Werner Bogl.
> 1997. J. Sci. Food Agric. Vol. 74, 281-293.
>
> The authors are with:
>
> Federal Institute for Health Protection of Consumers and
> Veterinary Medicine, Division 2, Chemistry and Technology
> of Foods and Commodities, PO Box 330013, D-14191, Berlin,
> Germany.
>
> The review summarizes and evaluates the results of more than 150
> investigations (published between 1926 and 1994) comparing the
> quality of conventionally and organically produced food, or of foods
> produced by different fertilization systems.
>
> The review is particularly noteworthy to those of us readers here in
> the United States, because it looks like better than 90% of the
> citations are from German-language journals and literature.
>
> This article does a good job of addressing the parameters used
> to evaluate differences item by item.
>
> One passage worth noting:
>
> "Only the more or less correlative results of the feed selection
> tests permit a general conclusion: animals distinguish between the
> foods on offer from the various agricultural systems and almost
> exclusively prefer organic produce."
>
> =============================================
> As an aside, this is what Dr. William Albrecht emphasized in his work
> as a soil scientist at the University of Missouri; i.e., animal
> feeding trials to ascertain the true quality of feedstuffs, writing:
>
> "cows are capable chemists"
>
> "as a chemist by experience and survival, not by academic training,
> the cow led the nomad over fertile soils"
>
> "we need to start observing and judging the cow as she is a chemist
> on the hoof guiding her own nutrition"
> ==============================================
>
> Other findings:
>
> *Lower nitrates in organically produced or fertilised vegetables.
> *Lower pesticide residues in organic fruit and vegetables
> *Higher dry matter content in organic products
> *Feed experiments showed animals preferentially selected organic
> produce, but where fertility parameters and rearing performance were
> determined the results were contradictory
>
> Steve Diver
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