Organics in the News

He quit his job and drove his wife and their four young daughters across country, a 21st-century pioneer lured to these faraway farm fields by the promise of a life-changing deal with an older stranger.

Isaac Phillips always wanted to be a farmer. But some friends as well as colleagues at the Utah jail where he supervised inmate work crews were leery, telling him: a) don't give up a steady job, b) you're making a big mistake and c) it's a crazy idea.

Phillips knew the business he was plunging into was risky, that there were no guarantees for him in these Iowa hills. And yet, the family moved more than 1,000 miles.

"I thought I may never get a chance like this in my life," Phillips says, two years into his new rise-with-the-rooster career. "I knew there was no way I could do this on my own."

Advances in agricultural technology including, but not limited to, the genetic modification of food crops have made fields more productive than ever. Farmers grow more crops and feed more people using less land. They are able to use fewer pesticides and to reduce the amount of tilling that leads to erosion. And within the next two years, agritech com≠panies plan to introduce advanced crops that are designed to survive heat waves and droughts, resilient characteristics that will become increasingly important in a world marked by a changing climate.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify that genetically modified crops perform as advertised. That is because agritech companies have given themselves veto power over the work of independent researchers.

As we munch into the fragrant core of peach season, shoppers face an array of choices for the same fuzzy fruit but little guidance on which type to pick. Expensive organic? Pricey farmers market? Cheap peaches from the grocery store?

Cost is certainly important. But there are essential numbers that go beyond the price tag of a peach, or any other item from the produce aisle.

Which contain the highest levels of pesticides?

Preliminary 2008 U.S. Department of Agriculture tests obtained by the Chicago Tribune show that more than 50 pesticide compounds showed up on domestic and imported peaches headed for U.S. stores. Five of the compounds exceeded the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and six of the pesticide compounds present are not approved for use on peaches in the United States.

Junk food is killing us slowly with diabetes, heart disease and cancer. But we can't stop because we're hooked, and the food industry is the pusher.

Every chef is said to have a secret junk food craving. For Thomas Keller, chef-owner of Per Se and The French Laundry, two of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country, it's Krispy Kreme Donuts and In-N-Out cheeseburgers. For David Bouley, New York's reigning chef in the '90s, it's "high-quality potato chips."

"Father of American cuisine" James Beard "loved McDonald's fries," while Paul Bocuse, an originator of nouvelle cuisine, once declared McDonald's "are the best French fries I have ever eaten." Masaharu Morimoto is partial to "Philly cheese steaks," and Jean-Georges Vongerichten confesses a weakness for Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. Other accomplished but less-famous chefs admit to craving everything from Peanut M&Ms, Pringles and Combos to Kettle Chips and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The Senate approved a spending bill Tuesday providing $500,000 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector general to broaden an investigation of the department's National Organics Program.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), author of the federal law that established the organics program, proposed the Senate funding and has been in discussions over the past month with Secretary Tom Vilsack about needed reforms.

"This puts Congress on record in favor of an audit that can help realign the organic program with its goals and standards," Leahy said. "We need to uphold and defend the credibility of the standards and labeling system, so that the organic label means what it says. There's a sense that some at the top have let things slip in recent years."

Strilli Oppenheimer was recently approached by Dawid Klopper, the head gardener at the family estate, Brenthurst, informing her that her indigenous African chickens were refusing to eat the mealies in the chicken feed bought from a large supplier. Concerned that the birds may be ingesting genetically modified maize, she instructed Klopper to have the maize tested.

The chickens' diet was immediately changed to include organic vegetables, Oppenheimer stopped consuming the home-grown eggs and the maize was sent to the GMO testing facility at the University of the Free State for analysis.

The results confirmed Oppenheimer's initial suspicion - the maize had been genetically engineered to produce proteins that are toxic to certain insects and weeds.

Good news! You can rest assured that the organic food you bought today is every bit as beneficial for you and the planet as it was three days ago. Advantages for health and ecological soundness are still there, despite a review released this week claiming that there is insufficient evidence to prove organic superiority on the nutritional grounds it evaluated.

The work, a review of research completed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA), was rigorous in its selection of 55 studies from 50 years of nearly 50,000 studies, some of which were conducted before the creation of national organic standards. Unfortunately, it failed to include contemporary research showing organic strengths, and dismisses areas of organic superiority within its reviewed work, including antioxidant capacity (important for cancer-fighting properties).

An advance copy of a study appeared today that will be published in the September edition of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." The published paper, "Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review," was written by a team led by Alan Dangour, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA).

In their written report, the London team downplayed positive findings in favor of organic food. In several instances, their analysis showed that organic foods tend to be more nutrient dense than conventional foods. Plus, their study omitted measures of some important nutrients, including total antioxidant capacity. It also lacked quality controls contained in a competing study released in 2008 by The Organic Center (TOC). Last, the FSA-funded team also used data from very old studies assessing nutrient levels in plant varieties that are no longer on the market.

Organic Center Response to the FSA Study.

The Organic Center says researchers 'likely lost statistical precision'; failed to focus on antioxidants

Results from the study by Britain's Food Standards Agency declaring organic food is not more nutritious than conventional food "are likely confounded by the team's decision to include data from over three decades ago," according to The Organic Center.

Most studies published before 1980 were found flawed for purposes of comparing the nutrient content of today's conventional and organic crops. The older studies used analytical methods that are now considered inferior, compared to modern methods.

From Buffalo County to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin companies continue to profit from organic farming despite the recession and the threats of climate change.

Some of the reasons for optimism are projections of a growth market in organics, studies showing how organic farming helps keep soil nutrient rich, and the support of the Obama administration.

Organic farming advocates were encouraged by some of the pledges from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who recently appeared at the La Crosse Interstate Fair.

Vilsack said he was bringing in new staffers in the organic farming area of USDA who would work closer with farmers. He also told a rally of organic farmers, concerned about what they consider abuses of the certification rules by some large corporations, that he'll make sure USDA enforced those rules.

“We support family farmers,” said Jeff Gunderson of the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service . “It was somewhat encouraging to see the secretary meet with farmers.”