In This Issue:
Breaking Science
In The News
Do You Know?
Commentary
Events and Presentations
Core Truths
The Art of Giving
Join Mission Organic
About THE SCOOP
About The Organic Center
A Roadmap to the Fountain of Youth?
USDA scientists report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that a Pterostilbene in berries and grapes can reverse the negative effects of aging on the human brain, while also improving working memory.
The compound apparently produces these beneficial effects through action as an antioxidant in the hippocampus region of the brain.
In work sponsored by The Organic Center at Washington State University, we found that organic berries contained higher levels of pterostilbenes, compared to conventional fruits. Watch for more details on this work in the January, 2009 "The Scoop."
Source: James Joseph et al., Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008
Slow Growth an Advantage in Processing Tomatoes
In the latest paper published by Dr. Diane Barrett and colleagues at the University of California-Davis on processing tomatoes, organic tomatoes. were found to consistently contain more total and soluble solids than conventional tomatoes. Soluble solids are a key quality attribute in tomatoes grown for processing, since the greater the percentage of solids, the less water that must be removed during processing.
The team also reported that the organic tomatoes matured more slowly, and indeed, the scientists speculate that the greater level of total and soluble solids may be the result of the somewhat slower growth rate in the organic fields.
Source: Joy Rickman Pieper and Diane Barrett, "Effects of organic and conventional production systems on quality and nutritional parameters of processing tomatoes," Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Vol. 89:177-194.
Troubling New Evidence Emerges of Damage to Immune System by GM Corn
Four new studies have recently emerged that raise new and old questions about GM corn food safety.
An Italian team has published results in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showing significant disturbances in the immune system of young and old mice fed GM maize event MON 810 (Finemore et al., 2008).
In an important and new finding, the team concludes that "...age is an important factor to be taken into account in the evaluation of transgenic food safety." Moreover, the team found elevated levels of a cell type known to be associated with asthma and food allergies in children.
A carefully designed Austrian study was released last month showing that GM maize reduces fertility and impairs gene expression in mice (Velimirov et al., 2008). The GM corn and its parental, isoline corn (the same genetics, minus the added transgene) were grown side-by-side in Landriano, Italy.
Twenty-one day old mice were fed with the diets for 30 and 90 days; older mice were fed for 90 days on the test diets. The team reported no differences in the total number of white blood cells in the small intestine, spleen and blood, but did find significant differences in the percentages of various immune system response cells in the gut, spleen and blood of both the young and old mice. There was clear evidence in the study of all allergic response in the immune systems of the mice fed the GM corn.
The immune disturbances reported in the Austrian study take on added significance in light of findings from a third laboratory that carried out a proteomic analysis of the proteins in GM and non-GM corn (Zolla et al., 2008). The team identified 43 proteins in the GM corn that were up or down regulated, compared to the parental, isoline corn variety. (an up-regulated gene produces more protein than normal; a down-reguated gene produces less protein than expected) In addition, the fourth study shows that GM corn expressed a well-known human allergen that was not present in the parental strain (Pasini et al., 2008).
Sources: Finamore A, Roselli M, Britti S, Monastra G, Ambra R, Turrini A and Mengheri E. "Intestinal and peripheral immune response to MON810 maize ingestion in weaning and old mice," Journal of Food and Agricultural Chemistry, November 16, 2008.
Velimirov A, Binter, C, and Zentek, J. "Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 fed in long term reproduction studies in mice," Forschungsberichte der Sektion IV, Band 3/2008.
Zolla L, Rinalducci S, Antonioli P, Righetti PG. "Proteomics as a complementary tool for identifying unintended side effects occurring in transgenic maize seeds as a result of genetic modification," Journal of Proteome Research, 2008, 7:1850-61.
Pasini G, Simonato B, Curioni A, Vincenzi S, Cristaudo Q, Santucci B, Peruffo AD, Giannattasio M. "IgE-mediated allergy to corn: a 50 kDa protein, belonging to the reduced soluble proteins, is a major allergen," Allergy 2002, 37:98-106.
Editor's Note: Together, these studies stand as confirmation of the basic findings published in 1999 in The Lancet by Dr. Arpad Pusztai and colleagues, who reported adverse immune system impacts in rats fed GM potatoes. The study led by Dr. Pusztai was the first rigorous animal feeding study conducted with a GM food, and triggered reactions and controversy that hardened opposition to GM foods across the U.K. and continental Europe.
The adverse immune and reproductive impacts reported in these four new studies are subtle and required sophisticated experimental designs to detect. Taken together, however, the studies reinforce concerns that have lingered since the 1999 The Lancet paper and will hopefully compel the U.S. government to finally invest in a series of independent toxicological and immunological studies on today's GM corn and soybean varieties.
Until recently, the agricultural biotechnology industry has insisted that there is no evidence linking the mid-1990s commercialization of GM foods with the rise in childhood food allergies, asthma, and related immune-system mediated disorders that have become much more prevalent since the late 1990s. These four studies collectively constitute such evidence.
In the spring of 2009, American corn farmers will plant over 40 million acres of "stacked" GM corn hybrids expressing three, four and up to eight different transgenic modifications. The diversity of unanticipated phenotypic responses among these stacked varieties, especially in the face of unusual stresses triggered by weather or pest attacks, is bound to grow exponentially, compared to the single and double trait GM corn planted since 1997. As a result, the number of corn proteins up or down regulated will grow, as will the likelihood that novel corn proteins with allergenic potential will become more common and threatening to allergy-prone individuals, especially infants and children.
Aggressive steps are needed to assure that today's GM corn can be defended as safe in light of the child-protective provisions in the "Food Quality Protection Act." As a practical matter, little can be done to reduce the risks of novel allergens and immune system damage from GM crops in the 2009 growing season, but by 2010 steps can and should be taken to assure that corn, the backbone of the American food supply, does not become a well of new allergens wrecking havoc in the lives of people prone to food allergies.
Defusing a Dangerous Fungal Pathogen
A team of scientists has discovered a method to turn off the genes in the fungal pathogen that is responsible for causing gray mold in a variety of fruits and vegetable crops. The Botrytis cinerea fungus kills plants by producing toxic sesquiterpenes. The team used genetic engineering techniques to turn off a single gene that produces an enzyme essential in the biosynthesis of the toxic sesquiterpenes.
Source: M. Viaud et al., ACS Chem. Biol., DOI:10.1021/cb800225v
Editor's Note: Suppose this research leads to a method to produce a strain of Botrytis cinerea that is stripped of a gene required to produce the sesquiterpenes that are toxic to plants, and that once the stripped down version of the fungus is created using genetic engineering techniques, the fungus can be grown in a fermentation vat for release in compost teas or other methods.
Would such a technology be allowed for organic production? Who should decide, and on what basis?
Back to top Organic Center Comments on the WIC Program Help Trigger Key Clarification
In October The Organic Center submitted comments to the USDA on the reauthorization of the WIC program. We focused on why the WIC program should not prohibit or discourage mothers from purchasing organic fruits, vegetables, and dairy products with WIC coupons.
The USDA published the "Interim Final Rule for WIC" in the Federal register on December 6, 2008.
In addition to releasing the "Interim Rule," the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS) sent a communication to all WIC state agencies clarifying that the new federal WIC rules prohibit all states from disallowing purchase of organic fruits and vegetables with cash-value vouchers. Patti Mitchell, a Senior Program Analyst in the Supplemental Food Programs Division, USDA/FNS, told organic food advocates that comments submitted to USDA by The Organic Center, Earthbound Farm, and United Fresh Fruits and Vegetables were persuasive and led to this clarification.
Doubts Grow over Produce Food Safety
A survey by the United Fresh Produce Association shows that 90% of consumers are concerned about produce food safety, with 32% "very or extremely concerned." Over half of the survey respondents stated that their concerns have grown since the August and the protracted news coverage of the Salmonella outbreak ultimately traced to peppers from Mexico.
When asked about their confidence in the safety of food from different countries, 92% said they felt U.S.-grown food was safe, a far higher percentage than other countries. Food from Canada was regarded as the second safest and won the confidence of 42% of survey respondents
Source: The Packer, November 17, 2008, page 1.
Re-engineering Milk
News about the extent and causes of the melamine-milk adulteration scandal in China continues to emerge. A story in the November 28, 2008 Science is entitled "Chinese Probe Unmasks High-Tech Adulteration With Melamine."
Baby formula contaminated with melamine has killed four infants and sickened over 53,000 in China. According to the story, experts investigating the scandal say that the "adulteration was nothing short of the wholesale re-engineering of milk."
One brand of baby formula contained a remarkable 2,563 mg/kg of melamine. This amount increased the protein content of the formula a full 1%; milk usually contains 3.0% to 3.4% protein, so milk contaminated with 2,563 mg/kg melamine is getting about one-third of its protein from melamine. Put another way, the milk has been diluted by about one-third by the addition of water.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just set a 1 mg/kg "safe" level for melamine in baby formula and milk.
Putting Biotech Crop Acreage into PerspectiveEarlier this year, the biotechnology industry made much of the planting of the billionth acre of genetically modified (GM) crops. While clearly a notable milestone, the Worldwatch Institute released a report entitled "Genetically Modified Crops Only a Fraction of Primary Global Crop Production" on December 4, 2008 that places this achievement in perspective.
GM crops account for just 9% of the total land area used for primary crops worldwide. Four GM crops continue to dominate GM acres planted –
Soybeans, 51% total GM acres;
Corn, 31% total GM acres;
Cotton, 13%, and
Canola, 5%.
No GM varieties are on the market now for any significant fruit, vegetable or small grain crop.
Herbicide tolerance remains the most common trait, accounting for 63% of global GM-crop acreage. The vast majority of these acres are planted to Roundup Ready crops.
In short, nearly two-thirds of the GM-crop "revolution" has been brought about by a highly successful campaign to use agricultural biotechnology to expand sales of glyphosate herbicide.
Hard Times Ahead for the Brazil and Argentina Ag Sectors
The spectacular rise of soybean production and exports in Argentina and Brazil since the late 1990s has been fueled by the planting of Roundup Ready soybean varieties, coupled with no-till planting systems. The combination of lower-cost RR soybean seeds in South America, lower-cost glyphosate (Roundup herbicide), cheap land, and very low cost labor provided soybean growers in these two countries with a significant competitive advantage.
The U.S. auto industry is not the only victim of the global credit crisis and the collapse of commodity market prices. Aggressive farmers in Brazil and Argentina borrowed heavily in the last decade, amassing huge blocks of land. One farmer in Argentina plants over 50,000 hectares annually. They also bought the modern and expensive machinery needed to cover large areas quickly during the planting and harvest seasons.
But now, a credit crunch has hit, just as global soybean prices are falling. Consider these facts and projections –
Wheat production is likely to fall 37.5% in 2008-2009 in Argentina;
The cost of producing soybeans has risen 80% in just the last few years;
Gross agricultural production will fall about 25% in 2008-2009 in Argentina; and
Soybean production will fall about 10% in Mato Grosso, the major production region in Brazil that accounts for 8% of the total world soybean harvest.
The collapse of soybean production and profitability in South America has been driven by several forces. The efficacy of the Roundup Ready soybean system has steadily declined as a result of new soybean diseases and the emergence of resistant weeds. The cost of the system has increased as a result of new technology fees. Currency shifts have increased the cost of exports.
A last and major hurdle is transportation infrastructure. Parts of Mato Grosso are 1,200 miles from the nearest port. Most soybeans in these countries have to travel several hundred miles to reach a port. It costs $106 per ton of soybeans to transport beans from Brazil's major production region to a port, compared to $30 per ton in the American Midwest.
Of 26 large conventional farmers interviewed recently by Brazil's national development bank, only one has managed to remain current with his agricultural loans, and did so only by selling land.
One farmer bought a combine in 2001 for $220,000 Rias, and another in 2003 for $280,000 Rias. Both were financed. The farmer now owes $800,000 Rias on the two machines because of steep interest rates and has virtually no chance of paying the loans off.
Source: "Brazil farmers lose debt battle" and "Sharp Drop in Argentina wheat output forecast," Financial Times, December 10, 2008
Editor's Note: I was asked in 2002 by the Trade Knowledge Network, a Canadian development organization, to produce an assessment of "lessons learned" from the adoption of Roundup Ready soybeans in the U.S. for the benefit of NGOs, government officials, and scientists involved with the then-rapidly expanding soybean industry in Argentina. I was given an opportunity to travel for a week in Argentina and visited with many farmers, scientists, and government officials. The resulting report is posted on Ag BioTech InfoNet.
In 2005 I wrote a second report on Roundup Ready soybeans in Argentina for Greenpeace International. "Rust, Resistance, Run Down Soils, and Rising Costs – Problems Facing Soybean Producers in Argentina" expanded on the analysis in the 2002 report and addressed impacts on nutrition, land conversion and forest clearing, pesticide use, and the loss of employment opportunities in rural areas. The 2005 report warned of the problems now undermining the viability of Roundup Ready soybeans in South America, and is being made available for those interested in learning more about the underlying causes of the hard times befalling farmers in South America.
Transgenes Found in Mexican Maize Landraces
Research by a team of scientists led by Elena Alvarez-Buylla in Mexico has again found transgenes from Bt corn in local varieties of maize in Mexico. The first paper reporting the presence of transgenes in traditional varieties of Mexican corn was published in Nature in 2001 and triggered a global assault on Dr. Ignacio Chapella, the lead scientist that carried out the initial study.
The new research is published in the journal Molecular Ecology.
Source: "Modified genes spread to local maize," NatureNews, November 12, 2008
Pesticides in Soda Pop in the EU
Researchers looked for pesticide residues in 102 brands of fruit-based soft drinks in Europe, and to their surprise, found residues in 85%, often at levels much higher than the maximum levels allowed in European drinking water.
Eleven samples of U.S. food drink sodas were tested in which no residues were found. The team noted that sodas in the U.S. use artificial fruit flavorings that are less likely to contain pesticide residues.
Source: Chemical and Engineering News, December 8, 2008, p. 29
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The genomes of today's elephants and wooly mammoths that went extinct 10,000 years ago are 99.4% identical. Scientists are contemplating the feasibility of altering elephant DNA over several generations incrementally in an effort to recreate a wooly mammoth.
Source: Chemical and Engineering News, December 8, 2009, p. 3
One in three adults will be officially fat in the U.K. by 2012. From 1992 to 2004, the number of obese men in the U.K. doubled.
Number of countries with a higher rate of obesity than the U.K. – one (the United States).
Source: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
If current trends continue through 2030, 86.3% of adults in the U.S. will be overweight or obese, with over 51% meeting the definition of obese.
Total health care costs attributed to obesity/overweight will double every decade, reaching just under $1 trillion in 2030.
Source: Wang, Y., et al., "Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic," Obesity, Vol. 10, October, 2008: p. 2323-30
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"The Organic Green Revolution"By: Tim LaSalle, CEO Rodale InstitutePaul Hepperly, Director of Research, Rodale InstituteAmadou Diop, Director of International Programs, Rodale Institute
[Leaders of the Rodale Institute have recently published a compelling call for action to pursue an organic green revolution. The full text is accessible on the Rodale Institute website; excerpts appear below].
"While feeding the hungry has always been a challenging global issue, the juxtaposition of the food price, fuel price and financial crises of this past year have disproportionately hurt the world's most vulnerable - plunging an additional 77 million people into malnutrition, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Now more than ever before we need a paradigm shift rather than incremental change in the way we grow, buy and eat our food. The Organic Green Revolution provides that needed shift.
Not only can organic agriculture feed the world, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in a report released in October, it may be the only way we can solve the growing problem of hunger in developing countries."
"Based upon the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation, the industrial Green Revolution worked only as long as fuel was cheap and water was abundant. The transitory benefits of increased short-term food production have come at too great an ecological price as carbon is extracted from the soil and emitted as global-warming carbon dioxide in our air instead of remaining in the soil to nurture crops. Petroleum-based fertilizers and chemical pesticides have also polluted our water and poisoned our environment, food, and people.
Fortunately, the latest scientific approaches in organic agriculture, supported by a body of replicated research data and economic analyses, offer affordable and quickly adaptable ways to implement farming systems that can quickly move us out of our current crisis." "With the evidence of the benefits and market viability of organic farming well-established, and the environmental damage from conventional farming so clearly threatening global security, the obvious question is not whether regenerative organic farming can produce yields comparable to conventional agricultural methods. Instead, we must ask, where is the leadership and political will to implement the agricultural policy and practice that can feed the world?"
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Prevention is the Keyword in the 2008 Rachel Carson Memorial Lecture
The need to focus on pest prevention rather than treatments with toxic chemicals was the dominant theme addressed in the 2008 Rachel Carson Memorial Lecture delivered December 4, 2008 in London by the Center's Chief Scientist, Dr. Charles Benbrook.
The presentation thematically wove together three major developments in the world of pest management – the trend toward systemic (inside the plant) pest management technologies, the erosion since the mid-1990s in corn insect Integrated Pest Management as a result of transgenic corn and systemic insecticides, and the role of systemic insecticides in triggering honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Dr. Benbrook noted four critical elements of sound, safe, and sustainable pest management systems --
Above and below ground biodiversity is critical in suppressing pest populations;
Healthy soils support strong plants and plant defenses;
Multiple pest control tactics should be aimed at several life-stages, leveraged by systematic pursuit of soft-spots; and
Pest management systems should be shaped and driven by ecological principles rather than corporate profit potential.
The lecture's last slide was entitled "Actions Worth a Thousand Words" and highlighted four concrete steps needed to promote prevention-based Integrated Pest Management and better protect the integrity of honey bee hives –
Impose a worldwide moratorium on nicotinyl seed treatments;
Major restrictions should be applied to any pesticide uses routinely killing fish, birds and/or bees;
Germplasm resources must be reclaimed by public institutions and public breeding programs must be reinvigorated; and
Public research investments in organic systems over next 20 years should be comparable to those made in support of genetic engineering technology and applications in the last 20 years.
The lecture slides are available, as is the paper written for the event, "Prevention, not profits, should drive pest management". The paper appears in December 2008 issue of the PAN-UK publication "Pesticide News."
The lecture was well attended and triggered a lively 45 minute Q+A session that covered a broad range of pest management issues. An excerpt from the paper published in "Pesticide News" follows –
"Florida harvested 33,000 acres of sweet corn in 2006, more than any other state. Conventional sweet corn growers in southern states like Florida face a variety of insect pests. Farmers in Florida had to spray, on average, 13 applications of 2.3 different insecticides, amounting to an average of 3.7 pounds of active ingredient per acre, across the 33,000 acres of sweet corn. Almost nine applications were made per acre with the carbamate insecticide methomyl. Very few organisms that move with wings or legs would survive a summer in such a corn field.
Just to the north in the State of Georgia, another leading producer of sweet corn, the average acre was treated 14 times with methomyl. In the southern United States, sweet corn grows rapidly. Most varieties reach maturity in 80-110 days. In years with intense and early fall armyworm pressure, spraying must start at about four weeks after planting. So, in Georgia in 2006, a methomyl application was made every four to five days.
In south-central Florida in 2008, an experienced grower, producing several thousand acres of conventional vegetables and several hundred acres of organic vegetables, harvested 25 acres of organic sweet corn treated only with the natural insecticides Bacillus thuriengensis (Bt) and diamotaceous earth. Moreover, the sweet corn harvested off his organic field was freer of bug damage than most conventional corn in the region.
In the State of Oregon in 2006, about three-quarters of the mostly conventional sweet corn acres were not treated with an insecticide.
Why are a dozen or more applications of relatively toxic, broad-spectrum insecticides required on some fields of sweet corn, while no such insecticides are required on others?
The answer lies in the differences between a "systematic," or integrated approach to pest management, in contrast to management systems dependent on a few control tactics, especially those that are treatment oriented and "systemic" in nature."
The Organic Center Sponsors Seminar at Hollywood Goes Green ConferenceThe Organic Center's Managing Director Steven Hoffman produced and moderated a seminar at the recently held Hollywood Goes Green Conference in Los Angeles. Now in its second year, the conference is targeted at the Hollywood entertainment industry, and how it can be more sustainable and effective as a role model promote broader adoption of organic and green practices. Speakers included Organic Center board member, television host and green lifestyles expert Sara Snow; Evan Kleiman, executive chef and owner of Angeli Caffe in Los Angeles; Cynthia Pasquella, clinical nutritionist to the stars; and Paige Poulos, executive director of the Mendocino Winegrape and Wine Commission. For more information, visit www.hollywoodgoesgreen.com.
Letter to the Editor Accepted
An early-2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (JADA) will contain a letter to the editor by Chuck Benbrook and Organic Center consultant, Dr. Chris McCullum-Gomez. The letter responds to an inaccurate and incomplete news brief on a European study comparing the nutrient content of organic and conventional food.
JADA reaches 70,000 subscribers around the world.
The Organic Center Sponsors Two Sessions at the 2009 EcoFarm Conference
The Center helped organize two sessions at the January 22-24, 2008 EcoFarm conference at Asilomar, in Monterey, California. During the "War on Bugs" workshop on Friday, 10:30am-12:30, Will Allen will address the evolution of the war on bugs over the last century. Chuck Benbrook will discuss the impacts and implications of the contemporary trend toward systematic pesticides and genetic engineering technology that strives to get pesticide toxins inside of plants.
On Saturday from 8:30am to 10:00, Dr. John Reganold of Washington State University will join with Chuck Benbrook in a workshop entitled "Why the Science is Starting to Show Benefits for Organic." Dr. Reganold will present results of recent studies at WSU comparing the performance of organic and conventional farming systems, and Chuck will provide an update of recent Organic Center research.
Keep Up with Events by Visiting the Organic Center Blog
Managing Director Steven Hoffman has started an Organic Center blog that will help readers of "The Scoop" stay current on the activities of the Center, events, and other breaking developments.
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Core Truths on the Major Benefits of Organic Food and FarmingCore Truths is a ground breaking compilation of the most current research on organic agriculture. This highly readable and graphically stunning 108-page coffee table book documents the verifiable health and environmental benefits of organic products.
Core Truths includes fascinating research about why:
Organic often tastes better
Organic produce contains, on average, 30 percent higher levels of antioxidants
Organic farming can cut mycotoxin risk by over 50 percent
Organic food dramatically reduces pesticide exposure
Organic farms typically use less energy
Order your copy now! Only $30 (plus $5 shipping and handling in US).Click here for a preview of the book.Click here to order.
Donate $100 Now! Receive Free Copy of Core TruthsBe a part of supporting vital research about the science behind organic. Make a gift of $100 to The Organic Center now, and we'll send you a free, hard-cover copy of our ground-breaking book, Core Truths (a $35 value.)Email Seleyn DeYarus for details.
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Holiday Gifts That Keep On Giving
Holiday shopping is made easy and green. Click through on the banner below and select wonderful holiday gifts and a portion of your purchase will be given to The Organic Center. Great gifts that keep on giving. Happy Holidays!!!
The Organic Center Features Jerry Garcia Artwork
Do you or someone you know love The Grateful Dead? Do you enjoy beautiful original works of art? If so, select a giclee of Jerry Garcia original artwork and benefit The Organic Center. This unique fundraising initiative to benefit The Organic Center is made possible through the generosity of filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia and features the series, "In the Garden," by the late Jerry Garcia. Individual prints are $250, or get the full series for $1,000. To order your Jerry Garcia art, click here.
The Organic Center's on-line fundraising program - Become a Friend of The Organic Center
We can now accept secure on-line donations with both yearly and monthly giving options. We also have wonderful gifts to say thank you for your support – including a free one-year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine, organic t-shirt, organic tote bag, our book, Core Truths and Dr. Alan Greene's new book, Raising Baby Green. We have many ways to say thank you for supporting our work. For more information
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Our Research –Individuals can support the scientific work of The Organic Center by:
Sharing new information, data, or "Hot Science," email our Chief Scientist
Helping us identify scientists that can contribute to our work, email Chuck Benbrook
Making a contribution, click here
Companies, foundations, or individuals can support work by The Organic Center on a critical issue, or in a specific area through our donor directed research program. Contact Dr. Benbrook for details.Our Outreach and Communication Program –Informed consumers drive the organic marketplace. Help The Organic Center reach consumers with the latest science on the organic benefit by:
Join Mission Organic 2010 as an individual
Distributing or reprinting excerpts from our studies
Making a donation to our communications program
For companies, The Organic Center's Mission Organic Affinity Marketing Partnership Program provides resources and tools to help educate your customers about the personal benefits of organic food and farming. Become part of an effort to grow the U.S. market for organic from 3 percent to 10 percent by 2010.
For more information about our affinity marketing program, email Seleyn DeYarus
Learn more about the health and environmental impacts of Mission Organic 2010
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"The Scoop," is an electronic newsletter published monthly by The Organic Center. For a free subscription, visit www.organic-center.org.
© 2008, The Organic Center. All rights reserved. Permission for reproduction of these materials for educational purposes will be granted by contacting The Organic Center at info@organic-center.org.
Editor: Chuck Benbrook, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Organic Center
Design: Karen Lutz Benbrook
Circulation: Matthue DeYarus
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Backed by the world's leading scientists, physicians and scholars, The Organic Center is committed to two goals.1) RESEARCH: providing free, peer-reviewed, credible science that explores the health and environmental benefits of organic agriculture.2) EDUCATION: helping people and organizations access and better understand science that sheds light on the organic benefit.To access free downloads of the latest in organic science, or to Join the Mission, go to: www.organic-center.org.Managing Director: Steven Hoffman Development Director: Seleyn DeYarus
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Scoop
In This Issue:
Breaking Science
In The News
Do You Know?
Commentary
Events and Presentations
Core Truths
The Art of Giving
Join Mission Organic
About THE SCOOP
About The Organic Center
Low Income Fourth Graders Face Heightened Risk of Diabetes from Too Many Calories, Not Enough Nutrients
A Texas team studied the diets, weight, body mass index, and diabetes risk factors for a cohort of 1,402 fourth graders composed of Mexican American (80%), African American (10%), Asian (5%), and non-Hispanic white children (5%). Nearly 75% of the children lived in households with less than $20,000 income.
Almost half lacked adequate calories in their diet, yet 33% were obese and already, in the 4th grade, 7% had high blood glucose levels. Diets were composed of energy- and calorie-dense foods like cookies, chips, and ice cream, and were low in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.
The authors concluded that these children faced a high risk of developing diabetes and were in need of substantial dietary interventions, increasing in particular daily intakes of nutrient-dense foods.
Source: Roberto P. Trevino et al., "Diabetes Risk, Low Fitness, and Energy Insufficiency Levels among Children from Poor Families," Journal of the American Dietetic Association, November, 2008: pages 1846-1853
Editor's Note: Consumption of organic fruits and vegetables would raise by about 30% the levels of critical antioxidants in the diets of these children. Given the difficulty in getting some children to eat fruits and vegetables, it is important to maximize the nutrient content per serving.
The difficulty in procuring ripe, tasty fresh fruits and vegetables (organic or conventional) in the winter months is a major hurdle encountered by many schools. When kids are served pears hard enough to use on the ball field, dried up oranges, or grapes that are on their way to raisin-land, it is no wonder much of the fruit winds up in the trash stream. The food industry needs to develop better ways to provide schools with well-preserved, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables that are tasty yet not over-sweetened.
Common Herbicide Increases Risk of Colon Cancer and Leukemia
A government epidemiological study has established a connection between occupational exposures to the thiocarbamate herbicide EPTC and human cancer. The research is part of the Agricultural Health Study and focused on EPTC applicators in Iowa and North Carolina between 1993 and 1997.
While the team called for further research, they found an association between EPTC exposures and colon cancer and leukemia.
Source: Dana M. van Bemmel et al., "S-Ethyl-N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate Exposure and Cancer Evidence among Male Pesticide Applicators in the Agricultural Health Study: A Prospective Cohort," Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 116, No. 11: pages 1541-1546.
Impressive Benefits Triggered by Organic Farming in Africa Receive Strong UN Endorsement
In the October "The Scoop," we featured a commentary by two United Nations leaders made upon the release of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD)-United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report "Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa." In this issue, we highlight a few of the report's remarkably strong – and hopeful – scientific findings.
The benefits to organic agriculture were linked to enhancement of five capital assets critical in promoting food security – natural, social, human, physical, and financial.
Multiple studies have shown that yields remain stable, and often rise after conversion to organic agriculture, a finding that "...challenges the popular myth that organic agriculture cannot increase agricultural productivity."
Moreover, organic agriculture is making important, positive contributions to farm incomes and rural economic activity. These benefits could be enhanced, according to the report, by adoption of more supportive policies and development strategies.
USDA Research on the Organic Food Industry Provides Intriguing Insights
The USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has released an October 2008 report entitled "Using Vertically Coordinated Relationships to Overcome Tight Supply in the Organic Market." The report is based on an ERS survey of handlers of organic food products in 2004.
The authors note that the growth of organic sales in conventional supermarkets and "box stores" has created shortages in the supply of both ingredients needed to make organic food products, and in various organic product classes.
13% of handlers reported inability to meet market demand, while another 16% reported minor shortages.
44% of handlers found needed ingredients or products in short supply in 2004, especially coffee, soybeans, milk, seeds, corn, and nuts.
By volume, 20% of organic products were imported, while 22% were sourced locally (defined as within a one-hour drive of a manufacturing/processing facility).
The organic sector uses written contracts at a much higher rate than the conventional food system – 44% of volume moving through organic handlers, compared to 26% among conventional handlers. Another 27% of organic volume is based on verbal agreements and commitments.
The study concludes with a discussion of the reasons why close relationships are likely to remain common in the organic food industry as overall sales increase.
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Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo, Inc. Wins Precedent-Setting Lawsuit on Chemical Trespass
On October 8, 2008, the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz filed a major judgment in the case brought by Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo against Western Farm Service. Over the preceding three years, Western Farm Service (WFS) had sprayed organophosphate (OP) insecticides on vegetable crops near fields of organic herbs grown by Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo in the Wilder Ranch State Park.
Residues of the OP insecticides diazinon, dimethoate, and chlorpyrifos were first detected in organic herbs picked and shipped to Whole Foods in 2006, as part of that retailer's routine pesticide testing program. This unexpected finding compelled Jacobs Farm to report the residues to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Since there is no tolerance covering residues of these insecticides in conventional herbs, the crop had to be destroyed, costing Jacobs Farm hundreds of thousands of dollars in crop year 2006, and then again in 2007.
If this incident had involved a major field or vegetable crop like potatoes or tomatoes, the presence of low-level residues of these OP insecticides on organic produce would not have required destruction of the crop, assuming that a legal tolerance is in place for these pesticides in conventional potatoes and tomatoes. But for many specialty crops, including most herbs, there are few tolerances in place, and hence any movement of pesticides onto an organic herb field could trigger heavy financial loses.
When extensive efforts by Jacobs Farm to work with neighboring farmers and WFS to prevent future damage failed, leading to additional loses in 2007, Jacobs Farm decided to turn to the courts to seek damages and relief from this ongoing source of chemical trespass.
A jury found WFS negligent and concluded that this negligence was a "substantial factor in causing harm to Jacobs Farm." Western Farm Service was found guilty of negligence, trespass, and causing a nuisance. Damages of $1 million dollars were awarded to Jacobs Farm, plus attorney's fees and costs associated with the case.
Western Farm Service is still exploring whether to appeal the court's decision. On the one hand, the pesticide industry and conventional growers view this as a potentially significant, precedent-setting case, suggesting that an appeal would be likely. But if unsuccessful, the decision of an appellate court to affirm the court's judgment would lend greater weight to the precedent set by this case.
While a major milestone has passed, we have almost certainly not heard the last word on the Jacobs Farm-WFS case. The issues underlying the court's judgment and damage award are of tremendous economic significance, especially in states where organic and conventional farms often exist in the same valley.
For more on what's at stake, see the commentary "Time to Deal with Pesticide Risks in California's Coastal Communities." An abbreviated version of the commentary appears later in this issue of "The Scoop", and the full commentary is on the Center's website.
"The Problem with [GE] Nutritionally Enhanced Plants"
Dr. David Schubert is a highly regarded molecular biologist focusing on neurological development. He is based at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California and has just published a provocative "Perspective" piece on applications of genetic engineering to enhance the nutrient density of plants in the Journal of Medicinal Food (Vol. 11, No. 4).
Schubert explains why it has been difficult for the biotechnology industry to develop protein-based pharmaceuticals in plants. Problems arise with protein-based plant compounds because of their reactivity, especially their proclivity toward glycosylation. As sugars attach and are cleaved from protein compounds produced in plants, both their metabolism and bioavailability changes, making it very difficult to control doses, predict interactions with drugs or other biologically active secondary plant metabolites, or achieve consistently a desired impact on human health.
On the other hand, Schubert points out that nutritionally-enhanced plants (NEPs) are less subject to such problems and are likely to be viewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS).
But NEPs face their own unique problems, according to Schubert. For example, Golden rice is genetically engineered to produce higher levels of B-carotene (precursor of Vitamin A). Many enzymes are known to alter the form and metabolism of carotenoids like B-carotene, producing the common retinoids – retinol (Vitamin A), retinal, and retinoic acid (RA). Retinal is oxidized to retinoic acid, which is far more active and toxic than Vitamin A.
While low doses of RA play an essential role in neurological development, they can bioaccumulate in fat tissues and plasma, and research has shown that multiple, low doses are more toxic than a single, high dose. Given the importance of RA, its toxicity, and the potential to alter RA levels and forms as a result of genetic engineering, Schubert warns that –
"...excess RA, or RA derivatives are exceedingly dangerous, particularly to infants and during pregnancy...extensive safety testing should be required before the introduction of golden rice as food."
(The most common PMP (Plant-made Pharmaceuticals) crops that have been grown in U.S. field trials are corn, tobacco, and rice. Other crops being investigated include alfalfa, potato, safflower, soybean, sugarcane, and tomato.)
In the case of plants genetically-engineered to produce higher levels of fatty acids like omega 3s or conjugated linoleic acid, Schubert points out that GE-plant transformations can lead to the formation of slightly altered forms of fatty acids, which in turn can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
In other cases, plants expressing markedly elevated levels of certain nutrients, or forms of nutrients, might push periodic intake into the possibly toxic zone. (Recall from past stories in "The Scoop" that most beneficial antioxidants become pro-oxidants at excessively high doses).
While minimally necessary intake levels have been carefully studied for many nutrients, possibly damaging high levels of consumption have received much less attention.
GE Soybeans with Elevated Omega 3 Fatty Acids in the Pipeline
Monsanto has genetically engineered soybeans to increase the level of omega 3 fatty acid. A small, preliminary study carried out at the University of South Dakota found that consumption of the GE-soybeans increased blood omega 3 levels by 4 to 5 percent, enough to reduce the risk of heart attacks by as much as 50%.
Monsanto hopes the new soybeans will be approved for commercial planting by 2011, leading to consumer products in the supermarket by 2012.
Source: Graham Tibbetts, "GM Soya Bean Could Prevent Heart Attacks and Save Fish Stocks," The Telegraph, November 3, 2008
Nutritionally Enhanced GE-Foods Still "Years Away"
A story in the November 3rd Washington Post by Marc Kaufman surveys the prospects for nutritionally enhanced, GE-foods and concludes that such foods are still "years away."
The piece begins with an overview of the generally optimistic, but unfulfilled hopes for nutritionally enhanced GE-foods. Kaufman then describes a purple tomato that has been engineered to express high levels of anthocyanins, the antioxidant compounds that give many fruits and vegetables their deep, rich colors. Genes from snapdragon plants were used to create the purple tomatoes.
Cathie Martin, one of the scientists working on the purple tomato, acknowledges that there are several conventional foods with elevated levels of anthocyanins, in particular dark raspberries and blackberries. The goal, however, is to create a common food like tomatoes with elevated anthocyanins levels so that more people might someday increase their daily intakes of antioxidants. Martin argues that a person could get enough antioxidants for a day by eating one purple tomato, compared to five servings of conventional fruits and vegetables.
Other teams are working to boost the level of resveratrol in grapes and wine, an antioxidant known to help protect heart health and trigger a sense of fullness (often referred to as satiety).
Typically, two or more genes, and/or transcription factors, must be engineered into a food crop to enhance nutritional quality. These more complex genetic modifications can lead to a diversity of unanticipated outcomes, and will require careful study before approval by regulators.
Margaret Mellon, a molecular biologist working for the Union of Concerned Scientists, expresses skepticism that the biotechnology industry will be able to deliver on its promise to create nutritionally-enhanced foods. She states that – "Clearly, genetically engineered fruits and vegetables for nutritional benefits has proven far more difficult than the industry expected."
Editor's Note: Consumers hoping to boost their antioxidant intakes do not have to wait for purple tomatoes, nor does the food industry need GE-technology to dramatically boost antioxidant nutrient density in common, conventional fruits and vegetables.
Our research shows that a well-managed, long-term organic farm will produce fruits and vegetables that are, on average, about 30% higher in total antioxidants. By choosing from the dozens of fruits and vegetables that are naturally high in antioxidants, and then buying organic, consumers can easily meet and exceed their daily need for around 3,500 ORAC units, a goal for daily antioxidant intakes put forth by scientists at Tufts University.
See our antioxidant "State of Science Review," and especially Table 2, where 37 foods are listed that deliver 1,000 or more ORAC units per serving. Wild blackberries, a super-rich source of anthocyanins, contain 13,353 ORAC units per 1 cup serving – more than three-times a person's daily needs.
Check out the table to learn which ten foods deliver 100 or more ORAC units per calorie consumed. Just a 35 calorie portion of these foods delivers a person's daily dose of antioxidants.
One other important point is relevant to the notion of a single purple tomato meeting one's daily needs for antioxidants. Scientists agree that everyone should consume several antioxidant rich foods every day.
For optimal health benefits, choose fruits and vegetables with multiple colors and flavors. Spread out the consumption of these nutrient-rich foods throughout the day. A greater portion of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables are likely to be taken up by your body when consumed in this way.
A diverse pattern of consumption of nutrient-dense foods throughout the day, encompassing multiple colors, will help assure stable levels of antioxidants in your bloodstream, where they are needed to protect against cell damage triggered by reactive oxygen species, otherwise known as free radicals.
New Research Raises Questions about Bt Corn and Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
While the two Bt toxins engineered into Bt corn are not directly toxic to bees, scientists have begun to explore the indirect impacts of exposure to these toxins. One team has found that exposure to the Cry 1Ab endotoxin in Bt corn can alter the learning behavior of bees, as they associate odors with nectar sources.
Scientists active in the field are focusing on corn as a potential cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, particularly in Europe. Some speculate that the Bt toxins in GM-corn are having some subtle effect, perhaps in conjunction with the nicotinyl insecticides used as corn seed treatments.
Source: R. Ramierez-Romeo et al., "Does Cry1Ab protein affect learning performances of the honey bee Apis mellifera L.," Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Vol. 70: 327-333.
Editor's Note: For several months the Center has been working on the potential for organic farming to enhance bee health. We hope to release later this fall our first report on this subject. Look for some surprising insights into the likely causes of colony collapse disorder.
Marsh Supermarkets Switching to 100% Organic Apples and Pears
The Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets chain has shifted its entire bulk apple and pear categories to certified organic fruit. March operates 99 markets, plus five O'Malia's Food Markets in Indiana and Ohio.
The organic fruit will be offered at the same price as conventional fruit. Much of the organic fruit will be sourced in Washington State.
Source: Sustainable Food News, October 23, 2008
Editor's Note: Great strides have been made in Washington State in building up the acreage and efficiencies in organic tree fruit production. Several new and/or expanded packing sheds are now 100% dedicated to organic.
One of the positive outcomes brought about by recent industry growth is the ability of a regional chain like Marsh to offer organic apples and pears at prices comparable to conventional fruit.
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The number of hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa has increased 20% since 1990. One-third of Kenyans were undernourished in 2000-2002.
In Uganda and Tanzania, less than one kilogram of fertilizer is applied on the average hectare of cropland.
The first $300 bag of seed corn will be sold this winter, for planting in 2009. The approximate 80,000 seeds in the bag will plant about three acres of corn, at a cost of roughly $100 per acre.
The seed corn will contain four to eight traits added through genetic engineering: two or more to make the corn herbicide-tolerant, and two or more to combat insects. Plus, the corn will be treated with a systemic insecticide seed treatment posing risks to bees.
In the 1970s farmers spent $15.00 to $20.00 per acre for seed corn.
An estimated one-half of the water used for irrigated agriculture worldwide is drawn from non-renewable resources.
It is common for water tables to fall 10 feet per year in areas with extensive irrigation.
Dow AgroSciences created 350 new research, development, and commercialization positions in 2008 to support aggressive goals for growth in seeds and pesticides.
California has adopted a new State-wide program designed to cut CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The program will create 400,000 new jobs and increase the California economy by an estimated $76 billion per year, through greater economic efficiencies.
The EPA has approved methyl iodide as a replacement for methyl bromide, despite clear evidence that it is neurotoxic, irritates lungs, suppresses thyroid hormones, alters gene expression and damages DNA, and is a possible human carcinogen.
Fifty-four scientists, including five Nobel laureates and dozens of members of the National Academy of Sciences, sent the EPA a letter in 2007 arguing against approval of methyl iodide because of significant risks to farm workers and those living near treated fields.
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Comments on the 2009 Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs and WIC
Excerpts of the Center 's October 13, 2008 comments to the USDA on the reauthorization of the WIC program.
The full comments are posted on the Center's website
We strongly support reauthorization and strengthening of the Child Nutrition Programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). These programs have met a vital need and will no doubt continue to provide essential assistance to some of the nation's most vulnerable, especially if the current recession proves deep and long-lasting.
In the reauthorization process, we urge the Department to continue moving toward more flexibility and choice, as well as a more significant role for state and local agencies involved in program implementation...
The general nutritional goals and requirements of WIC and other nutrition programs should be established at the federal level. We strongly support the already announced decision to include fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains in the 2009 WIC program. Many states are already working on how to incorporate these critical food groups in the WIC program in the most cost-effective way.
We are aware that hundreds of mothers in many states have participated in focus groups discussing changes in the WIC program. We are told that somewhere between a quarter and two-thirds of the mothers at most focus groups expressed a need for, and support the opportunity to choose organic foods and beverages bearing the USDA National Organic Program seal, especially for dairy products and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Why Organic Food Belongs in the WIC Program
In the 1980s concern emerged among toxicologists and pesticide regulatory scientists over the human developmental risks posed by pesticides. At that time, nearly all aspects of pesticide regulation were based on laboratory experiments carried out with healthy, adult rats and mice. In 1989 the Environmental Protection Agency asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to carry out a thorough assessment of the risks posed by pesticide to pregnant women, infants, and children, and the adequacy of then-current pesticide regulatory policies. In 1993 the NAS released the widely acclaimed report Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children.
The report explained that infants and children are not just little adults, and that they face unique risks when exposed to certain pesticides, especially during critical windows of development...
While most WIC mothers do not know which foods or pesticides pose the greatest risk, or why, their desire to avoid exposures for themselves and their families is easy to understand, as is their interest in purchasing organic food through the WIC program.
Compelling research carried out by Dr. Chensheng (Alex) Lu and colleagues at the University of Washington and Emory University over the past six years shows that serving organic food and beverages to children, especially fruit and vegetable-based products, is the surest way to essentially eliminate risky dietary exposures. Their research has focused on the high-risk class of insecticides called the organophosphates, and their findings are published in three seminal research reports in Environmental Health Perspectives (Lu et al., "Dietary Intake and Its Contribution to Longitudinal Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure in Urban/Suburban Children," published online 1/15/2008; Lu, et al., "Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children's Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides," Vol. 114, No. 2, 2005; and Curl et al., "Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban preschool children with organic and conventional diets," Vol. 111, No. 3, March, 2003).
In an analysis encompassing most major children's foods, we reached essentially the same conclusion by analyzing the impact of an organic diet on pesticide dietary risk levels... Switching to organic food reduces pesticide risks, as measured by the Dietary Risk Index, by over 95%.
...We have issued reports in the last two years drawing on the growing number of published studies comparing organic and conventional foods that conclude that organic production systems, on average, produce food that is more nutrient and antioxidant-dense. The typically higher level of plant secondary metabolites and polyphenols in organic fruits and vegetables helps explain why organic produce is, on average, tastier than conventionally grown produce...
The case for including organic milk and dairy products in the WIC and other nutrition programs is particularly compelling. Milk is obviously the most important single food in the diets of most infants and children. Organic dairy farmers are required by NOP regulations to provide access to pasture for their cows during the months of the year when weather supports pasture growth. Numerous studies have shown consistently and conclusively that cows consuming 30% or more of their daily dry matter intake from pasture produce milk that is higher in protein and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a heart-healthy fat that plays important roles in development.
A recent study published in the biomedical literature found that mothers with a high proportion of dairy intake from an organic origin (>90 percent organic dairy) have higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk. Rumenic acid is responsible for most of the health benefits of CLA from pasture-produced milk. Another recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition reported that consumption of organic dairy products was associated with lower risk of eczema in the first two years of life (Kummeling et al., Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands," British Journal of Nutrition, 2007).
...mothers are on solid ground in expecting over time a nutritional premium from the routine purchase of organic milk and dairy products.
In addition to the nutrition premium associated with organic dairy products, cows on organic farms are not administered supplemental hormones to increase production. They are not given antibiotics to treat mastitis and other common infections, nor antimicrobial feed supplements to help them tolerate high-energy, high-grain rations deficient in fiber and forages (the "natural" feed of ruminant animals). They are not given reproductive hormones to increase the success rate when artificial insemination is used for breeding...
Avoiding exposures to food additives and artificial colors is another reason to provide WIC mothers the option to purchase certified organic food and beverages. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the artificial food dyes approved for use in food by the Food and Drug Administration are exacerbating behavioral problems, especially hyperactivity, among children and adolescents. The U.K. Food Standards Agency has asked food companies to voluntarily end use of the six artificial food colorings approved for use in the U.K., because of the evidence that removal of the colors reduces the severity of behavioral problems in many children.
By choosing to serve children organic foods, mothers and school systems can dramatically reduce the daily intake of food additives, a clearly positive, preventive step that will help reduce the number of school-age children afflicted with hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. It turns out that teachers are right -- good nutrition is, in fact, a pillar of sound education policy.
The Organic Price Premium
Given the goals of the WIC program and the reality that WIC funds are limited relative to need for the program, efforts have been made to seek out and approve those staple foods that deliver the most calories per dollar spent. The generally higher cost per serving of most of organic food will limit the quantity of a given food that a mother can purchase with a fixed WIC allotment. The same economic calculus applies to other USDA nutrition programs, although the premium tends to be smaller when organic foods are purchased in bulk.
The generally higher nutrient density in organic foods, coupled with the near-absence of pesticide, hormone, and food additive risks, justify a higher price for organic food. But how much? No one can say with certainty because we lack the science and methods needed to estimate the magnitude of the economic benefits from consumption of organic food. Plus, such calculations will be highly circumstantial and variable, and require lifelong and indeed multi-generational health monitoring and data collection.
Despite uncertainty about the magnitude of the benefits stemming from consumption of organic food, some mothers have decided that organic food is a worthwhile investment in their children's well-being. The conscious choice to seek out organic food, even when it costs more, reflects a commitment by mothers to provide their children with the highest quality food possible and the safest path through the critical early years of development.
Given the breadth of evidence in support of a range of benefits from consumption of organic food, the Department would need compelling reasons to prohibit mothers from purchasing organic foods through the WIC program. In particular, the Department would need to explain why mothers should not be free to choose a somewhat smaller quantity of what they regard as higher-quality food.
We believe the USDA should work to cultivate in Americans an appreciation of and desire for high quality food, coupled with the need for a more balanced diet. The WIC and other nutrition programs can do both through its educational activities and outreach services and by providing freedom to choose organic products for those who wish to purchase them.
"Time to Deal with Pesticide Risks in California's Coastal Communities"
By Charles Benbrook, Chief Scientist, The Organic Center
[Excerpts of the full commentary follow]
A Santa Cruz jury recently returned a verdict that secures a brighter future for organic farming in California, and perhaps over time, if adopted as precedent, throughout the United States. The jury found that a commercial pesticide applicator, Western Farm Service, had an obligation to prevent toxic pesticides from drifting after application with wind and fog onto Jacobs Farm's organic crops in Wilder Ranch State Park. While Jacobs Farm was the clear winner in this case, press coverage of the trial and its conclusions missed the main significance of the jury's decision.
This case was about the Golden Rule. Federal pesticide law and regulations place considerable burden on pesticide applicators – whether a farmer or a commercial company like WFS – to prevent off target movement of applied pesticides. One of the goals in setting forth this clear-cut responsibility is to prevent "economic damage" to surrounding personal property, including crops on nearby farms (whether organic or conventional), trees and shrubs in a homeowner's yard, or other property, such as honey bees used as pollinators.
Applicators of pesticides need to assume responsibility when using toxic materials to prevent such damage. In this case, Western Farm Service was told that their use of organophosphate insecticides was unintentionally damaging the crops on Jacobs Farm by rendering them unmarketable. Whether intentional or not, if a pesticide applicator becomes aware that a particular use of a pesticide is damaging a neighbor's crop, the applicator must take steps to understand why and prevent future damage. In this case, the applicator failed this test...
...Western Farm Service knew that the fog was moving its chemicals off of the crops it treated, and it did nothing to prevent or address that movement onto nearby organic crops.
The company clearly did not meet its obligations in this case. The legal defense put forth by attorneys for Western Farm Service points to a hole in pesticide regulatory law and polices – ignoring the well-known fact that coastal fog can carry pesticides off target and deposit them where they do not belong. This hole exposes both people and crops in coastal California to serious risk of harm from fog-borne pesticides...
The pesticides in question here are some of the most toxic known to man. If state and county government agencies are going to allow the ongoing use of organophosphates, regulators and applicators must find a way to do so that does not endanger the general public or contaminate neighboring crops. As established in this lawsuit, the State code governing lawful applications of pesticides must be changed to encompass off target movement caused by volatization and fog.
...This case will likely trigger a series of legal maneuvers and attempts to change pesticide regulatory policy. The underlying question, however, is whether our laws and public policies should turn a blind eye to a recurrent problem, or confront and solve the problem head on. As the process unfolds, hopefully the general public, especially those living in coastal communities, will have a chance to weigh in on this central question.
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"The Science of Organics" Session Draws a Big Crowd at the ADA Meeting
The annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association drew over 10,000 people to Chicago in late October. A session held October 27th was entitled "The Science of Organics: Nourishing the Land, Animals, and People." Dr. Chris McCullum-Gomex moderated the session and presentations were made by the Center's Chief Scientist Chuck Benbrook and by Helen Costello, an organic farmer and registered dietitian (RD).
Despite dozens of competing sessions and an active trade floor, over 500 people filled the meeting room to the point the fire marshal closed the doors. Some 200 people listened from out in the hall. Helen Costello asked the audience to raise their hand if a patient had asked them a question about organic food in the last few months. Over 75% of the hands went up in the room.
A lively and positive Q&A session reflected a high level of interest in learning more about what organic food and farming has to contribute to a healthier diet and lifestyle.
A fact-filled "Organic Q&A" brochure done by Organic Valley was distributed during the meeting and was the focus of many interesting exchanges.
We have posted the two presentations and the "Organic Q&A on the Center's website. Email Dr. Benbrook to receive a copy of his presentation in Powerpoint.
The Center would like to extend a "thank you" to Susan Roberts, Director of the Food and Society Policy Fellowship, for organizing and proposing the session to the ADA.
Mark your calendar for a gala evening in Hollywood when The Organic Center presents its West Coast fundraiser and gourmet organic reception on Dec. 9, 2008, 6:30 – 9:30 pm, at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel in Universal City. Tickets to the evening fundraiser and reception are $125 per person. Visit www.organic-center.org or call 303.499.1840 to purchase tickets. The Organic Center will also present a seminar on organic and the influence of Hollywood during the Hollywood Goes Green Conference, held Dec. 8-9, 2008 at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel. For information, visit www.hollywoodgoesgreen.com.
"Living Soil, Food Quality, and the Future of Food" Session at the AAAS Annual Meeting
The Center organized with Preston Andrews of Washington State University a 90-minute symposium that will be part of the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The session will be held February 13, 2009 at 8:30am. The focus will be on the impacts of long-term organic management on soil quality and food nutrient density. The AAAS meeting will be held February 12-16, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Jerry Glover of The Land Institute will present a paper entitled "Crops, Roots, and Soil Biological Processes: Synergistic Interactions." Preston Andrews will cover fruit and vegetable crop responses to soil management. Alyson Mitchell of U.C. Davis will present on the topic "Nutrient Dense Foods: Phytochemicals and Health Benefits."
The Organic Center Sponsors Two Sessions at the 2009 EcoFarm Conference
The Center helped organize two sessions at the January 22-24, 2008 EcoFarm conference at Asilomar, in Monterey, California. During the "War on Bugs" workshop on Friday, 10:30am-12:30, Will Allen will address the evolution of the war on bugs over the last century. Chuck Benbrook will discuss the impacts and implications of the contemporary trend toward systematic pesticides and genetic engineering technology that strives to get pesticide toxins inside of plants.
On Saturday from 8:30am to 10:00, Dr. John Reganold of Washington State University will join with Chuck Benbrook in a workshop entitled "Why the Science is Starting to Show Benefits for Organic." Dr. Reganold will present results of recent studies at WSU comparing the performance of organic and conventional farming systems, and Chuck will provide an update of recent Organic Center research.
Keep Up with Events by Visiting the Organic Center Blog
Managing Director Steven Hoffman has started an Organic Center blog that will help readers of "The Scoop" stay current on the activities of the Center, events, and other breaking developments.
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Core Truths on the Major Benefits of Organic Food and Farming
Core Truths is a ground breaking compilation of the most current research on organic agriculture. This highly readable and graphically stunning 108-page coffee table book documents the verifiable health and environmental benefits of organic products.
Core Truths includes fascinating research about why:
Organic often tastes better
Organic produce contains, on average, 30 percent higher levels of antioxidants
Organic farming can cut mycotoxin risk by over 50 percent
Organic food dramatically reduces pesticide exposure
Organic farms typically use less energy
Order your copy now! Only $30 (plus $5 shipping and handling in US).
Click here for a preview of the book.
Click here to order.
Donate $100 Now! Receive Free Copy of Core Truths
Be a part of supporting vital research about the science behind organic. Make a gift of $100 to The Organic Center now, and we'll send you a free, hard-cover copy of our ground-breaking book, Core Truths (a $35 value.)
Email Seleyn DeYarus for details.
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The Organic Center Features Jerry Garcia Artwork
Do you or someone you know love The Grateful Dead? Do you enjoy beautiful original works of art? If so, select a giclee of Jerry Garcia original artwork and benefit The Organic Center. This unique fundraising initiative to benefit The Organic Center is made possible through the generosity of filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia and features the series, "In the Garden," by the late Jerry Garcia. Individual prints are $250, or get the full series for $1,000. To order your Jerry Garcia art, click here.
The Organic Center's on-line fundraising program - Become a Friend of The Organic Center
We can now accept secure on-line donations with both yearly and monthly giving options. We also have wonderful gifts to say thank you for your support – including a free one-year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine, organic t-shirt, organic tote bag, our book, Core Truths and Dr. Alan Greene's new book, Raising Baby Green. We have many ways to say thank you for supporting our work.
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Low Income Fourth Graders Face Heightened Risk of Diabetes from Too Many Calories, Not Enough Nutrients
A Texas team studied the diets, weight, body mass index, and diabetes risk factors for a cohort of 1,402 fourth graders composed of Mexican American (80%), African American (10%), Asian (5%), and non-Hispanic white children (5%). Nearly 75% of the children lived in households with less than $20,000 income.
Almost half lacked adequate calories in their diet, yet 33% were obese and already, in the 4th grade, 7% had high blood glucose levels. Diets were composed of energy- and calorie-dense foods like cookies, chips, and ice cream, and were low in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.
The authors concluded that these children faced a high risk of developing diabetes and were in need of substantial dietary interventions, increasing in particular daily intakes of nutrient-dense foods.
Source: Roberto P. Trevino et al., "Diabetes Risk, Low Fitness, and Energy Insufficiency Levels among Children from Poor Families," Journal of the American Dietetic Association, November, 2008: pages 1846-1853
Editor's Note: Consumption of organic fruits and vegetables would raise by about 30% the levels of critical antioxidants in the diets of these children. Given the difficulty in getting some children to eat fruits and vegetables, it is important to maximize the nutrient content per serving.
The difficulty in procuring ripe, tasty fresh fruits and vegetables (organic or conventional) in the winter months is a major hurdle encountered by many schools. When kids are served pears hard enough to use on the ball field, dried up oranges, or grapes that are on their way to raisin-land, it is no wonder much of the fruit winds up in the trash stream. The food industry needs to develop better ways to provide schools with well-preserved, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables that are tasty yet not over-sweetened.
Common Herbicide Increases Risk of Colon Cancer and Leukemia
A government epidemiological study has established a connection between occupational exposures to the thiocarbamate herbicide EPTC and human cancer. The research is part of the Agricultural Health Study and focused on EPTC applicators in Iowa and North Carolina between 1993 and 1997.
While the team called for further research, they found an association between EPTC exposures and colon cancer and leukemia.
Source: Dana M. van Bemmel et al., "S-Ethyl-N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate Exposure and Cancer Evidence among Male Pesticide Applicators in the Agricultural Health Study: A Prospective Cohort," Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 116, No. 11: pages 1541-1546.
Impressive Benefits Triggered by Organic Farming in Africa Receive Strong UN Endorsement
In the October "The Scoop," we featured a commentary by two United Nations leaders made upon the release of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD)-United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report "Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa." In this issue, we highlight a few of the report's remarkably strong – and hopeful – scientific findings.
The benefits to organic agriculture were linked to enhancement of five capital assets critical in promoting food security – natural, social, human, physical, and financial.
Multiple studies have shown that yields remain stable, and often rise after conversion to organic agriculture, a finding that "...challenges the popular myth that organic agriculture cannot increase agricultural productivity."
Moreover, organic agriculture is making important, positive contributions to farm incomes and rural economic activity. These benefits could be enhanced, according to the report, by adoption of more supportive policies and development strategies.
USDA Research on the Organic Food Industry Provides Intriguing Insights
The USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has released an October 2008 report entitled "Using Vertically Coordinated Relationships to Overcome Tight Supply in the Organic Market." The report is based on an ERS survey of handlers of organic food products in 2004.
The authors note that the growth of organic sales in conventional supermarkets and "box stores" has created shortages in the supply of both ingredients needed to make organic food products, and in various organic product classes.
13% of handlers reported inability to meet market demand, while another 16% reported minor shortages.
44% of handlers found needed ingredients or products in short supply in 2004, especially coffee, soybeans, milk, seeds, corn, and nuts.
By volume, 20% of organic products were imported, while 22% were sourced locally (defined as within a one-hour drive of a manufacturing/processing facility).
The organic sector uses written contracts at a much higher rate than the conventional food system – 44% of volume moving through organic handlers, compared to 26% among conventional handlers. Another 27% of organic volume is based on verbal agreements and commitments.
The study concludes with a discussion of the reasons why close relationships are likely to remain common in the organic food industry as overall sales increase.
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Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo, Inc. Wins Precedent-Setting Lawsuit on Chemical Trespass
On October 8, 2008, the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz filed a major judgment in the case brought by Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo against Western Farm Service. Over the preceding three years, Western Farm Service (WFS) had sprayed organophosphate (OP) insecticides on vegetable crops near fields of organic herbs grown by Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo in the Wilder Ranch State Park.
Residues of the OP insecticides diazinon, dimethoate, and chlorpyrifos were first detected in organic herbs picked and shipped to Whole Foods in 2006, as part of that retailer's routine pesticide testing program. This unexpected finding compelled Jacobs Farm to report the residues to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Since there is no tolerance covering residues of these insecticides in conventional herbs, the crop had to be destroyed, costing Jacobs Farm hundreds of thousands of dollars in crop year 2006, and then again in 2007.
If this incident had involved a major field or vegetable crop like potatoes or tomatoes, the presence of low-level residues of these OP insecticides on organic produce would not have required destruction of the crop, assuming that a legal tolerance is in place for these pesticides in conventional potatoes and tomatoes. But for many specialty crops, including most herbs, there are few tolerances in place, and hence any movement of pesticides onto an organic herb field could trigger heavy financial loses.
When extensive efforts by Jacobs Farm to work with neighboring farmers and WFS to prevent future damage failed, leading to additional loses in 2007, Jacobs Farm decided to turn to the courts to seek damages and relief from this ongoing source of chemical trespass.
A jury found WFS negligent and concluded that this negligence was a "substantial factor in causing harm to Jacobs Farm." Western Farm Service was found guilty of negligence, trespass, and causing a nuisance. Damages of $1 million dollars were awarded to Jacobs Farm, plus attorney's fees and costs associated with the case.
Western Farm Service is still exploring whether to appeal the court's decision. On the one hand, the pesticide industry and conventional growers view this as a potentially significant, precedent-setting case, suggesting that an appeal would be likely. But if unsuccessful, the decision of an appellate court to affirm the court's judgment would lend greater weight to the precedent set by this case.
While a major milestone has passed, we have almost certainly not heard the last word on the Jacobs Farm-WFS case. The issues underlying the court's judgment and damage award are of tremendous economic significance, especially in states where organic and conventional farms often exist in the same valley.
For more on what's at stake, see the commentary "Time to Deal with Pesticide Risks in California's Coastal Communities." An abbreviated version of the commentary appears later in this issue of "The Scoop", and the full commentary is on the Center's website.
"The Problem with [GE] Nutritionally Enhanced Plants"
Dr. David Schubert is a highly regarded molecular biologist focusing on neurological development. He is based at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California and has just published a provocative "Perspective" piece on applications of genetic engineering to enhance the nutrient density of plants in the Journal of Medicinal Food (Vol. 11, No. 4).
Schubert explains why it has been difficult for the biotechnology industry to develop protein-based pharmaceuticals in plants. Problems arise with protein-based plant compounds because of their reactivity, especially their proclivity toward glycosylation. As sugars attach and are cleaved from protein compounds produced in plants, both their metabolism and bioavailability changes, making it very difficult to control doses, predict interactions with drugs or other biologically active secondary plant metabolites, or achieve consistently a desired impact on human health.
On the other hand, Schubert points out that nutritionally-enhanced plants (NEPs) are less subject to such problems and are likely to be viewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS).
But NEPs face their own unique problems, according to Schubert. For example, Golden rice is genetically engineered to produce higher levels of B-carotene (precursor of Vitamin A). Many enzymes are known to alter the form and metabolism of carotenoids like B-carotene, producing the common retinoids – retinol (Vitamin A), retinal, and retinoic acid (RA). Retinal is oxidized to retinoic acid, which is far more active and toxic than Vitamin A.
While low doses of RA play an essential role in neurological development, they can bioaccumulate in fat tissues and plasma, and research has shown that multiple, low doses are more toxic than a single, high dose. Given the importance of RA, its toxicity, and the potential to alter RA levels and forms as a result of genetic engineering, Schubert warns that –
"...excess RA, or RA derivatives are exceedingly dangerous, particularly to infants and during pregnancy...extensive safety testing should be required before the introduction of golden rice as food."
(The most common PMP (Plant-made Pharmaceuticals) crops that have been grown in U.S. field trials are corn, tobacco, and rice. Other crops being investigated include alfalfa, potato, safflower, soybean, sugarcane, and tomato.)
In the case of plants genetically-engineered to produce higher levels of fatty acids like omega 3s or conjugated linoleic acid, Schubert points out that GE-plant transformations can lead to the formation of slightly altered forms of fatty acids, which in turn can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
In other cases, plants expressing markedly elevated levels of certain nutrients, or forms of nutrients, might push periodic intake into the possibly toxic zone. (Recall from past stories in "The Scoop" that most beneficial antioxidants become pro-oxidants at excessively high doses).
While minimally necessary intake levels have been carefully studied for many nutrients, possibly damaging high levels of consumption have received much less attention.
GE Soybeans with Elevated Omega 3 Fatty Acids in the Pipeline
Monsanto has genetically engineered soybeans to increase the level of omega 3 fatty acid. A small, preliminary study carried out at the University of South Dakota found that consumption of the GE-soybeans increased blood omega 3 levels by 4 to 5 percent, enough to reduce the risk of heart attacks by as much as 50%.
Monsanto hopes the new soybeans will be approved for commercial planting by 2011, leading to consumer products in the supermarket by 2012.
Source: Graham Tibbetts, "GM Soya Bean Could Prevent Heart Attacks and Save Fish Stocks," The Telegraph, November 3, 2008
Nutritionally Enhanced GE-Foods Still "Years Away"
A story in the November 3rd Washington Post by Marc Kaufman surveys the prospects for nutritionally enhanced, GE-foods and concludes that such foods are still "years away."
The piece begins with an overview of the generally optimistic, but unfulfilled hopes for nutritionally enhanced GE-foods. Kaufman then describes a purple tomato that has been engineered to express high levels of anthocyanins, the antioxidant compounds that give many fruits and vegetables their deep, rich colors. Genes from snapdragon plants were used to create the purple tomatoes.
Cathie Martin, one of the scientists working on the purple tomato, acknowledges that there are several conventional foods with elevated levels of anthocyanins, in particular dark raspberries and blackberries. The goal, however, is to create a common food like tomatoes with elevated anthocyanins levels so that more people might someday increase their daily intakes of antioxidants. Martin argues that a person could get enough antioxidants for a day by eating one purple tomato, compared to five servings of conventional fruits and vegetables.
Other teams are working to boost the level of resveratrol in grapes and wine, an antioxidant known to help protect heart health and trigger a sense of fullness (often referred to as satiety).
Typically, two or more genes, and/or transcription factors, must be engineered into a food crop to enhance nutritional quality. These more complex genetic modifications can lead to a diversity of unanticipated outcomes, and will require careful study before approval by regulators.
Margaret Mellon, a molecular biologist working for the Union of Concerned Scientists, expresses skepticism that the biotechnology industry will be able to deliver on its promise to create nutritionally-enhanced foods. She states that – "Clearly, genetically engineered fruits and vegetables for nutritional benefits has proven far more difficult than the industry expected."
Editor's Note: Consumers hoping to boost their antioxidant intakes do not have to wait for purple tomatoes, nor does the food industry need GE-technology to dramatically boost antioxidant nutrient density in common, conventional fruits and vegetables.
Our research shows that a well-managed, long-term organic farm will produce fruits and vegetables that are, on average, about 30% higher in total antioxidants. By choosing from the dozens of fruits and vegetables that are naturally high in antioxidants, and then buying organic, consumers can easily meet and exceed their daily need for around 3,500 ORAC units, a goal for daily antioxidant intakes put forth by scientists at Tufts University.
See our antioxidant "State of Science Review," and especially Table 2, where 37 foods are listed that deliver 1,000 or more ORAC units per serving. Wild blackberries, a super-rich source of anthocyanins, contain 13,353 ORAC units per 1 cup serving – more than three-times a person's daily needs.
Check out the table to learn which ten foods deliver 100 or more ORAC units per calorie consumed. Just a 35 calorie portion of these foods delivers a person's daily dose of antioxidants.
One other important point is relevant to the notion of a single purple tomato meeting one's daily needs for antioxidants. Scientists agree that everyone should consume several antioxidant rich foods every day.
For optimal health benefits, choose fruits and vegetables with multiple colors and flavors. Spread out the consumption of these nutrient-rich foods throughout the day. A greater portion of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables are likely to be taken up by your body when consumed in this way.
A diverse pattern of consumption of nutrient-dense foods throughout the day, encompassing multiple colors, will help assure stable levels of antioxidants in your bloodstream, where they are needed to protect against cell damage triggered by reactive oxygen species, otherwise known as free radicals.
New Research Raises Questions about Bt Corn and Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
While the two Bt toxins engineered into Bt corn are not directly toxic to bees, scientists have begun to explore the indirect impacts of exposure to these toxins. One team has found that exposure to the Cry 1Ab endotoxin in Bt corn can alter the learning behavior of bees, as they associate odors with nectar sources.
Scientists active in the field are focusing on corn as a potential cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, particularly in Europe. Some speculate that the Bt toxins in GM-corn are having some subtle effect, perhaps in conjunction with the nicotinyl insecticides used as corn seed treatments.
Source: R. Ramierez-Romeo et al., "Does Cry1Ab protein affect learning performances of the honey bee Apis mellifera L.," Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Vol. 70: 327-333.
Editor's Note: For several months the Center has been working on the potential for organic farming to enhance bee health. We hope to release later this fall our first report on this subject. Look for some surprising insights into the likely causes of colony collapse disorder.
Marsh Supermarkets Switching to 100% Organic Apples and Pears
The Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets chain has shifted its entire bulk apple and pear categories to certified organic fruit. March operates 99 markets, plus five O'Malia's Food Markets in Indiana and Ohio.
The organic fruit will be offered at the same price as conventional fruit. Much of the organic fruit will be sourced in Washington State.
Source: Sustainable Food News, October 23, 2008
Editor's Note: Great strides have been made in Washington State in building up the acreage and efficiencies in organic tree fruit production. Several new and/or expanded packing sheds are now 100% dedicated to organic.
One of the positive outcomes brought about by recent industry growth is the ability of a regional chain like Marsh to offer organic apples and pears at prices comparable to conventional fruit.
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The number of hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa has increased 20% since 1990. One-third of Kenyans were undernourished in 2000-2002.
In Uganda and Tanzania, less than one kilogram of fertilizer is applied on the average hectare of cropland.
The first $300 bag of seed corn will be sold this winter, for planting in 2009. The approximate 80,000 seeds in the bag will plant about three acres of corn, at a cost of roughly $100 per acre.
The seed corn will contain four to eight traits added through genetic engineering: two or more to make the corn herbicide-tolerant, and two or more to combat insects. Plus, the corn will be treated with a systemic insecticide seed treatment posing risks to bees.
In the 1970s farmers spent $15.00 to $20.00 per acre for seed corn.
An estimated one-half of the water used for irrigated agriculture worldwide is drawn from non-renewable resources.
It is common for water tables to fall 10 feet per year in areas with extensive irrigation.
Dow AgroSciences created 350 new research, development, and commercialization positions in 2008 to support aggressive goals for growth in seeds and pesticides.
California has adopted a new State-wide program designed to cut CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The program will create 400,000 new jobs and increase the California economy by an estimated $76 billion per year, through greater economic efficiencies.
The EPA has approved methyl iodide as a replacement for methyl bromide, despite clear evidence that it is neurotoxic, irritates lungs, suppresses thyroid hormones, alters gene expression and damages DNA, and is a possible human carcinogen.
Fifty-four scientists, including five Nobel laureates and dozens of members of the National Academy of Sciences, sent the EPA a letter in 2007 arguing against approval of methyl iodide because of significant risks to farm workers and those living near treated fields.
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Comments on the 2009 Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs and WIC
Excerpts of the Center 's October 13, 2008 comments to the USDA on the reauthorization of the WIC program.
The full comments are posted on the Center's website
We strongly support reauthorization and strengthening of the Child Nutrition Programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). These programs have met a vital need and will no doubt continue to provide essential assistance to some of the nation's most vulnerable, especially if the current recession proves deep and long-lasting.
In the reauthorization process, we urge the Department to continue moving toward more flexibility and choice, as well as a more significant role for state and local agencies involved in program implementation...
The general nutritional goals and requirements of WIC and other nutrition programs should be established at the federal level. We strongly support the already announced decision to include fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains in the 2009 WIC program. Many states are already working on how to incorporate these critical food groups in the WIC program in the most cost-effective way.
We are aware that hundreds of mothers in many states have participated in focus groups discussing changes in the WIC program. We are told that somewhere between a quarter and two-thirds of the mothers at most focus groups expressed a need for, and support the opportunity to choose organic foods and beverages bearing the USDA National Organic Program seal, especially for dairy products and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Why Organic Food Belongs in the WIC Program
In the 1980s concern emerged among toxicologists and pesticide regulatory scientists over the human developmental risks posed by pesticides. At that time, nearly all aspects of pesticide regulation were based on laboratory experiments carried out with healthy, adult rats and mice. In 1989 the Environmental Protection Agency asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to carry out a thorough assessment of the risks posed by pesticide to pregnant women, infants, and children, and the adequacy of then-current pesticide regulatory policies. In 1993 the NAS released the widely acclaimed report Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children.
The report explained that infants and children are not just little adults, and that they face unique risks when exposed to certain pesticides, especially during critical windows of development...
While most WIC mothers do not know which foods or pesticides pose the greatest risk, or why, their desire to avoid exposures for themselves and their families is easy to understand, as is their interest in purchasing organic food through the WIC program.
Compelling research carried out by Dr. Chensheng (Alex) Lu and colleagues at the University of Washington and Emory University over the past six years shows that serving organic food and beverages to children, especially fruit and vegetable-based products, is the surest way to essentially eliminate risky dietary exposures. Their research has focused on the high-risk class of insecticides called the organophosphates, and their findings are published in three seminal research reports in Environmental Health Perspectives (Lu et al., "Dietary Intake and Its Contribution to Longitudinal Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure in Urban/Suburban Children," published online 1/15/2008; Lu, et al., "Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children's Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides," Vol. 114, No. 2, 2005; and Curl et al., "Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban preschool children with organic and conventional diets," Vol. 111, No. 3, March, 2003).
In an analysis encompassing most major children's foods, we reached essentially the same conclusion by analyzing the impact of an organic diet on pesticide dietary risk levels... Switching to organic food reduces pesticide risks, as measured by the Dietary Risk Index, by over 95%.
...We have issued reports in the last two years drawing on the growing number of published studies comparing organic and conventional foods that conclude that organic production systems, on average, produce food that is more nutrient and antioxidant-dense. The typically higher level of plant secondary metabolites and polyphenols in organic fruits and vegetables helps explain why organic produce is, on average, tastier than conventionally grown produce...
The case for including organic milk and dairy products in the WIC and other nutrition programs is particularly compelling. Milk is obviously the most important single food in the diets of most infants and children. Organic dairy farmers are required by NOP regulations to provide access to pasture for their cows during the months of the year when weather supports pasture growth. Numerous studies have shown consistently and conclusively that cows consuming 30% or more of their daily dry matter intake from pasture produce milk that is higher in protein and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a heart-healthy fat that plays important roles in development.
A recent study published in the biomedical literature found that mothers with a high proportion of dairy intake from an organic origin (>90 percent organic dairy) have higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk. Rumenic acid is responsible for most of the health benefits of CLA from pasture-produced milk. Another recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition reported that consumption of organic dairy products was associated with lower risk of eczema in the first two years of life (Kummeling et al., Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands," British Journal of Nutrition, 2007).
...mothers are on solid ground in expecting over time a nutritional premium from the routine purchase of organic milk and dairy products.
In addition to the nutrition premium associated with organic dairy products, cows on organic farms are not administered supplemental hormones to increase production. They are not given antibiotics to treat mastitis and other common infections, nor antimicrobial feed supplements to help them tolerate high-energy, high-grain rations deficient in fiber and forages (the "natural" feed of ruminant animals). They are not given reproductive hormones to increase the success rate when artificial insemination is used for breeding...
Avoiding exposures to food additives and artificial colors is another reason to provide WIC mothers the option to purchase certified organic food and beverages. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the artificial food dyes approved for use in food by the Food and Drug Administration are exacerbating behavioral problems, especially hyperactivity, among children and adolescents. The U.K. Food Standards Agency has asked food companies to voluntarily end use of the six artificial food colorings approved for use in the U.K., because of the evidence that removal of the colors reduces the severity of behavioral problems in many children.
By choosing to serve children organic foods, mothers and school systems can dramatically reduce the daily intake of food additives, a clearly positive, preventive step that will help reduce the number of school-age children afflicted with hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. It turns out that teachers are right -- good nutrition is, in fact, a pillar of sound education policy.
The Organic Price Premium
Given the goals of the WIC program and the reality that WIC funds are limited relative to need for the program, efforts have been made to seek out and approve those staple foods that deliver the most calories per dollar spent. The generally higher cost per serving of most of organic food will limit the quantity of a given food that a mother can purchase with a fixed WIC allotment. The same economic calculus applies to other USDA nutrition programs, although the premium tends to be smaller when organic foods are purchased in bulk.
The generally higher nutrient density in organic foods, coupled with the near-absence of pesticide, hormone, and food additive risks, justify a higher price for organic food. But how much? No one can say with certainty because we lack the science and methods needed to estimate the magnitude of the economic benefits from consumption of organic food. Plus, such calculations will be highly circumstantial and variable, and require lifelong and indeed multi-generational health monitoring and data collection.
Despite uncertainty about the magnitude of the benefits stemming from consumption of organic food, some mothers have decided that organic food is a worthwhile investment in their children's well-being. The conscious choice to seek out organic food, even when it costs more, reflects a commitment by mothers to provide their children with the highest quality food possible and the safest path through the critical early years of development.
Given the breadth of evidence in support of a range of benefits from consumption of organic food, the Department would need compelling reasons to prohibit mothers from purchasing organic foods through the WIC program. In particular, the Department would need to explain why mothers should not be free to choose a somewhat smaller quantity of what they regard as higher-quality food.
We believe the USDA should work to cultivate in Americans an appreciation of and desire for high quality food, coupled with the need for a more balanced diet. The WIC and other nutrition programs can do both through its educational activities and outreach services and by providing freedom to choose organic products for those who wish to purchase them.
"Time to Deal with Pesticide Risks in California's Coastal Communities"
By Charles Benbrook, Chief Scientist, The Organic Center
[Excerpts of the full commentary follow]
A Santa Cruz jury recently returned a verdict that secures a brighter future for organic farming in California, and perhaps over time, if adopted as precedent, throughout the United States. The jury found that a commercial pesticide applicator, Western Farm Service, had an obligation to prevent toxic pesticides from drifting after application with wind and fog onto Jacobs Farm's organic crops in Wilder Ranch State Park. While Jacobs Farm was the clear winner in this case, press coverage of the trial and its conclusions missed the main significance of the jury's decision.
This case was about the Golden Rule. Federal pesticide law and regulations place considerable burden on pesticide applicators – whether a farmer or a commercial company like WFS – to prevent off target movement of applied pesticides. One of the goals in setting forth this clear-cut responsibility is to prevent "economic damage" to surrounding personal property, including crops on nearby farms (whether organic or conventional), trees and shrubs in a homeowner's yard, or other property, such as honey bees used as pollinators.
Applicators of pesticides need to assume responsibility when using toxic materials to prevent such damage. In this case, Western Farm Service was told that their use of organophosphate insecticides was unintentionally damaging the crops on Jacobs Farm by rendering them unmarketable. Whether intentional or not, if a pesticide applicator becomes aware that a particular use of a pesticide is damaging a neighbor's crop, the applicator must take steps to understand why and prevent future damage. In this case, the applicator failed this test...
...Western Farm Service knew that the fog was moving its chemicals off of the crops it treated, and it did nothing to prevent or address that movement onto nearby organic crops.
The company clearly did not meet its obligations in this case. The legal defense put forth by attorneys for Western Farm Service points to a hole in pesticide regulatory law and polices – ignoring the well-known fact that coastal fog can carry pesticides off target and deposit them where they do not belong. This hole exposes both people and crops in coastal California to serious risk of harm from fog-borne pesticides...
The pesticides in question here are some of the most toxic known to man. If state and county government agencies are going to allow the ongoing use of organophosphates, regulators and applicators must find a way to do so that does not endanger the general public or contaminate neighboring crops. As established in this lawsuit, the State code governing lawful applications of pesticides must be changed to encompass off target movement caused by volatization and fog.
...This case will likely trigger a series of legal maneuvers and attempts to change pesticide regulatory policy. The underlying question, however, is whether our laws and public policies should turn a blind eye to a recurrent problem, or confront and solve the problem head on. As the process unfolds, hopefully the general public, especially those living in coastal communities, will have a chance to weigh in on this central question.
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"The Science of Organics" Session Draws a Big Crowd at the ADA Meeting
The annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association drew over 10,000 people to Chicago in late October. A session held October 27th was entitled "The Science of Organics: Nourishing the Land, Animals, and People." Dr. Chris McCullum-Gomex moderated the session and presentations were made by the Center's Chief Scientist Chuck Benbrook and by Helen Costello, an organic farmer and registered dietitian (RD).
Despite dozens of competing sessions and an active trade floor, over 500 people filled the meeting room to the point the fire marshal closed the doors. Some 200 people listened from out in the hall. Helen Costello asked the audience to raise their hand if a patient had asked them a question about organic food in the last few months. Over 75% of the hands went up in the room.
A lively and positive Q&A session reflected a high level of interest in learning more about what organic food and farming has to contribute to a healthier diet and lifestyle.
A fact-filled "Organic Q&A" brochure done by Organic Valley was distributed during the meeting and was the focus of many interesting exchanges.
We have posted the two presentations and the "Organic Q&A on the Center's website. Email Dr. Benbrook to receive a copy of his presentation in Powerpoint.
The Center would like to extend a "thank you" to Susan Roberts, Director of the Food and Society Policy Fellowship, for organizing and proposing the session to the ADA.
Mark your calendar for a gala evening in Hollywood when The Organic Center presents its West Coast fundraiser and gourmet organic reception on Dec. 9, 2008, 6:30 – 9:30 pm, at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel in Universal City. Tickets to the evening fundraiser and reception are $125 per person. Visit www.organic-center.org or call 303.499.1840 to purchase tickets. The Organic Center will also present a seminar on organic and the influence of Hollywood during the Hollywood Goes Green Conference, held Dec. 8-9, 2008 at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel. For information, visit www.hollywoodgoesgreen.com.
"Living Soil, Food Quality, and the Future of Food" Session at the AAAS Annual Meeting
The Center organized with Preston Andrews of Washington State University a 90-minute symposium that will be part of the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The session will be held February 13, 2009 at 8:30am. The focus will be on the impacts of long-term organic management on soil quality and food nutrient density. The AAAS meeting will be held February 12-16, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Jerry Glover of The Land Institute will present a paper entitled "Crops, Roots, and Soil Biological Processes: Synergistic Interactions." Preston Andrews will cover fruit and vegetable crop responses to soil management. Alyson Mitchell of U.C. Davis will present on the topic "Nutrient Dense Foods: Phytochemicals and Health Benefits."
The Organic Center Sponsors Two Sessions at the 2009 EcoFarm Conference
The Center helped organize two sessions at the January 22-24, 2008 EcoFarm conference at Asilomar, in Monterey, California. During the "War on Bugs" workshop on Friday, 10:30am-12:30, Will Allen will address the evolution of the war on bugs over the last century. Chuck Benbrook will discuss the impacts and implications of the contemporary trend toward systematic pesticides and genetic engineering technology that strives to get pesticide toxins inside of plants.
On Saturday from 8:30am to 10:00, Dr. John Reganold of Washington State University will join with Chuck Benbrook in a workshop entitled "Why the Science is Starting to Show Benefits for Organic." Dr. Reganold will present results of recent studies at WSU comparing the performance of organic and conventional farming systems, and Chuck will provide an update of recent Organic Center research.
Keep Up with Events by Visiting the Organic Center Blog
Managing Director Steven Hoffman has started an Organic Center blog that will help readers of "The Scoop" stay current on the activities of the Center, events, and other breaking developments.
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Core Truths on the Major Benefits of Organic Food and Farming
Core Truths is a ground breaking compilation of the most current research on organic agriculture. This highly readable and graphically stunning 108-page coffee table book documents the verifiable health and environmental benefits of organic products.
Core Truths includes fascinating research about why:
Organic often tastes better
Organic produce contains, on average, 30 percent higher levels of antioxidants
Organic farming can cut mycotoxin risk by over 50 percent
Organic food dramatically reduces pesticide exposure
Organic farms typically use less energy
Order your copy now! Only $30 (plus $5 shipping and handling in US).
Click here for a preview of the book.
Click here to order.
Donate $100 Now! Receive Free Copy of Core Truths
Be a part of supporting vital research about the science behind organic. Make a gift of $100 to The Organic Center now, and we'll send you a free, hard-cover copy of our ground-breaking book, Core Truths (a $35 value.)
Email Seleyn DeYarus for details.
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The Organic Center Features Jerry Garcia Artwork
Do you or someone you know love The Grateful Dead? Do you enjoy beautiful original works of art? If so, select a giclee of Jerry Garcia original artwork and benefit The Organic Center. This unique fundraising initiative to benefit The Organic Center is made possible through the generosity of filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia and features the series, "In the Garden," by the late Jerry Garcia. Individual prints are $250, or get the full series for $1,000. To order your Jerry Garcia art, click here.
The Organic Center's on-line fundraising program - Become a Friend of The Organic Center
We can now accept secure on-line donations with both yearly and monthly giving options. We also have wonderful gifts to say thank you for your support – including a free one-year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine, organic t-shirt, organic tote bag, our book, Core Truths and Dr. Alan Greene's new book, Raising Baby Green. We have many ways to say thank you for supporting our work.
Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency
The Problem: Millions of dollars and enormous amounts of energy are wasted each year simply because our homes and businesses aren’t as energy-efficient as they could be. Meanwhile, our demand for electricity is expected to grow by over 25% in the next two decades.1
The Solution: To make the most out of the energy we currently produce, America needs a national efficiency upgrade. Make new buildings more efficient, upgrade old buildings to save energy, and update our appliances and equipment to use less energy and perform the same or more functions than they do now.
The Benefits: Energy efficiency is where the greatest and most immediate gains can be made. Household and commercial building efficiency can increase by 30% with existing technologies – an upgrade that will save the typical homeowner $450 dollars a year on utility bills.2 Improving devices that use power in “stand-by” mode alone would save consumers $3 billion per year.3 These improvements will drive economic growth. Many efficiency upgrades will pay for themselves in just a year or two. The result will be more comfortable and valuable homes and buildings, lower utility bills, and tens of thousands of new jobs as we retrofit existing buildings to be more efficient and manufacture more American products that use less energy.
How We Get There
Implement government policies and programs that quickly improve efficiency in all sectors of our economy. There are clear examples of the enormous financial and technical benefits of investing in efficiency. What’s needed now is a systematic approach to achieve such savings across the board, so that ALL businesses and homeowners can start realizing savings. This should be a massive mobilization that will involve utilities and their regulators; equipment and appliance manufacturers and installers; and homeowners, business operators and landlords across the nation. Lights, air conditioning, heaters, appliances, computers, electronics, water heaters, motors, fans – each of these technology categories can perform its function and consume 20%-70% less energy (and much more, in some cases). Plus, with every successive generation of new products, more savings can be achieved. It's about an ongoing economy-wide effort to make every home and every building – along with every item inside those homes and buildings – more efficient.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
New Scoop
In This Issue:
Breaking Science
In The News
Do You Know?
Commentary
Events and Presentations
Core Truths
The Art of Giving
Join Mission Organic
About THE SCOOP
About The Organic Center
New Insights on How Parathion Impacts the Developing Brain
Intriguing new insights have emerged on how the organophosphate (OP) insecticide parathion impairs neurological development, and how these impacts can alter behavior throughout life. The NIH-funded research team analyzed the developmental impacts of parathion in a rat study, and learned that parathion exposures –
Alter brain development in several ways and regions, and differently than other OPs;
Adverse effects are observed at doses below those that cause observable systemic toxicity;
Impact males more significantly than females; and
Elicit more serious impacts at lower doses in some regions of the brain.
In one of the more intriguing findings of the study, the team reported that low-level exposure to parathion at critical stages of development impair the role of the brain in sexual differentiation, and as a result, adult males become more female like in their behaviors, and vice versa. Moreover, they found that female rats were better able to repair the damage caused by early-life exposures to parathion in terms of sexual differentiation and behavior. The possible implications of these findings in humans were not discussed.
Source: Theodore A. Slotkin et al., "Exposure of Neonatal Rats to Parathion Elicits Sex-Selective Impairment of Acetylcholine Systems in Brain Regions during Adolescence and Adulthood," Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 116, No. 10, pages 1308-1314
Editor's Note: Nearly every issue of "The Scoop" features a new study in EHP on how pesticides can alter development and impair health. This month's new study builds on an already compelling body of recent science that proves that low-level exposures to OP insecticides pose serious developmental risks.
Fortunately in the U.S., most food uses of parathion, and its cousin methyl parathion, have been curtailed or ended by the EPA in the course of implementing the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The bad news is that parathion residues, along with several other high-risk OPs, remain common, especially in imported foods. Implementation of the FQPA got off to a slow start after passage in 1996, and ran aground with the election of President Bush.
While there is always something to be learned from scientists delving deeper into why and how chemicals like the OPs impair development, surely enough is now known to justify ending dietary exposures to this class of insecticides. The talented scientists that have, over the last decade, so patiently and thoroughly built the case proving the adverse developmental effects of the OPs need to turn their attention and skills to the nicotinyl insecticides that are now found as frequently in several foods as the OPs were 15 years ago.
Scientists Highlight Uncertainty in the Path to Sustainable Biofuels
Twenty-three scientists working for over a dozen universities and institutions authored a "Policy Forum" piece in the October 3, 2008 issue of Science magazine on how to make biofuel production "sustainable." The team acknowledge that more than 30% of the 2008 corn crop is going to be used to make ethanol, and that this percent is not likely to fall for at least a decade.
They see continued commitment to grain-based ethanol because of generous government subsidies and the mandate for biofuels production, despite clear evidence that current ethanol production systems cause environmental harm.
Remarkably, they state that –
"Globally, to produce an important amount of energy with biofuels will require a large amount of land – perhaps as much as is in row-crop agriculture today. This will change the landscape of Earth, not just the United States..."
The team sees the greatest long-term potential for sustainable biofuel production in diversified perennial cropping systems. They also argue for significant research investments and substantial policy reforms in order to "...chart a low-carbon economy that is substantially better than business as usual."
Source: G. Philip Robertson et al., "Sustainable Biofuels Redux," Science, Vol. 322, pages 49-50.
Berries and Brightly Colored Fruits Top the Antioxidant Chart
A team of Cornell University scientists subjected 25 fruits to a series of tests of antioxidant content and cellular activity. Wild and domesticated blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, and pomegranates topped the various lists in varying orders. All brightly colored fruits scored very well in all measures used in the study.
Across all fruits in the diet, apples were found to provide 33% of total phenolics, reflecting very high consumption and moderate phenolics content. Oranges provided 12%, grapes 12.8%, and strawberries, 9.8%.
In urging increased consumption of nutrient-dense, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, the team cited the latest report from the USDA's Economic Research Service on fruit and vegetable intakes. The ERS reports that Americans are still lagging in terms of fruit and vegetable intake. On average in 2005, we consumed 0.9 cups of fruit per day, instead of the 2.0 cups (four servings) recommending in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. And we consumed 1.7 cups of vegetables, instead of the recommended 2.5 cups (five servings), based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
The authors conclude (cautiously) that –
"Antioxidant activity provided by fruits may be important in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases."
Source: Kelly L. Wolfe et al., "Cellular Antioxidant Activity of Common Fruits," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 56, No. 18, pages 8419-8426.
Editor's Note: In the Center's second State of Science Review (SSR) on antioxidants, we analyzed differences in the antioxidant activity of organic and conventional foods, concluding that organic food contains, on average, 30% more antioxidants per gram or per serving.
The antioxidant SSR contains a Table 2 (see page 14-15) that ranks over 65 common foods by antioxidant activity per calorie consumed. In assessing the ability of a food to promote human health, the metric "total antioxidant activity per calorie consumed" is as close as one can come to the miles-per-gallon rating of car energy efficiency.
This widely used Table in our antioxidant SSR is especially valuable for people looking to increase antioxidant intake while consuming fewer calories.
Will GE Technology Produce Drought Resistant Crops?
Michigan State researchers have discovered a gene that plays a role in drought resistance. They also report a role for the cell's endoplasmic reticulum in the regulation of the new drought gene. A member of the research team is quoted as saying –
"We're finding that heat tolerance is a more complex process than was first thought."
A Canadian research company, Performance Plants, Inc. is promising up to 40% higher corn and canola yields from its GE-drought resistance technology, and claims new GE-crops will be ready for commercial adoption in four years.
Drought resistant crops are one of the primary new technologies cited in support of Monsanto's bullish projections of gross profits in 2012. The company expects to earn profits between $9.5 billion and $9.8 billion that year.
Sources: "Drought Resistant GM Crops Ready 'in Four Years',"The Guardian and "Seed and herbicide sales bolster Monsanto," Forbes.com.
Editor's Note: Plant breeders have worked for years to enhance the ability of plants to withstand drought. It is widely recognized that drought tolerance is a complex, multi-gene trait, and that plants respond to excessive heat and drought in a variety of ways. The tools of genetic engineering are now being used to identify genes involved in the drought response process, and the seed industry is keen to exploit newly discovered genes in producing a new generation of drought tolerant plants.
But challenges remain. Plants with heightened capacity to withstand drought are often not able to respond as quickly or fully to more favorable growing conditions. Breeders will almost certainly be able to add new genes, or accentuate expression of existing genes with a role in drought response, but in doing so, other aspects of a plant's response to environmental conditions or pests may be altered, as might crop composition and nutritional quality. (e.g. becoming especially susceptible and attractive to herbivorous insects)
Plant breeding is one way to improve crop performance in regions subject to drought. Improving soil quality is another, since soils higher in organic matter and less subject to compaction take in scarce water more quickly and tend to hold more water for a longer period. Plus, improvements in soil quality deliver other benefits ranging from more nitrogen and micro-nutrients to greater nutrient density in harvested foods. Investments in capturing and making better use of limited rainfall, or water used for irrigation, is another area that often will deliver sustained benefits.
As with other areas of agricultural biotechnology, there is a considerable dose of hype and wishful thinking in recent pronouncements that drought-resistant crops are around the corner and will, single-handedly, dramatically improve yields. Such an outcome is extremely unlikely. Increasing yields on a sustained basis in drought-prone regions is going to require progress on many fronts and a systematic effort to deal with how water moves through an ecosystem. Those who claim that genetic engineering can, by itself, overcome the impacts of drought on yields, especially in the developing world, set the stage for disappointment and postpone investments in initiatives with a surer chance of success.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Dilutes Antioxidant Levels in Fresh Basil
In the first study exploring the impact of nitrogen (N) fertilization levels on the antioxidant and phenolics content of fresh basil, a classic inverse dose-response curve was found by a team of Texas scientists. For most cultivars tested, the higher the N level, the lower the density of antioxidants and polyphenols.
Remarkably, the concentrations of some beneficial phenolics acids were four times higher at the lowest rate of nitrogen application, compared to the highest rate of N use. In two of three varieties tested, total antioxidant activity was 2- to 5-times higher at lower levels of N, compared to the high-N plots.
Source: Phuong M. Nguyen and Emily D. Niemeyer, "Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 56, No. 18, pages 8685-8691.
Nutrition Making a Comeback on the Agenda of Some Plant Breeders
Some fruit and vegetable breeders are heeding the call for greater attention on nutrient density, as opposed to high yields and the capacity of produce to ship long distances.
Echoing themes addressed in the Center's report "Still No Free Lunch," the lead horticulturist with the W. Atlee Burpee Co. is quoted as saying –
"Before, they were breeding for higher yields, stronger plants, produce easier to ship and more ornamental in appearance. Now, they're looking at improvements in flavor and smell, in addition to more nutrients. Enriching the colors is attached to nutritive value."
Source: Associated Press, October 2, 2008.
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Artificial Dyes and Hyperactivity in Children Back in the News
The October 13, 2008 L.A. Times reports on mounting science strengthening the connection between artificial food colors and hyperactive behavior in children. The improvement in behavior when dyes are removed from children's diets is great enough in some cases to convince parents to take their children off Ritalin. The piece by Melinda Fulmer is titled "Do food dyes affect kids' behavior?"
There are nine artificial colors approved for use by the FDA. A 2007 study in the Lancet, a top medical journal, showed that exposures to artificial dyes increased hyperactivity in children, both among young people already displaying hyperactive behavior and children never before displaying such behaviors.
The U.K. government has asked the food industry to voluntarily remove the dyes from foods, and most are complying. Kellogg has removed the dyes from Nutri-Grain cereal bars sold in the U.K., but not those sold in the U.S.
The science supporting FDA's approval of the nine dyes is 30 to 50 years old. In support of approval of the dyes, the FDA cites on its website a 1982 consensus report by the National Institutes of Health.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the FDA to add warning labels on products containing the dyes.
Comment by Dr. Alan Greene, Chairperson, The Organic Center Board: Recent studies raise serious alarm over not just artificial food colors, but also other classes of food additives. We also are learning more about food additive-drug and food additive-chemical interactions. Progress in sequencing the human genome has shown that some children are far more sensitive than others to the behavioral impacts of food additives and other chemicals in food.
The opportunity to avoid most exposures to artificial dyes and food additives is one of the most important but least appreciated benefits of a diet composed of organic foods and beverages. I always council parents to choose organic foods for their children and to increase the portion of their diet composed of whole, fresh foods and only lightly processed organic foods. This is the best strategy to assure kids get the nutrients they need and avoid food additives and chemicals that can trigger serious and sometimes life-long problems.
Michael Pollan's Appeal for Sun Food
In an extraordinary "Letter to the 'Farmer in Chief" published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine on October 12th, Michael Pollan ties together three currents of change that could transform the U.S. food system –
The end of cheap energy and excessive reliance on fossil fuels in farming and food distribution systems;
Emerging demand for nutritious, higher quality foods that will eventually phase out the era of cheap and empty calories, helping to lower health care costs and improve well being; and
The need to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions and enhance environmental quality will force farmers toward sustainable and organic farming systems that rely on the sun rather than petrochemicals.
Some excerpts from this lengthy piece reflect its scope and power –
"...with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close."
"...when we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases."
"...the core idea could not be simpler: we need to wean the American food system off its heavy 20th-century diet of fossil fuel and put it back on a diet of contemporary sunshine."
"This focus on quantity may have made sense in a time of food scarcity, but today it gives us a school-lunch program that feeds chicken nuggets and Tater Tots to overweight and diabetic children."
"Your [the new President] symbolically most resonant step in building a new American food culture...is this: tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden."
"Cheap food is food dishonestly priced – it is in fact unconscionably expensive."
And perhaps Pollan's most provocative and blunt statement –
"You cannot expect to reform the health care system, much less expand coverage, without confronting the public-health catastrophe that is the modern American diet."
Editor's Comment: It is interesting to contrast Pollan's manifesto for food system change with similar "big picture" statements recently released by the biotech industry. While corporate agribusiness and Pollan agree on many of the problems with the American food system, their recommended solutions differ as night from day.
Pollan's basic prescription for getting agriculture moving in a healthier direction is both simple and sound. Farming systems that efficiently use sun and soil are less reliant on fossil fuels, and many produce more food calories than they consume in energy calories. If the new "Farmer in Chief" decides to seriously take on Pollan's action agenda, the nation will benefit greatly from the good work and wisdom gained by organic farmers and food companies.
USDA Lowering Crop Insurance Rates for Farmers Planting GM Crops
The Department of Agriculture has expanded a 2008 pilot program and will be offering corn farmers a $3.00 per acre cut in crop insurance rates for fields planted to GM corn in crop season 2009.
In order to qualify, farmers must plant at least 75% of their corn to a qualifying variety of Bt corn from Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta, or Dow AgroSciences.
Source: Reuters, August 19, 2008.
Editor's Note: The reduction in crop insurance rates for Bt-corn is justified, according to the USDA, by the reduction in risk of above- and below-ground insect damage to corn hybrids expressing the Bt gene for control of the European corn borer and/or corn rootworm.
The principle behind this policy decision is that farming system changes that reduce the risk of crop losses should be rewarded through lower crop insurance rates.
Historically, drought has been by far the dominant cause of significant reductions in corn crop yields. Accordingly, USDA will probably be asked to provide an added subsidy in the form of lower crop insurance premiums when farmers buy and plant drought-tolerant corn varieties.
In the interests of fairness then, organic farmers should also receive a reduction in insurance premiums, since soils on organic farms take in and hold moisture more effectively than soils on conventional farms. Dozens of studies have confirmed that organic farming systems are more resilient in dry years, suffering a lower percentage yield reduction as a result of drought.
Why is it that a break for organic corn farmers in crop insurance rates remains miles off the USDA radar screen and is virtually unimaginable, while the biotech industry just asked politely and is already fully vested?
USDA to Review Animal Welfare and Production Claims
The USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a review of its policies governing approval of animal-raising claims in the labeling of meat, dairy and poultry products.
Terms like "free-range," "raised without antibiotics," raised without added hormones" will be assessed. The FSIS says it is carrying out the review to create a "level playing field" for companies.
Editor's Comment: After years of work and much investment, animal product quality and animal welfare claims associated with organic production have meaning and resonance in the marketplace. It is hard to imagine how this FSIS review will not simply change the hue in already muddy waters.
It is also clear that this review is motivated in part by the protracted controversy over antibiotic-free claims on some Cargill poultry products, as well as the Monsanto-inspired attempt to force dairies to drop claims that their milk is produced from cows not given supplemental rBGH.
With just weeks left in this Administration, however, nothing meaningful will happen until after the transition and this policy review, along with many other ninth inning initiatives of the Bush Administration, could well be overtaken by events.
Conventional Soybeans on the Comeback Trail
A University of Mississippi press release reports that conventional soybeans are coming back and replacing Roundup Ready beans because of lower seed costs, lower weed control costs, and comparable or higher yields.
The release reports that Roundup herbicide costs rose from about $15 per gallon last year to $40 to $50 per gallon in 2008.
Source: "Conventional soybeans offer high yields at lower cost," University of Mississippi Delta Research Center.
GAO Report Hammers FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce
Inadequate staffing, outdated systems and equipment, and too few inspections are among the major problems with FDA's efforts to combat food borne illness, according to a just-released October 3, 2008 General Accounting Office (GAO) report.
Between 2000 and 2007, the FDA found food safety problems at more than 40% of the 2,002 plants that were inspected, yet half were not inspected again to assure corrective actions had been properly implemented.
No fresh produce was seized nor were any plants or companies prosecuted. Only 1% of produce imported into the U.S. is inspected.
Source: Associated Press, October 2, 2008.
Hawaii County Bans the Genetic Modification of Taro and Coffee
A county in the State of Hawaii has adopted a bill that protects the taro (kalo) and coffee industries from genetic engineering and preserves agriculturally-based practices and cultural traditions associated with taro and coffee.
Hawaii County joins a small but growing list of counties that have passed laws or ordinances designed to prohibit the planting of GE-crops and trees.
Experience Life Magazine Highlights the "Good Earth" and Changes in the Food System
The October 2008 issue of the magazine Experience Life, a Lifetime Fitness publication, covers the impacts of organic farming on soil quality and the nutritional quality of organic food, and draws heavily from work by the Center.
The soil piece –"Good Earth" – makes the case that soil health and human health are one and the same. There is solid discussion of the adverse impacts of conventional agriculture on soil quality.
Dr. Robert Kremer, a USDA microbiologist, has carried out key research on the adverse impacts of Roundup Ready soybean technology on soybean plant health. Dr. Kramer states in the article that –
"We find some GM-crops are deficient in micronutrients, either due to genetics or the chemicals used on them to control weeds."
A WSU soil scientist, Craig Cogger, says "Modern breeding hasn't focused on nutritional quality and if you don't focus on a trait, it tends to decline."
A second feature story is called "Progressive Eaters Unite". This piece covers changes in the food industry, Michael Pollan's books, and developments at Whole Foods. The cost of, and access to organic food is also covered in this second piece.
"The Risks of Pigging Out on Antibiotics"
Four friends of the Center published a letter in the September 5, 2008 issue of Science on the risks of agricultural use of antibiotics. The letter is authored by Becky Goldberg of EDF, Steven Roach The Food Animals Concerns Trust, David Wallinga of IATP, and Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Their letter highlights the dangers of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus) and summarizes the now compelling evidence that MRSA has its roots in agricultural use of antibiotics. A swine-based strain of MRSA in the Netherlands has been linked to 20% of human MRSA infections.
A 2008 study found that 70% of the pigs tested in Iowa and Illinois carried MRSA.
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More than 20 million home gardens were supplying up to 40% of the produce consumed by Americans as a result of the "Victory Garden" movement during World War II.
The USDA opposed President Roosevelt's decision to plant a White House garden and promote Victory Gardens, fearing that such a movement might hurt the American food industry.
Food energy calories produced per calorie of fossil fuel energy in 1940: 2.3
Food energy calories produced per calorie of fossil fuel energy in 2008: 0.1
One in three American children born in 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes.
Eight of 535 members of the U.S. Congress are scientists or engineers.
Eight of nine senior leaders in China hold advanced degrees in the sciences and engineering.
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The "New" Attacks on Organic Food and Farming
By:
Chuck Benbrook
It is hard to miss the growing variety and vehemence of attacks on organic food and farming in the media, blogosphere, and from some organizations. A Fox News piece October 4, 2008 was called "Organic Food Offers Little More Than Peace of Mind, Critics Say." Alex Avery's book is plugged and he is quoted as saying "It's [organic food] a total con. There is not a shred of science" to back up claims that organic food is safer or more nutritious.
On the subject of organic milk, Avery asserts that "...labs have not found 'one detectable difference whatsoever.'"
A Food Navigator commentary on October 6, 2008 is entitled "Bringing organic back down to earth." It begins by stating – "Organic has an image problem." The gist of the piece is that organic food is too pricey and a luxury only the well off can afford, and that people are made to feel guilty if they do not eat an exclusively organic diet, "And that, I think, is a shame..." according to the author.
The Delta Farm Press posted a story October 8th called "Cotton bollworms:660 / organic cotton:zero." The confusing headline refers to a yield of 660 pounds of cotton with modern technology – pesticides, Bt cotton – compared to zero pounds from an organic cotton field trial in Uganda, after an insect outbreak essentially defoliated the plants. Reminiscent of Sarah Palin's use of language, the piece goes on to state –
"This and other organic experiments have impressed the Ugandan government so much that their Cotton Development Organization has begun offering pesticides to farmers at subsidized prices. Meanwhile, the most damaging pests reported in Ugandan fields these days is anyone promoting organic methods."
Attacks of this nature, and others more subtle and insidious, are an inevitable byproduct of the success of organic farmers and the organic food industry. Growth in demand for, and interest in organic food and farming, reflects in part growing consumer dissatisfaction with conventional food and production technology. This dissatisfaction is rooted in a long list of problems caused by contemporary agriculture and our food system that keep impacting people in profound and unmistakable ways. News of such problems is a near-daily part of mainstream news coverage, and spans the latest on E. coli O157 outbreaks, chemical contaminants in food, antibiotic resistance and antibiotics in drinking water, inhumane care of animals, and pesticides in umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid.
Organic food and farming did not create these problems and cannot solve them alone, but is clearly one way to cut them down to size. This inherent and indisputable benefit of organic food and farming threatens some people and economic interests, and we can expect them to continue challenging efforts to increase growth and investment in the organic food industry.
As a nation we have entered a frightening era of fragility in national financial institutions, energy markets, real estate, international affairs, health care, public health, and food. Could our food system suffer from the same misguided optimism and failure to heed warning signs that brought down Wall Street?
Organic food and farming has much to offer the nation. We need to stay focused on improving the quality and consistency of organic food, while expanding supply and working to make the organic segment of the food industry more efficient. Through efficiency, we will be better prepared to offer farmers a fair pay price, finance the pragmatic steps needed to conserve soil and water resources and lower our carbon footprint, and generate profits to invest in growth, research, development, and consumer education.
We need to avoid overstating the benefits of organic food and farming, but also must not shy away from explaining – and backing up – proven benefits. No amount of new science documenting the benefits of organic food and farming is going to change the minds of ideologues dedicated to the mission of raising doubts in the minds of consumers.
But new science is a powerful force for those with an open mind and consumers paying attention to their diet and food quality. It creates a force for change that we need to invest in, respect and heed, as we work to improve the quality and affordability of organic food. Done well and in ways that build consumer trust, the rewards will be tangible and sustained in the marketplace, on our farms and in rural areas, and for individuals that take personal responsibility for their food choices and family's health.
Excerpts from the October 7, 2008 "Statement by the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the Benefits of Organic Farming"
Access the full text on the Center's website.
"... after decades of relative neglect - the state of the world´s agricultural production system has returned to the centre of international policy debates. The rapid rise in food prices in the last few months has drawn attention to the dire state of agriculture in many developing countries, where producers have not been able to scale up supply in response to higher prices.
Earlier this year, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) - an intergovernmental process supported by over 400 experts and many UN Agencies - concluded that "the way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse."
In our view, organic agriculture is one of the most promising options to meet these challenges. Let me mention a few of the relevant advantages:
Increased earnings
The potential to export goods to consumers willing to pay premium prices for certified organic production in many developed countries generates significant income possibilities for organic farmers in the developing world. In 2006, global certified organic sales were estimated to have reached over 30 billion euros, a 20 per cent increase over 2005, and are expected to increase to 52 billion euros by 2012.
Organic production is also particularly well-suited for smallholder farmers, who comprise the majority of the world´s poor.... As the seminal work by Amartya Sen on Famines has shown us, it is not always the absence of food that creates hunger, but also the inability of some to pay for existing food stocks. Higher incomes through exports of organic food can help small farmers in developing countries to afford higher food prices.
Increased productivity
But organic food production does not necessarily mean a sacrifice in terms of output. A recent UNCTAD-UNEP study analyzing 114 cases in Africa revealed that a conversion of farms to organic production and related training and capacity building led to an increase in agricultural productivity of 116%! Moreover, organic agriculture builds on and keeps alive farmers´ rich heritage of traditional knowledge and traditional agricultural varieties.
Reduced dependence on external inputs
As a sustainable and environmentally friendly production system, organic agriculture is based on active agro-ecosystem management and local resources instead of external inputs. This means that organic farmers are less affected by rising fertilizer and agrochemical costs. Indeed, as the prices of agro-chemicals are driven up by high oil prices, organic agriculture, which uses no synthetic agro-chemicals, becomes increasingly competitive. And reliance on local renewable resources reduces rural communities´ vulnerability to external volatility caused by factors far beyond their control.
Environmentally friendly
In an age of increasing environmental concern and impending climate change, one important additional advantage of organic production methods comes to bear: It does not pollute the environment with agro-chemicals, and also reduces illness and death in farm families due to agro-chemical exposure -- a leading cause of occupational mortality and morbidity worldwide. Organic agriculture actually conserves biodiversity and natural resources on the farm and in the surrounding areas. It improves soil fertility and structure, thus improving water retention and resilience to climatic stress, contributing to climate change adaptation. Finally, it mitigates climate change by utilizing less energy than conventional agriculture and also by sequestering carbon.
For all these reasons, we believe that organic agriculture is a powerful tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those related to poverty reduction and the environment. Of course, at the moment, organic agriculture is only a niche market, accounting for currently about 2% of global farmland. However, its potential has not yet been fully explored, and it deserves our full attention as an important tool for development.
Challenges
But there are also challenges for developing countries in seizing these opportunities, particularly in terms of building productive capacities and market access and entry difficulties.
It is ironic that, at a time when environmental concerns are high on the international agenda, the technical barriers to trade in environmentally preferable products, including organic agricultural products, are generally much higher than for regular products.
Environmentally preferable products must meet all the requirements that conventional products do. In addition, they must provide evidence of their environmental claims--for example that they have been produced according to certain standards and that this has been verified by a certification body which in turn has been duly accredited or approved by a competent authority. Naturally, each market and often even each individual retailer has its own standard and conformity assessment requirements, and there is little or no inter-operability among systems.
Meeting all of these requirements can be daunting even for a large developed country producer. For small scale producers in developing countries, it can place the tantalizing fruits of organic and other green markets beyond their reach.
Excerpts from "Pesticides and Food: Flying Blind"
By: Charles Benbrook
Originally published in the "Sound Consumer," the newsletter of PCC Natural Markets, in Seattle, Washington. The full text is on the Center's website.
What pesticides are used on what food crops? What residues remain when the crops go to market and how risky are those residues? And what about the vulnerable amongst us, are we fully protecting pregnant women, infants and children, and the elderly?
Worrisome evidence that even minute levels of pesticides in food can impair human development has driven demand for organic foods — produced without synthetic insecticides, herbicides or fungicides. Since the beginning of the organic movement, consumers increasingly have made it clear they want toxic pesticides out of their food and off their plates.
Yet a recent decision by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to stop measuring the use of pesticides on American farms could make it much harder to track pesticide use and risk trends.
What we know and how we know it
Annually since the early 1990s, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), an agency of the USDA, has collected detailed data on pesticide use on a representative sample of farms across the country...
Despite some shortcomings, NASS pesticide use data has been the only free, publicly available resource for anyone studying, monitoring, measuring — and attempting to manage — pesticide use and risks...
It's often said that what gets measured gets managed. Without measuring pesticide use, we will be stymied in attempts to manage pesticide risks.
The latest pesticide data
In 2008, the USDA released pesticide use data only for apples and cotton in the 2007 crop season. NASS collected no data for corn or soybeans in 2006 and 2007.
The lack of this use data means independent analysts cannot quantify what's likely to be an enormous increase in herbicide applications since 2005 needed to keep up with resistant weeds on land planted with genetically modified (GM) Roundup Ready® corn and soy. Reports we issued in 2002 and 2004 relied heavily on NASS data and contradicted industry claims that GM crops were reducing pesticide use. Now, Monsanto can continue making bogus claims that Roundup Ready technology reduces herbicide use with little fear of contradictory data...
No pesticide use data has been collected in 2008... An unusual coalition of industry and environmentalists, government agencies (including the EPA) and consumer organizations (including PCC) are asking USDA and Congress to restore the $8 million needed to reinstate NASS's pesticide data collection activities. Hopefully data collection will resume in the fall of 2009.
An emerging opportunity
No doubt some agriculture interests feel that the less data generated by government on pesticide use and risks, the fewer headaches from noisy non-profit organizations. This myopic view misses the big picture.
The PNW leads the nation in organic tree fruit production and sustainable farming. Many non-organic farmers in our region are moving to purge their production systems of high-risk chemistry and are adopting many practices developed and perfected by organic farmers.
There's huge, untapped demand in the nation and abroad for high-value, fresh and preserved fruit and vegetable products that deliver taste, nutrient density, and superior margins of safety. Also, with energy prices rising and support for local food security increasing, dependence on imported fresh berries, cherries, tomatoes, and grapes is likely to dwindle. Consumers also have yet to understand that eating imported fresh produce (non-organic) triggers a pronounced spike in pesticide dietary exposure...
Farmers and food processors in the PNW are well positioned to go after this emerging market. A trilogy of benefits awaits — heightened reliance on healthy, safe, and locally grown food; increased demand for Pacific Northwest-grown produce means more jobs in farming and food processing; and, a lower carbon footprint in getting our three square meals a day.
Addendum – A coalition of organizations including The Organic Center and PCC Natural Markets are working to restore funding for NASS pesticide use data collection. We will keep readers of "The Scoop" informed as this coalition engages the Congress and new Administration in discussions on this front.
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Join The Organic Center and Rodale Institute on Nov. 11, 2008, 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm, at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York, NY, for a special gourmet organic reception, educational event and fundraiser to benefit the important work of both nonprofit organizations in advancing the scientific research behind the health and environmental benefits of organic food and farming. Rodale and the Institute will introduce research on how organic can play a positive role in energy conservation, soil and water health and climate change, as well as nutrition, human health and world hunger. Special hosts for the evening include supermodel Emme, leading pediatrician and Organic Center Chair Dr. Alan Greene, M.D., Maria Rodale, Chairman of Rodale Inc., TV host and Organic Center board member Sara Snow, Arran Stephens, founder and CEO of Nature's Path, and David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men's Health magazine. Tickets are $125 per person and are available for purchase at www.organicsolution.org, or contact 303.499.1840.
Mark your calendar for a gala evening in Hollywood when The Organic Center presents its West Coast fundraiser and gourmet organic reception on Dec. 9, 2008, 6:30 – 9:30 pm, at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel in Universal City. Tickets to the evening fundraiser and reception are $125 per person. Visit www.organic-center.org or call 303.499.1840 to purchase tickets. The Organic Center will also present a seminar on organic and the influence of Hollywood during the Hollywood Goes Green Conference, held Dec. 8-9, 2008 at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel. For information, visit www.hollywoodgoesgreen.com.
"Living Soil, Food Quality, and the Future of Food" Session at the AAAS Annual Meeting
The Center organized with Preston Andrews of Washington State University a 90-minute symposium that will be part of the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The session will be held February 13, 2009 at 8:30am. The focus will be on the impacts of long-term organic management on soil quality and food nutrient density. The AAAS meeting will be held February 12-16, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Jerry Glover of The Land Institute will present a paper entitled "Crops, Roots, and Soil Biological Processes: Synergistic Interactions." Preston Andrews will cover fruit and vegetable crop responses to soil management. Alyson Mitchell of U.C. Davis will present on the topic "Nutrient Dense Foods: Phytochemicals and Health Benefits."
The Organic Center Sponsors Two Sessions at the 2009 EcoFarm Conference
The Center helped organize two sessions at the January 22-24, 2008 EcoFarm conference at Asilomar, in Monterey, California. During the "War on Bugs" workshop on Friday, 10:30am-12:30, Will Allen will address the evolution of the war on bugs over the last century. Chuck Benbrook will discuss the impacts and implications of the contemporary trend toward systematic pesticides and genetic engineering technology that strives to get pesticide toxins inside of plants.
On Saturday from 8:30am to 10:00, Dr. John Reganold of Washington State University will join with Chuck Benbrook in a workshop entitled "Why the Science is Starting to Show Benefits for Organic." Dr. Reganold will present results of recent studies at WSU comparing the performance of organic and conventional farming systems, and Chuck will provide an update of recent Organic Center research.
Keep Up with Events by Visiting the Organic Center Blog
Managing Director Steven Hoffman has started an Organic Center blog that will help readers of "The Scoop" stay current on the activities of the Center, events, and other breaking developments.
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Core Truths on the Major Benefits of Organic Food and Farming
Core Truths is a ground breaking compilation of the most current research on organic agriculture. This highly readable and graphically stunning 108-page coffee table book documents the verifiable health and environmental benefits of organic products.
Core Truths includes fascinating research about why:
Organic often tastes better
Organic produce contains, on average, 30 percent higher levels of antioxidants
Organic farming can cut mycotoxin risk by over 50 percent
Organic food dramatically reduces pesticide exposure
Organic farms typically use less energy
Order your copy now! Only $30 (plus $5 shipping and handling in US).
Click here for a preview of the book.
Click here to order.
Donate $100 Now! Receive Free Copy of Core Truths
Be a part of supporting vital research about the science behind organic. Make a gift of $100 to The Organic Center now, and we'll send you a free, hard-cover copy of our ground-breaking book, Core Truths (a $35 value.)
Email Seleyn DeYarus for details.
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The Organic Center Features Jerry Garcia Artwork
Do you or someone you know love The Grateful Dead? Do you enjoy beautiful original works of art? If so, select a giclee of Jerry Garcia original artwork and benefit The Organic Center. This unique fundraising initiative to benefit The Organic Center is made possible through the generosity of filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia and features the series, "In the Garden," by the late Jerry Garcia. Individual prints are $250, or get the full series for $1,000. To order your Jerry Garcia art, click here.
The Organic Center's on-line fundraising program - Become a Friend of The Organic Center
We can now accept secure on-line donations with both yearly and monthly giving options. We also have wonderful gifts to say thank you for your support – including a free one-year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine, organic t-shirt, organic tote bag, our book, Core Truths and Dr. Alan Greene's new book, Raising Baby Green. We have many ways to say thank you for supporting our work.
For more information
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Our Research –
Individuals can support the scientific work of The Organic Center by:
Sharing new information, data, or "Hot Science," email our Chief Scientist
Helping us identify scientists that can contribute to our work, email Chuck Benbrook
Making a contribution, click here
Companies, foundations, or individuals can support work by The Organic Center on a critical issue, or in a specific area through our donor directed research program. Contact Dr. Benbrook for details.
Our Outreach and Communication Program –
Informed consumers drive the organic marketplace. Help The Organic Center reach consumers with the latest science on the organic benefit by:
Join Mission Organic 2010 as an individual
Distributing or reprinting excerpts from our studies
Making a donation to our communications program
For companies, The Organic Center's Mission Organic Affinity Marketing Partnership Program provides resources and tools to help educate your customers about the personal benefits of organic food and farming. Become part of an effort to grow the U.S. market for organic from 3 percent to 10 percent by 2010.
For more information about our affinity marketing program, email Seleyn DeYarus
Learn more about the health and environmental impacts of Mission Organic 2010
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"The Scoop," is an electronic newsletter published monthly by The Organic Center. For a free subscription, visit www.organic-center.org.
© 2008, The Organic Center. All rights reserved. Permission for reproduction of these materials for educational purposes will be granted by contacting The Organic Center at info@organic-center.org.
Editor: Chuck Benbrook, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Organic Center
Design: Karen Lutz Benbrook
Circulation: Matthue DeYarus
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Backed by the world's leading scientists, physicians and scholars, The Organic Center is committed to two goals.
1) RESEARCH: providing free, peer-reviewed, credible science that explores the health and environmental benefits of organic agriculture.
2) EDUCATION: helping people and organizations access and better understand science that sheds light on the organic benefit.
To access free downloads of the latest in organic science, or to Join the Mission, go to: www.organic-center.org.
Managing Director: Steven Hoffman
Development Director: Seleyn DeYarus
TOC Board Chair: Alan Greene, co-founder DrGreene.com
Chair Elect: Michelle Goolsby, Consultant to Dean Foods
Treasurer: Mark Retzloff, President, Aurora Organic Dairy
Secretary: James White, Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands, Safeway
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New Insights on How Parathion Impacts the Developing Brain
Intriguing new insights have emerged on how the organophosphate (OP) insecticide parathion impairs neurological development, and how these impacts can alter behavior throughout life. The NIH-funded research team analyzed the developmental impacts of parathion in a rat study, and learned that parathion exposures –
Alter brain development in several ways and regions, and differently than other OPs;
Adverse effects are observed at doses below those that cause observable systemic toxicity;
Impact males more significantly than females; and
Elicit more serious impacts at lower doses in some regions of the brain.
In one of the more intriguing findings of the study, the team reported that low-level exposure to parathion at critical stages of development impair the role of the brain in sexual differentiation, and as a result, adult males become more female like in their behaviors, and vice versa. Moreover, they found that female rats were better able to repair the damage caused by early-life exposures to parathion in terms of sexual differentiation and behavior. The possible implications of these findings in humans were not discussed.
Source: Theodore A. Slotkin et al., "Exposure of Neonatal Rats to Parathion Elicits Sex-Selective Impairment of Acetylcholine Systems in Brain Regions during Adolescence and Adulthood," Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 116, No. 10, pages 1308-1314
Editor's Note: Nearly every issue of "The Scoop" features a new study in EHP on how pesticides can alter development and impair health. This month's new study builds on an already compelling body of recent science that proves that low-level exposures to OP insecticides pose serious developmental risks.
Fortunately in the U.S., most food uses of parathion, and its cousin methyl parathion, have been curtailed or ended by the EPA in the course of implementing the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The bad news is that parathion residues, along with several other high-risk OPs, remain common, especially in imported foods. Implementation of the FQPA got off to a slow start after passage in 1996, and ran aground with the election of President Bush.
While there is always something to be learned from scientists delving deeper into why and how chemicals like the OPs impair development, surely enough is now known to justify ending dietary exposures to this class of insecticides. The talented scientists that have, over the last decade, so patiently and thoroughly built the case proving the adverse developmental effects of the OPs need to turn their attention and skills to the nicotinyl insecticides that are now found as frequently in several foods as the OPs were 15 years ago.
Scientists Highlight Uncertainty in the Path to Sustainable Biofuels
Twenty-three scientists working for over a dozen universities and institutions authored a "Policy Forum" piece in the October 3, 2008 issue of Science magazine on how to make biofuel production "sustainable." The team acknowledge that more than 30% of the 2008 corn crop is going to be used to make ethanol, and that this percent is not likely to fall for at least a decade.
They see continued commitment to grain-based ethanol because of generous government subsidies and the mandate for biofuels production, despite clear evidence that current ethanol production systems cause environmental harm.
Remarkably, they state that –
"Globally, to produce an important amount of energy with biofuels will require a large amount of land – perhaps as much as is in row-crop agriculture today. This will change the landscape of Earth, not just the United States..."
The team sees the greatest long-term potential for sustainable biofuel production in diversified perennial cropping systems. They also argue for significant research investments and substantial policy reforms in order to "...chart a low-carbon economy that is substantially better than business as usual."
Source: G. Philip Robertson et al., "Sustainable Biofuels Redux," Science, Vol. 322, pages 49-50.
Berries and Brightly Colored Fruits Top the Antioxidant Chart
A team of Cornell University scientists subjected 25 fruits to a series of tests of antioxidant content and cellular activity. Wild and domesticated blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, and pomegranates topped the various lists in varying orders. All brightly colored fruits scored very well in all measures used in the study.
Across all fruits in the diet, apples were found to provide 33% of total phenolics, reflecting very high consumption and moderate phenolics content. Oranges provided 12%, grapes 12.8%, and strawberries, 9.8%.
In urging increased consumption of nutrient-dense, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, the team cited the latest report from the USDA's Economic Research Service on fruit and vegetable intakes. The ERS reports that Americans are still lagging in terms of fruit and vegetable intake. On average in 2005, we consumed 0.9 cups of fruit per day, instead of the 2.0 cups (four servings) recommending in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. And we consumed 1.7 cups of vegetables, instead of the recommended 2.5 cups (five servings), based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
The authors conclude (cautiously) that –
"Antioxidant activity provided by fruits may be important in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases."
Source: Kelly L. Wolfe et al., "Cellular Antioxidant Activity of Common Fruits," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 56, No. 18, pages 8419-8426.
Editor's Note: In the Center's second State of Science Review (SSR) on antioxidants, we analyzed differences in the antioxidant activity of organic and conventional foods, concluding that organic food contains, on average, 30% more antioxidants per gram or per serving.
The antioxidant SSR contains a Table 2 (see page 14-15) that ranks over 65 common foods by antioxidant activity per calorie consumed. In assessing the ability of a food to promote human health, the metric "total antioxidant activity per calorie consumed" is as close as one can come to the miles-per-gallon rating of car energy efficiency.
This widely used Table in our antioxidant SSR is especially valuable for people looking to increase antioxidant intake while consuming fewer calories.
Will GE Technology Produce Drought Resistant Crops?
Michigan State researchers have discovered a gene that plays a role in drought resistance. They also report a role for the cell's endoplasmic reticulum in the regulation of the new drought gene. A member of the research team is quoted as saying –
"We're finding that heat tolerance is a more complex process than was first thought."
A Canadian research company, Performance Plants, Inc. is promising up to 40% higher corn and canola yields from its GE-drought resistance technology, and claims new GE-crops will be ready for commercial adoption in four years.
Drought resistant crops are one of the primary new technologies cited in support of Monsanto's bullish projections of gross profits in 2012. The company expects to earn profits between $9.5 billion and $9.8 billion that year.
Sources: "Drought Resistant GM Crops Ready 'in Four Years',"The Guardian and "Seed and herbicide sales bolster Monsanto," Forbes.com.
Editor's Note: Plant breeders have worked for years to enhance the ability of plants to withstand drought. It is widely recognized that drought tolerance is a complex, multi-gene trait, and that plants respond to excessive heat and drought in a variety of ways. The tools of genetic engineering are now being used to identify genes involved in the drought response process, and the seed industry is keen to exploit newly discovered genes in producing a new generation of drought tolerant plants.
But challenges remain. Plants with heightened capacity to withstand drought are often not able to respond as quickly or fully to more favorable growing conditions. Breeders will almost certainly be able to add new genes, or accentuate expression of existing genes with a role in drought response, but in doing so, other aspects of a plant's response to environmental conditions or pests may be altered, as might crop composition and nutritional quality. (e.g. becoming especially susceptible and attractive to herbivorous insects)
Plant breeding is one way to improve crop performance in regions subject to drought. Improving soil quality is another, since soils higher in organic matter and less subject to compaction take in scarce water more quickly and tend to hold more water for a longer period. Plus, improvements in soil quality deliver other benefits ranging from more nitrogen and micro-nutrients to greater nutrient density in harvested foods. Investments in capturing and making better use of limited rainfall, or water used for irrigation, is another area that often will deliver sustained benefits.
As with other areas of agricultural biotechnology, there is a considerable dose of hype and wishful thinking in recent pronouncements that drought-resistant crops are around the corner and will, single-handedly, dramatically improve yields. Such an outcome is extremely unlikely. Increasing yields on a sustained basis in drought-prone regions is going to require progress on many fronts and a systematic effort to deal with how water moves through an ecosystem. Those who claim that genetic engineering can, by itself, overcome the impacts of drought on yields, especially in the developing world, set the stage for disappointment and postpone investments in initiatives with a surer chance of success.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Dilutes Antioxidant Levels in Fresh Basil
In the first study exploring the impact of nitrogen (N) fertilization levels on the antioxidant and phenolics content of fresh basil, a classic inverse dose-response curve was found by a team of Texas scientists. For most cultivars tested, the higher the N level, the lower the density of antioxidants and polyphenols.
Remarkably, the concentrations of some beneficial phenolics acids were four times higher at the lowest rate of nitrogen application, compared to the highest rate of N use. In two of three varieties tested, total antioxidant activity was 2- to 5-times higher at lower levels of N, compared to the high-N plots.
Source: Phuong M. Nguyen and Emily D. Niemeyer, "Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 56, No. 18, pages 8685-8691.
Nutrition Making a Comeback on the Agenda of Some Plant Breeders
Some fruit and vegetable breeders are heeding the call for greater attention on nutrient density, as opposed to high yields and the capacity of produce to ship long distances.
Echoing themes addressed in the Center's report "Still No Free Lunch," the lead horticulturist with the W. Atlee Burpee Co. is quoted as saying –
"Before, they were breeding for higher yields, stronger plants, produce easier to ship and more ornamental in appearance. Now, they're looking at improvements in flavor and smell, in addition to more nutrients. Enriching the colors is attached to nutritive value."
Source: Associated Press, October 2, 2008.
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Artificial Dyes and Hyperactivity in Children Back in the News
The October 13, 2008 L.A. Times reports on mounting science strengthening the connection between artificial food colors and hyperactive behavior in children. The improvement in behavior when dyes are removed from children's diets is great enough in some cases to convince parents to take their children off Ritalin. The piece by Melinda Fulmer is titled "Do food dyes affect kids' behavior?"
There are nine artificial colors approved for use by the FDA. A 2007 study in the Lancet, a top medical journal, showed that exposures to artificial dyes increased hyperactivity in children, both among young people already displaying hyperactive behavior and children never before displaying such behaviors.
The U.K. government has asked the food industry to voluntarily remove the dyes from foods, and most are complying. Kellogg has removed the dyes from Nutri-Grain cereal bars sold in the U.K., but not those sold in the U.S.
The science supporting FDA's approval of the nine dyes is 30 to 50 years old. In support of approval of the dyes, the FDA cites on its website a 1982 consensus report by the National Institutes of Health.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the FDA to add warning labels on products containing the dyes.
Comment by Dr. Alan Greene, Chairperson, The Organic Center Board: Recent studies raise serious alarm over not just artificial food colors, but also other classes of food additives. We also are learning more about food additive-drug and food additive-chemical interactions. Progress in sequencing the human genome has shown that some children are far more sensitive than others to the behavioral impacts of food additives and other chemicals in food.
The opportunity to avoid most exposures to artificial dyes and food additives is one of the most important but least appreciated benefits of a diet composed of organic foods and beverages. I always council parents to choose organic foods for their children and to increase the portion of their diet composed of whole, fresh foods and only lightly processed organic foods. This is the best strategy to assure kids get the nutrients they need and avoid food additives and chemicals that can trigger serious and sometimes life-long problems.
Michael Pollan's Appeal for Sun Food
In an extraordinary "Letter to the 'Farmer in Chief" published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine on October 12th, Michael Pollan ties together three currents of change that could transform the U.S. food system –
The end of cheap energy and excessive reliance on fossil fuels in farming and food distribution systems;
Emerging demand for nutritious, higher quality foods that will eventually phase out the era of cheap and empty calories, helping to lower health care costs and improve well being; and
The need to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions and enhance environmental quality will force farmers toward sustainable and organic farming systems that rely on the sun rather than petrochemicals.
Some excerpts from this lengthy piece reflect its scope and power –
"...with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close."
"...when we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases."
"...the core idea could not be simpler: we need to wean the American food system off its heavy 20th-century diet of fossil fuel and put it back on a diet of contemporary sunshine."
"This focus on quantity may have made sense in a time of food scarcity, but today it gives us a school-lunch program that feeds chicken nuggets and Tater Tots to overweight and diabetic children."
"Your [the new President] symbolically most resonant step in building a new American food culture...is this: tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden."
"Cheap food is food dishonestly priced – it is in fact unconscionably expensive."
And perhaps Pollan's most provocative and blunt statement –
"You cannot expect to reform the health care system, much less expand coverage, without confronting the public-health catastrophe that is the modern American diet."
Editor's Comment: It is interesting to contrast Pollan's manifesto for food system change with similar "big picture" statements recently released by the biotech industry. While corporate agribusiness and Pollan agree on many of the problems with the American food system, their recommended solutions differ as night from day.
Pollan's basic prescription for getting agriculture moving in a healthier direction is both simple and sound. Farming systems that efficiently use sun and soil are less reliant on fossil fuels, and many produce more food calories than they consume in energy calories. If the new "Farmer in Chief" decides to seriously take on Pollan's action agenda, the nation will benefit greatly from the good work and wisdom gained by organic farmers and food companies.
USDA Lowering Crop Insurance Rates for Farmers Planting GM Crops
The Department of Agriculture has expanded a 2008 pilot program and will be offering corn farmers a $3.00 per acre cut in crop insurance rates for fields planted to GM corn in crop season 2009.
In order to qualify, farmers must plant at least 75% of their corn to a qualifying variety of Bt corn from Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta, or Dow AgroSciences.
Source: Reuters, August 19, 2008.
Editor's Note: The reduction in crop insurance rates for Bt-corn is justified, according to the USDA, by the reduction in risk of above- and below-ground insect damage to corn hybrids expressing the Bt gene for control of the European corn borer and/or corn rootworm.
The principle behind this policy decision is that farming system changes that reduce the risk of crop losses should be rewarded through lower crop insurance rates.
Historically, drought has been by far the dominant cause of significant reductions in corn crop yields. Accordingly, USDA will probably be asked to provide an added subsidy in the form of lower crop insurance premiums when farmers buy and plant drought-tolerant corn varieties.
In the interests of fairness then, organic farmers should also receive a reduction in insurance premiums, since soils on organic farms take in and hold moisture more effectively than soils on conventional farms. Dozens of studies have confirmed that organic farming systems are more resilient in dry years, suffering a lower percentage yield reduction as a result of drought.
Why is it that a break for organic corn farmers in crop insurance rates remains miles off the USDA radar screen and is virtually unimaginable, while the biotech industry just asked politely and is already fully vested?
USDA to Review Animal Welfare and Production Claims
The USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a review of its policies governing approval of animal-raising claims in the labeling of meat, dairy and poultry products.
Terms like "free-range," "raised without antibiotics," raised without added hormones" will be assessed. The FSIS says it is carrying out the review to create a "level playing field" for companies.
Editor's Comment: After years of work and much investment, animal product quality and animal welfare claims associated with organic production have meaning and resonance in the marketplace. It is hard to imagine how this FSIS review will not simply change the hue in already muddy waters.
It is also clear that this review is motivated in part by the protracted controversy over antibiotic-free claims on some Cargill poultry products, as well as the Monsanto-inspired attempt to force dairies to drop claims that their milk is produced from cows not given supplemental rBGH.
With just weeks left in this Administration, however, nothing meaningful will happen until after the transition and this policy review, along with many other ninth inning initiatives of the Bush Administration, could well be overtaken by events.
Conventional Soybeans on the Comeback Trail
A University of Mississippi press release reports that conventional soybeans are coming back and replacing Roundup Ready beans because of lower seed costs, lower weed control costs, and comparable or higher yields.
The release reports that Roundup herbicide costs rose from about $15 per gallon last year to $40 to $50 per gallon in 2008.
Source: "Conventional soybeans offer high yields at lower cost," University of Mississippi Delta Research Center.
GAO Report Hammers FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce
Inadequate staffing, outdated systems and equipment, and too few inspections are among the major problems with FDA's efforts to combat food borne illness, according to a just-released October 3, 2008 General Accounting Office (GAO) report.
Between 2000 and 2007, the FDA found food safety problems at more than 40% of the 2,002 plants that were inspected, yet half were not inspected again to assure corrective actions had been properly implemented.
No fresh produce was seized nor were any plants or companies prosecuted. Only 1% of produce imported into the U.S. is inspected.
Source: Associated Press, October 2, 2008.
Hawaii County Bans the Genetic Modification of Taro and Coffee
A county in the State of Hawaii has adopted a bill that protects the taro (kalo) and coffee industries from genetic engineering and preserves agriculturally-based practices and cultural traditions associated with taro and coffee.
Hawaii County joins a small but growing list of counties that have passed laws or ordinances designed to prohibit the planting of GE-crops and trees.
Experience Life Magazine Highlights the "Good Earth" and Changes in the Food System
The October 2008 issue of the magazine Experience Life, a Lifetime Fitness publication, covers the impacts of organic farming on soil quality and the nutritional quality of organic food, and draws heavily from work by the Center.
The soil piece –"Good Earth" – makes the case that soil health and human health are one and the same. There is solid discussion of the adverse impacts of conventional agriculture on soil quality.
Dr. Robert Kremer, a USDA microbiologist, has carried out key research on the adverse impacts of Roundup Ready soybean technology on soybean plant health. Dr. Kramer states in the article that –
"We find some GM-crops are deficient in micronutrients, either due to genetics or the chemicals used on them to control weeds."
A WSU soil scientist, Craig Cogger, says "Modern breeding hasn't focused on nutritional quality and if you don't focus on a trait, it tends to decline."
A second feature story is called "Progressive Eaters Unite". This piece covers changes in the food industry, Michael Pollan's books, and developments at Whole Foods. The cost of, and access to organic food is also covered in this second piece.
"The Risks of Pigging Out on Antibiotics"
Four friends of the Center published a letter in the September 5, 2008 issue of Science on the risks of agricultural use of antibiotics. The letter is authored by Becky Goldberg of EDF, Steven Roach The Food Animals Concerns Trust, David Wallinga of IATP, and Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Their letter highlights the dangers of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus) and summarizes the now compelling evidence that MRSA has its roots in agricultural use of antibiotics. A swine-based strain of MRSA in the Netherlands has been linked to 20% of human MRSA infections.
A 2008 study found that 70% of the pigs tested in Iowa and Illinois carried MRSA.
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More than 20 million home gardens were supplying up to 40% of the produce consumed by Americans as a result of the "Victory Garden" movement during World War II.
The USDA opposed President Roosevelt's decision to plant a White House garden and promote Victory Gardens, fearing that such a movement might hurt the American food industry.
Food energy calories produced per calorie of fossil fuel energy in 1940: 2.3
Food energy calories produced per calorie of fossil fuel energy in 2008: 0.1
One in three American children born in 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes.
Eight of 535 members of the U.S. Congress are scientists or engineers.
Eight of nine senior leaders in China hold advanced degrees in the sciences and engineering.
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The "New" Attacks on Organic Food and Farming
By:
Chuck Benbrook
It is hard to miss the growing variety and vehemence of attacks on organic food and farming in the media, blogosphere, and from some organizations. A Fox News piece October 4, 2008 was called "Organic Food Offers Little More Than Peace of Mind, Critics Say." Alex Avery's book is plugged and he is quoted as saying "It's [organic food] a total con. There is not a shred of science" to back up claims that organic food is safer or more nutritious.
On the subject of organic milk, Avery asserts that "...labs have not found 'one detectable difference whatsoever.'"
A Food Navigator commentary on October 6, 2008 is entitled "Bringing organic back down to earth." It begins by stating – "Organic has an image problem." The gist of the piece is that organic food is too pricey and a luxury only the well off can afford, and that people are made to feel guilty if they do not eat an exclusively organic diet, "And that, I think, is a shame..." according to the author.
The Delta Farm Press posted a story October 8th called "Cotton bollworms:660 / organic cotton:zero." The confusing headline refers to a yield of 660 pounds of cotton with modern technology – pesticides, Bt cotton – compared to zero pounds from an organic cotton field trial in Uganda, after an insect outbreak essentially defoliated the plants. Reminiscent of Sarah Palin's use of language, the piece goes on to state –
"This and other organic experiments have impressed the Ugandan government so much that their Cotton Development Organization has begun offering pesticides to farmers at subsidized prices. Meanwhile, the most damaging pests reported in Ugandan fields these days is anyone promoting organic methods."
Attacks of this nature, and others more subtle and insidious, are an inevitable byproduct of the success of organic farmers and the organic food industry. Growth in demand for, and interest in organic food and farming, reflects in part growing consumer dissatisfaction with conventional food and production technology. This dissatisfaction is rooted in a long list of problems caused by contemporary agriculture and our food system that keep impacting people in profound and unmistakable ways. News of such problems is a near-daily part of mainstream news coverage, and spans the latest on E. coli O157 outbreaks, chemical contaminants in food, antibiotic resistance and antibiotics in drinking water, inhumane care of animals, and pesticides in umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid.
Organic food and farming did not create these problems and cannot solve them alone, but is clearly one way to cut them down to size. This inherent and indisputable benefit of organic food and farming threatens some people and economic interests, and we can expect them to continue challenging efforts to increase growth and investment in the organic food industry.
As a nation we have entered a frightening era of fragility in national financial institutions, energy markets, real estate, international affairs, health care, public health, and food. Could our food system suffer from the same misguided optimism and failure to heed warning signs that brought down Wall Street?
Organic food and farming has much to offer the nation. We need to stay focused on improving the quality and consistency of organic food, while expanding supply and working to make the organic segment of the food industry more efficient. Through efficiency, we will be better prepared to offer farmers a fair pay price, finance the pragmatic steps needed to conserve soil and water resources and lower our carbon footprint, and generate profits to invest in growth, research, development, and consumer education.
We need to avoid overstating the benefits of organic food and farming, but also must not shy away from explaining – and backing up – proven benefits. No amount of new science documenting the benefits of organic food and farming is going to change the minds of ideologues dedicated to the mission of raising doubts in the minds of consumers.
But new science is a powerful force for those with an open mind and consumers paying attention to their diet and food quality. It creates a force for change that we need to invest in, respect and heed, as we work to improve the quality and affordability of organic food. Done well and in ways that build consumer trust, the rewards will be tangible and sustained in the marketplace, on our farms and in rural areas, and for individuals that take personal responsibility for their food choices and family's health.
Excerpts from the October 7, 2008 "Statement by the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the Benefits of Organic Farming"
Access the full text on the Center's website.
"... after decades of relative neglect - the state of the world´s agricultural production system has returned to the centre of international policy debates. The rapid rise in food prices in the last few months has drawn attention to the dire state of agriculture in many developing countries, where producers have not been able to scale up supply in response to higher prices.
Earlier this year, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) - an intergovernmental process supported by over 400 experts and many UN Agencies - concluded that "the way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse."
In our view, organic agriculture is one of the most promising options to meet these challenges. Let me mention a few of the relevant advantages:
Increased earnings
The potential to export goods to consumers willing to pay premium prices for certified organic production in many developed countries generates significant income possibilities for organic farmers in the developing world. In 2006, global certified organic sales were estimated to have reached over 30 billion euros, a 20 per cent increase over 2005, and are expected to increase to 52 billion euros by 2012.
Organic production is also particularly well-suited for smallholder farmers, who comprise the majority of the world´s poor.... As the seminal work by Amartya Sen on Famines has shown us, it is not always the absence of food that creates hunger, but also the inability of some to pay for existing food stocks. Higher incomes through exports of organic food can help small farmers in developing countries to afford higher food prices.
Increased productivity
But organic food production does not necessarily mean a sacrifice in terms of output. A recent UNCTAD-UNEP study analyzing 114 cases in Africa revealed that a conversion of farms to organic production and related training and capacity building led to an increase in agricultural productivity of 116%! Moreover, organic agriculture builds on and keeps alive farmers´ rich heritage of traditional knowledge and traditional agricultural varieties.
Reduced dependence on external inputs
As a sustainable and environmentally friendly production system, organic agriculture is based on active agro-ecosystem management and local resources instead of external inputs. This means that organic farmers are less affected by rising fertilizer and agrochemical costs. Indeed, as the prices of agro-chemicals are driven up by high oil prices, organic agriculture, which uses no synthetic agro-chemicals, becomes increasingly competitive. And reliance on local renewable resources reduces rural communities´ vulnerability to external volatility caused by factors far beyond their control.
Environmentally friendly
In an age of increasing environmental concern and impending climate change, one important additional advantage of organic production methods comes to bear: It does not pollute the environment with agro-chemicals, and also reduces illness and death in farm families due to agro-chemical exposure -- a leading cause of occupational mortality and morbidity worldwide. Organic agriculture actually conserves biodiversity and natural resources on the farm and in the surrounding areas. It improves soil fertility and structure, thus improving water retention and resilience to climatic stress, contributing to climate change adaptation. Finally, it mitigates climate change by utilizing less energy than conventional agriculture and also by sequestering carbon.
For all these reasons, we believe that organic agriculture is a powerful tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those related to poverty reduction and the environment. Of course, at the moment, organic agriculture is only a niche market, accounting for currently about 2% of global farmland. However, its potential has not yet been fully explored, and it deserves our full attention as an important tool for development.
Challenges
But there are also challenges for developing countries in seizing these opportunities, particularly in terms of building productive capacities and market access and entry difficulties.
It is ironic that, at a time when environmental concerns are high on the international agenda, the technical barriers to trade in environmentally preferable products, including organic agricultural products, are generally much higher than for regular products.
Environmentally preferable products must meet all the requirements that conventional products do. In addition, they must provide evidence of their environmental claims--for example that they have been produced according to certain standards and that this has been verified by a certification body which in turn has been duly accredited or approved by a competent authority. Naturally, each market and often even each individual retailer has its own standard and conformity assessment requirements, and there is little or no inter-operability among systems.
Meeting all of these requirements can be daunting even for a large developed country producer. For small scale producers in developing countries, it can place the tantalizing fruits of organic and other green markets beyond their reach.
Excerpts from "Pesticides and Food: Flying Blind"
By: Charles Benbrook
Originally published in the "Sound Consumer," the newsletter of PCC Natural Markets, in Seattle, Washington. The full text is on the Center's website.
What pesticides are used on what food crops? What residues remain when the crops go to market and how risky are those residues? And what about the vulnerable amongst us, are we fully protecting pregnant women, infants and children, and the elderly?
Worrisome evidence that even minute levels of pesticides in food can impair human development has driven demand for organic foods — produced without synthetic insecticides, herbicides or fungicides. Since the beginning of the organic movement, consumers increasingly have made it clear they want toxic pesticides out of their food and off their plates.
Yet a recent decision by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to stop measuring the use of pesticides on American farms could make it much harder to track pesticide use and risk trends.
What we know and how we know it
Annually since the early 1990s, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), an agency of the USDA, has collected detailed data on pesticide use on a representative sample of farms across the country...
Despite some shortcomings, NASS pesticide use data has been the only free, publicly available resource for anyone studying, monitoring, measuring — and attempting to manage — pesticide use and risks...
It's often said that what gets measured gets managed. Without measuring pesticide use, we will be stymied in attempts to manage pesticide risks.
The latest pesticide data
In 2008, the USDA released pesticide use data only for apples and cotton in the 2007 crop season. NASS collected no data for corn or soybeans in 2006 and 2007.
The lack of this use data means independent analysts cannot quantify what's likely to be an enormous increase in herbicide applications since 2005 needed to keep up with resistant weeds on land planted with genetically modified (GM) Roundup Ready® corn and soy. Reports we issued in 2002 and 2004 relied heavily on NASS data and contradicted industry claims that GM crops were reducing pesticide use. Now, Monsanto can continue making bogus claims that Roundup Ready technology reduces herbicide use with little fear of contradictory data...
No pesticide use data has been collected in 2008... An unusual coalition of industry and environmentalists, government agencies (including the EPA) and consumer organizations (including PCC) are asking USDA and Congress to restore the $8 million needed to reinstate NASS's pesticide data collection activities. Hopefully data collection will resume in the fall of 2009.
An emerging opportunity
No doubt some agriculture interests feel that the less data generated by government on pesticide use and risks, the fewer headaches from noisy non-profit organizations. This myopic view misses the big picture.
The PNW leads the nation in organic tree fruit production and sustainable farming. Many non-organic farmers in our region are moving to purge their production systems of high-risk chemistry and are adopting many practices developed and perfected by organic farmers.
There's huge, untapped demand in the nation and abroad for high-value, fresh and preserved fruit and vegetable products that deliver taste, nutrient density, and superior margins of safety. Also, with energy prices rising and support for local food security increasing, dependence on imported fresh berries, cherries, tomatoes, and grapes is likely to dwindle. Consumers also have yet to understand that eating imported fresh produce (non-organic) triggers a pronounced spike in pesticide dietary exposure...
Farmers and food processors in the PNW are well positioned to go after this emerging market. A trilogy of benefits awaits — heightened reliance on healthy, safe, and locally grown food; increased demand for Pacific Northwest-grown produce means more jobs in farming and food processing; and, a lower carbon footprint in getting our three square meals a day.
Addendum – A coalition of organizations including The Organic Center and PCC Natural Markets are working to restore funding for NASS pesticide use data collection. We will keep readers of "The Scoop" informed as this coalition engages the Congress and new Administration in discussions on this front.
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Join The Organic Center and Rodale Institute on Nov. 11, 2008, 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm, at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York, NY, for a special gourmet organic reception, educational event and fundraiser to benefit the important work of both nonprofit organizations in advancing the scientific research behind the health and environmental benefits of organic food and farming. Rodale and the Institute will introduce research on how organic can play a positive role in energy conservation, soil and water health and climate change, as well as nutrition, human health and world hunger. Special hosts for the evening include supermodel Emme, leading pediatrician and Organic Center Chair Dr. Alan Greene, M.D., Maria Rodale, Chairman of Rodale Inc., TV host and Organic Center board member Sara Snow, Arran Stephens, founder and CEO of Nature's Path, and David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men's Health magazine. Tickets are $125 per person and are available for purchase at www.organicsolution.org, or contact 303.499.1840.
Mark your calendar for a gala evening in Hollywood when The Organic Center presents its West Coast fundraiser and gourmet organic reception on Dec. 9, 2008, 6:30 – 9:30 pm, at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel in Universal City. Tickets to the evening fundraiser and reception are $125 per person. Visit www.organic-center.org or call 303.499.1840 to purchase tickets. The Organic Center will also present a seminar on organic and the influence of Hollywood during the Hollywood Goes Green Conference, held Dec. 8-9, 2008 at the Hilton Los Angeles Hotel. For information, visit www.hollywoodgoesgreen.com.
"Living Soil, Food Quality, and the Future of Food" Session at the AAAS Annual Meeting
The Center organized with Preston Andrews of Washington State University a 90-minute symposium that will be part of the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The session will be held February 13, 2009 at 8:30am. The focus will be on the impacts of long-term organic management on soil quality and food nutrient density. The AAAS meeting will be held February 12-16, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Jerry Glover of The Land Institute will present a paper entitled "Crops, Roots, and Soil Biological Processes: Synergistic Interactions." Preston Andrews will cover fruit and vegetable crop responses to soil management. Alyson Mitchell of U.C. Davis will present on the topic "Nutrient Dense Foods: Phytochemicals and Health Benefits."
The Organic Center Sponsors Two Sessions at the 2009 EcoFarm Conference
The Center helped organize two sessions at the January 22-24, 2008 EcoFarm conference at Asilomar, in Monterey, California. During the "War on Bugs" workshop on Friday, 10:30am-12:30, Will Allen will address the evolution of the war on bugs over the last century. Chuck Benbrook will discuss the impacts and implications of the contemporary trend toward systematic pesticides and genetic engineering technology that strives to get pesticide toxins inside of plants.
On Saturday from 8:30am to 10:00, Dr. John Reganold of Washington State University will join with Chuck Benbrook in a workshop entitled "Why the Science is Starting to Show Benefits for Organic." Dr. Reganold will present results of recent studies at WSU comparing the performance of organic and conventional farming systems, and Chuck will provide an update of recent Organic Center research.
Keep Up with Events by Visiting the Organic Center Blog
Managing Director Steven Hoffman has started an Organic Center blog that will help readers of "The Scoop" stay current on the activities of the Center, events, and other breaking developments.
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Core Truths on the Major Benefits of Organic Food and Farming
Core Truths is a ground breaking compilation of the most current research on organic agriculture. This highly readable and graphically stunning 108-page coffee table book documents the verifiable health and environmental benefits of organic products.
Core Truths includes fascinating research about why:
Organic often tastes better
Organic produce contains, on average, 30 percent higher levels of antioxidants
Organic farming can cut mycotoxin risk by over 50 percent
Organic food dramatically reduces pesticide exposure
Organic farms typically use less energy
Order your copy now! Only $30 (plus $5 shipping and handling in US).
Click here for a preview of the book.
Click here to order.
Donate $100 Now! Receive Free Copy of Core Truths
Be a part of supporting vital research about the science behind organic. Make a gift of $100 to The Organic Center now, and we'll send you a free, hard-cover copy of our ground-breaking book, Core Truths (a $35 value.)
Email Seleyn DeYarus for details.
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The Organic Center Features Jerry Garcia Artwork
Do you or someone you know love The Grateful Dead? Do you enjoy beautiful original works of art? If so, select a giclee of Jerry Garcia original artwork and benefit The Organic Center. This unique fundraising initiative to benefit The Organic Center is made possible through the generosity of filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia and features the series, "In the Garden," by the late Jerry Garcia. Individual prints are $250, or get the full series for $1,000. To order your Jerry Garcia art, click here.
The Organic Center's on-line fundraising program - Become a Friend of The Organic Center
We can now accept secure on-line donations with both yearly and monthly giving options. We also have wonderful gifts to say thank you for your support – including a free one-year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine, organic t-shirt, organic tote bag, our book, Core Truths and Dr. Alan Greene's new book, Raising Baby Green. We have many ways to say thank you for supporting our work.
For more information
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Our Research –
Individuals can support the scientific work of The Organic Center by:
Sharing new information, data, or "Hot Science," email our Chief Scientist
Helping us identify scientists that can contribute to our work, email Chuck Benbrook
Making a contribution, click here
Companies, foundations, or individuals can support work by The Organic Center on a critical issue, or in a specific area through our donor directed research program. Contact Dr. Benbrook for details.
Our Outreach and Communication Program –
Informed consumers drive the organic marketplace. Help The Organic Center reach consumers with the latest science on the organic benefit by:
Join Mission Organic 2010 as an individual
Distributing or reprinting excerpts from our studies
Making a donation to our communications program
For companies, The Organic Center's Mission Organic Affinity Marketing Partnership Program provides resources and tools to help educate your customers about the personal benefits of organic food and farming. Become part of an effort to grow the U.S. market for organic from 3 percent to 10 percent by 2010.
For more information about our affinity marketing program, email Seleyn DeYarus
Learn more about the health and environmental impacts of Mission Organic 2010
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"The Scoop," is an electronic newsletter published monthly by The Organic Center. For a free subscription, visit www.organic-center.org.
© 2008, The Organic Center. All rights reserved. Permission for reproduction of these materials for educational purposes will be granted by contacting The Organic Center at info@organic-center.org.
Editor: Chuck Benbrook, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Organic Center
Design: Karen Lutz Benbrook
Circulation: Matthue DeYarus
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Backed by the world's leading scientists, physicians and scholars, The Organic Center is committed to two goals.
1) RESEARCH: providing free, peer-reviewed, credible science that explores the health and environmental benefits of organic agriculture.
2) EDUCATION: helping people and organizations access and better understand science that sheds light on the organic benefit.
To access free downloads of the latest in organic science, or to Join the Mission, go to: www.organic-center.org.
Managing Director: Steven Hoffman
Development Director: Seleyn DeYarus
TOC Board Chair: Alan Greene, co-founder DrGreene.com
Chair Elect: Michelle Goolsby, Consultant to Dean Foods
Treasurer: Mark Retzloff, President, Aurora Organic Dairy
Secretary: James White, Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands, Safeway
The Organic Center
P.O. Box 20513
Boulder, CO USA 80308
tel 303.499.1840
fax 419.858.1042
www.organic-center.org
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