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The Environmental News Network reports in their article, “USDA Refuses to Admit what 50 Million Americans Already Know: Organic Food is Healthier“, that it is proven through peer-reviewed studies that organic foods contain more vitamin rich content than the conventional alternatives. The University of California Davis has found that flavenoid levels in organic tomatoes are 97 percent higher than conventional tomatoes. Flavenoids are said to protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer. They also determined that organic kiwi has higher antioxidant levels and a greater amount of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) than a conventionally grown kiwi.

The article also calls into question the nutritional density of conventional foods. It states:

“In a paper he published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Bruce Ames, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California-Berkeley, noted that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common in the United States, and that these deficiencies may accelerate degenerative diseases.

Even our ever-expanding waistlines may be due in part to nutrient declines in our foods. Paul Hepperly, director of research at the Rodale Institute, thinks we may be responding like cattle do.

“Cattle will eat more of hay that’s been rained on and had most of its nutrients leach out than they normally would,” he says. “The animals get these big bellies, and they’re unhealthy, but they’re just trying to get their nutrients. Ranchers know that if they have animals with hay belly, they have poor quality food. What we’ve done with the erosion of nutrient content in our foods – what we’ve done with additives, processing and artificial agriculture production methods – is that we have basically produced a hay belly nation.”

The Food and Drug Administration however has no policy on organics and instead defers to the Department of Agriculture, who holds the position that they are not responsible for studying the benefits of organic foods as compared to conventional and instead their job is to ensure that organic labeling standards are upheld. However, it is becoming more and more clear to Americans that organic foods are better for you, as evidenced by the growing number of people choosing to eat organically and it’s increased availability in grocery stores. I wonder what it will take before our governmental standards mirror what 50 million Americans already seem to know?