Organic products: Good for you, Good for the environment

Mauro F C Lins (mauro@dr-organico.com)

06/2010

Keywords: organic products, nutrition, health, chemical substances, illnesses, agrotoxic products, Brazil,
food, environment

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Organic products are coming along. In the beginning in Brazil, the consumer culture behind organic
products was seen as a niche market for the “tree huggers” or “hippies.” This seemed to be a temporary
trend uniquely for a small group of specific consumers. In contrast today, organic products have a
stronger reputation in the scientific community such as in the European Commission which has a
campaign entitled “Organic Agriculture- Good for nature, Good for you”1.

The advantages of organic products can be placed into three different categories: organic products are
more nutritional and contain less toxic substances for your health (more healthy). Furthermore, they are
better for the planet.

1) More nutritional. In 2007, some scientists from the University of Davis in California observed
that organic tomatoes contained more than double the amount of an extremely important
antioxidant called quercetin2. In 2008, some Spanish scientists documented the fact that organic
oranges are richer in minerals, antioxidants, and display better sensory qualities. The levels of
carotenoids, a recognized healthy substance, were found to be 40% higher in organic oranges as
well. This study was published in the highly regarded publication, Journal of the Science of Food
and Agriculture3. In a 2009 study4, some USDA researchers concluded that “it is tempting to
speculate that with modern agriculture, we are able to organically produce products which
promote a healthy diet and which could have higher levels of nutrients through these organic
methods than through the other farming techniques which use pesticides”. During the 2009
symposium “Living Soil, Food Quality and the Future of Food” presented during the annual
meeting of the American Association for the advancement of Science (AAAS), researchers from
the University of Washington, University of Davis in CA and the Land Institute concluded the
following from their last ten years of research5:

- Organic tomatoes have significantly higher levels of soluble solids and natural
molecules called secondary metabolites, which include flavonoids, lycopenes, and
vitamin C.

- A study of 27 organic spinach fields finds that levels of flavonoids and vitamin C were
significantly higher and the levels of nitrates were significantly reduced. Nitrates
found in food are considered harmful to human’s health, because it forms
carcinogenic compounds (nitrosamines) in the gastrointestinal tract and could
transform hemoglobin to a form incapable of transporting oxygen to the blood.

Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the world’s largest general Scientific Society and publishes the
famous Scientific review Science, yielding more than 10 million readers throughout the world.

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 Recently, the French Food Safely Agency (AFSSA) published a study which shows the nutritional
superiority of organic foods6. The author of this study, Professor Denis Lairon from the University
of Aix-Marseille, also emphasized the security in these products in concluding that 94% to 100%
of these products do not contain pesticides. Furthermore, 50% or less of organic products
contain nitrates which are compounds found by a multitude of scientists to be capable of
provoking cancer.

2) Less Chemistry (More Health). Including being more nutrient rich, organic products are an
alternative for avoiding contact with chemical substances (agrotoxic chemicals or as they are
elegantly called: crop protecting agents) of which the effects on our health from these chemicals
are beginning to be questioned. Especially the chemical substances which have already been
withdrawn from the market. Some studies associate the exposure to these chemicals with
several types of conditions and illnesses, such as prostate cancer 7, tumors in children8,
hypertension during pregnancy9, and mental problems in children10 to the point of obesity11,12.
Children exposed to these pesticides during their uterine life are three times more likely to be
obese by the age of six13. Although most of the studies were carried out outside of Brazil, we
must remember that Brazil is the largest consumer of these agrotoxic products in the world
(Source ANVISA)14.

3) Better for the planet. The inadequate utilization of the earth (deforestation) and the utilization
of chemical fertilizers are also very big culprits of global warming. The emissions from
conventional agriculture techniques exceed the carbon emissions from all cars, trucks, trains and
airplanes of the world. If 1.4 billion of cultivated hectares would be transformed into organic
farming, we would reduce the carbon emissions in the world by 40%. This would be
accomplished by limiting the carbon in the soil, reducing deforestation, and reducing the green
house gas effects associated with chemical fertilizers. This data is explained in Chapter three of
“Farming and Land Use to Cool the Planet” from a State of the World report, published by World
Watch Institute in 200915.

Thus, the debate for organic farming denotes solid scientific arguments which completely justify the
investment in this type of culture and way of living. Brazil can and should be the biggest supplier of food
for the world, a world which will increasingly make it more difficult for products containing chemical
substances to enter the market place. Organic farming is capable of feeding the entire planet, contrary
to what some say, according to the United Nations who strongly affirm that organic farming can sustain
the world with less of an environmental impact16,17.

References:

1. http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_pt.

2. Ten-year comparison of the influence of organic and conventional crop management practices on the
content of flavonoids in tomatoes. Mitchel AE et al, J Agric Food Chem. 2007, 55(15):6154-9.

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3. Effects of agricultural practices on instrumental colour, mineral content, carotenoid composition, and
sensory quality of mandarin orange juice, cv. Hernandina. Beltran-Gonzales et al, J Sci of Food and
Agriculture, 2008, 88(10):1731 – 1738.

4. Phytoalexin-Enriched Functional Foods, Boue et al, J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57 (7): 2614–2622.

5. http://www.aes.ucdavis.edu/NewsEvents/web-news/2009/2/how-organic-and-conventional-farming-
practices-impact-crop-nutrients-1.

6. Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review. Lairon, Denis. http://www.agronomy-
journal.org/index.php?option=article&access=doi&doi=10.1051/agro/2009019.

7. The growing incidence of prostate cancer in the French Caribbean islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe:
A possible causal role of pesticides. Belpomme et al, International Journal of Oncology, 2009 (35): 433.

8. Parental Exposure to Pesticides and Childhood Brain Cancer: U.S. Atlantic Coast Childhood Brain
Cancer Study, Shim, Y. K. et al; Environ Health Perspect 117:1002–1006 (2009).

9. Pesticide Exposure and Hypertensive Disorders During Pregnancy, Saldana, T.M et al, Environ Health
Perspect, 2009, (117):1393–1396.

10. Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides used in Europe, Bjørling-Poulsen, M; Andersen, HR

& Grandjean, P. - Environmental Health 2008, (7):50.

11. Transgenerational inheritance of environmental obesogens - Porta, M.; Duk-Hee, L.; Puigdomènech,
E. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2009, (66):141-142.

12. Maternal levels of dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE) may increase weight and body mass index
in adult female offspring - Karmaus, W et al, Mudd, J Zhang, Occupational and Environmental Medicine
2009, (66):143-149.

13. Exposure to hexachlorobenzene during pregnancy increases the risk of overweight in children aged 6
years, Smink, A. et al, Acta Pædiatrica, 2008, 97(10):1465 – 1469.

14. Programa de Análise de Resíduos de Agrotóxicos em Alimentos (PARA) – ANVISA.

15. www.worldwatch.org.

16. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Organic Agriculture and Food Security, May 2007.

17. UNCTAD, UNEP, Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, Oct. 2008.

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Translation for Rede Verde Conservation Network Inc.: Kimberly Kendall

Rede Verde Conservation Network Inc. BN: 845495613NP0001

York street, 8 - 1st floor Moncton, NB E1C2X9 Canada
URL : www.rede-verde.org Email: info@rede-verde.org