"A bunch of hooey"
Dissecting a much-hyped Stanford report on organic vs. conventional foods.
by Arielle Stevenson
- Arielle Stevenson
- ORGANICALLY SPEAKING: The study noted that organic food was no more nutritious then conventional food, but what does that mean?
Stanford released a study on Sept. 3 concluding that organic food was no more nutritious than its conventional counterpart.
Kip Curtis is assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Curtis spearheaded a project to put a community garden at Lakewood Elementary, and has been heavily involved in organic gardening and permaculture initiatives locally. We asked Curtis what he thought of Stanford’s findings.
CL: Are the findings in Stanford’s study significant?
Kip Curtis: It’s a big deal because it’s Stanford. I’m not sure who is pushing this along, but it’s actually a bunch of hooey.
Why is that?
First of all, the point of organics isn’t nutrition. Take an apple grown with pesticides and fertilizer and an apple grown organically; one doesn’t have more nutritional value than the other.
So what did the study find then?
This is a bait and switch. They have taken an argument that doesn’t exist that organic food is more nutritious than conventional food. It’s a straw man argument. The upside is that the study showed organic food is just as nutritious as conventional food, though.How are people in the organic food community responding?
I am on a listserv about food security… I said let’s not have this argument the wrong way. Organic food isn’t more nutritious, but it is healthier when you consider the impact of pesticides and fertilizers on the environment and people. We should celebrate these findings because it proves that organic food is just as nutritious and that’s good.
Is rhetoric at play here?
The framing of this study’s finding is nefarious. My guess is this is an effort by big agriculture to discredit organic food. This is a very clever rhetorical game.Why should people continue to buy organic foods over conventional foods?
Pesticides and fertilizers are destroying the environment. We’ve got 150 dead zones where drain-off from agriculture creates algae blooms and suffocate fish. Pesticides are showing up in breast milk around the world. This study is well-placed and well-played, but to argue about it is just jousting windmills.
Do you think the recent rise of food consciousness and organic awareness is important to note?
A food revolution is afoot. This is an indication of how far we’ve come and the impact to the bottom line. Big agriculture is playing a game and trying to play defense. I’m not going to argue against nutrition but lets talk about health. The study is so blatantly framed in biased way to mislead. These scientists should be ashamed; they didn’t even do the studies themselves. Maybe they came up with some innocuous findings and it got away from them with the media. The real issue would be if it turned out organics were less nutritious, but that’s not how the story got played.
Overall, what should people take away from the study?
Health is the issue here, health to my body, and health to the environment. Ultimately my feeling is that there is nothing to be defensive about. Let’s be real and fact-check and make sure we understand the terms we are using and the nature of the debate.
Related Stories
-
Help them grow
St. Petersburg’s Edible Peace Patch needs your help.
-
Restaurant News: Hello, goodbye
Empouria opens, one World of Beer location closes.
-
A three-hour tour 1
Eat. Sip. Indulge. Now that's a nice trip!
-
Downtown’s bar shift 1
The Indy closes, The Bends opens.
-
Permaculture in the ’Burg 1
How one couple turned their backyard into an urban farm.
-
Fresher market 4
Graham’s is the place to go for budget-priced fruits, veggies and more.
-
Happy meals from Reservations-To-Go
Fast, fresh, delicious takeout made with skill in Seminole Heights.
Comments (1)
Showing 1-1 of 1
Latest in News
-
Gary and Amy Moran leave Wimauma 1
"You can't have two different drivers driving the same bus," Moran said Friday.
-
The Cindy
Veronica Danko, owner of the Seminole Heights Independent, expands to Clearwater.
-
The politics of food
Wenonah Hauter is on a mission to change America’s food system.
- More »
More by Arielle Stevenson
-
Drink beer for breakfast and help the ballet 1
Head to Mandarin Hide for the annual Beer Breakfast that benefits the Florida West Ballet.
-
Vintage Ultra Lounge closes, Club Detroit returns 1
Vintage Ultra ends its run at the space adjacent to Jannus, Club Detroit returns to the space.
- More »
Recent Comments
-
Re: Mi Ranchito: Lunch, pets and an oil change
Its amazing, how peple if we ca call it people, dedicate themself to write such…
- on May 21, 2013
-
Re: Vietnamese dining guide
saigon deli is the best one!
- on May 21, 2013
-
Re: Hot shots
Here is a link to the new shot menu! Go grab some! http://bit.ly/16A7PlK
- on May 19, 2013
-
Re: It’s R Bar
Not one for beer, I'll vouch for Eric the cook. I tend to get the…
-
on May 17, 2013
- More »
