It is often repeated that "Organic Is Better." Surely the effects of organic cultivation are better for the earth; this has been proven time and again. But that crops grown in this way are nutritionally superior has been widely accepted on faith alone.
Intuitively, it seems that they would be better, but there has been no hard evidence to support this supposition. Researchers at Rutgers University, intrigued by the emphatic claim that "Organic Is Better" decided to shop around for some answers. They went to a supermarket and purchased a selection of produce, which they analyzed for mineral content. They then went to a health food store featuring organically grown produce and repeated their purchase. The organic produce was put through the same testing.
The Rutgers team expected the organic produce to be slightly superior in this comparison, but the results were astounding! For example, notice the amount of iron in the organic spinach and the organic tomatoes. The commercial spinach had only 3% as much iron and the commercial tomatoes only.0005%! Incredibly, many essential elements are completely absent from the commercial produce. The following chart shows these results:
Variations in Mineral Content in Vegetables.
Firman E. Baer report, Rutgers University
|
Percentage of Dry Weight |
Millequivalents per 100 grams Dry Weight |
Trace Elements parts per million Dry Matter |
|
Tot. Ash Mineral |
Phosphorus |
Calcium |
Magnesium |
Potassium |
Sodium |
Boron |
Manganese |
Iron |
Copper |
Cobalt |
|
|
SNAP BEANS |
|||||||||||
|
Organic |
10.45 |
0.36 |
40.5 |
60.0 |
99.7 |
8.6 |
73 |
60 |
227 |
69 |
0.26 |
|
Commercial |
4.04 |
0.22 |
15.5 |
14.8 |
29.1 |
0.9 |
10 |
2 |
10 |
3 |
0 |
|
CABBAGE |
|||||||||||
|
Organic |
10.38 |
0.38 |
60.0 |
43.6 |
148.3 |
20.4 |
42 |
13 |
94 |
48 |
0.15 |
|
Commercial |
6.12 |
0.18 |
17.5 |
13.6 |
33.7 |
0.8 |
7 |
2 |
20 |
0.4 |
0 |
|
LETTUCE |
|||||||||||
|
Organic |
24.48 |
0.43 |
71 |
49.3 |
176.5 |
12.2 |
37 |
169 |
516 |
60 |
0.19 |
|
Commercial |
7.01 |
0.22 |
16 |
13.1 |
53.7 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
|
TOMATOES |
|||||||||||
|
Organic |
14.2 |
0.35 |
23 |
59.2 |
148.3 |
6.5 |
36 |
68 |
1938 |
53 |
0.63 |
|
Commercial |
6.07 |
0.16 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
58.8 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
SPINAGE |
|||||||||||
|
Organic |
28.56 |
0.52 |
96 |
203.9 |
237 |
69.5 |
88 |
117 |
1584 |
32 |
0.25 |
|
Commercial |
12.38 |
0.27 |
47.5 |
46.9 |
84.6 |
0.8 |
12 |
1 |
49 |
0.3 |
0.2 |