Most of us eat organic food because we want to avoid synthetic pesticides. Now there’s another reason to look for the organic label: Organic food is more nutritious, according to a soon-to-be-released Newcastle University/European Union study.
For four years, researchers grew vegetables and fruits and raised livestock on adjacent organic and non-organic land on a 725-acre farm in northeast England. They found:
• Organic wheat, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and cabbage had 20 to 40 percent more essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, C and beta-carotene.
• Potatoes, kiwi fruit and carrots are higher in immune-boosting vitamin C than their chemically farmed counterparts.
• Organic milk contains a better ratio of good to bad fatty acids and more vitamin E, an important cardiovascular antioxidant.