In an announcement that made parents everywhere scratch their heads in disbelief, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement last month questioning whether organic food was really any better for children than conventional food.
The statement, which was published in the Journal Pediatrics, comes on the heels of a Stanford University study touting similar conclusions.
Dr. Janet Silverstein, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville and co-author of the Academy’s statement, said that the science is lacking as to whether eating pesticide-free food makes people any healthier.
Hold on just one minute!
The American Academy of Pediatrics actually needs “rigorous” scientific data to prove that eating food without poison is better than eating food with poison simply because the poison is “within safety limits”?
Doesn’t this strike you as just a wee bit ridiculous and tantamount to saying that science hasn’t proved that the sun comes up in the morning so we are going to assume it doesn’t until further studies are done?
As my grass-fed dairy farmer is fond of saying, “You just can’t fix stupid”.
For those of you who might have been more than a little confused by this statement, I filmed a brief video to discuss organic versus conventional food as it relates to fresh produce.
I also attempt to clarify the not so obvious point that locally grown fruits and veggies are where it’s at nutritionally speaking even when compared to organics.
Interesting how the American Academy of Pediatrics statement completely omitted this salient point!
The video also discusses how to best clean off pesticide residue from locally grown produce that might have been minimally sprayed or simply not “certified organic”.
What did you think of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ statement? Did you laugh and shake your head as I did? Did you roll your eyes in dismay? Will you change any of your buying habits as a result of it?
References
American Academy of Pediatrics Says Organics No Better
The Hydroponic Invasion of USDA Organic
From what I have heard, Monsanto is connected to these “studies.”
It doesn’t matter what these organizations say…I’m not buying organic food because it is more nutritious or because it tastes better than conventionally grown foods. I buy it because I don’t want my family eating pesticides. Period. And I will continue buying it.
The AAP are puppets to Big Pharma and Big Food/Monsanto
and the AAP has lost their last shred of credibility.
We are very fortunate to have dozens of year-round farmers markets by our house, so we can eat local as much as possible, but I do have to agree with Texmex, there are some foods where we feel we should always aim for organic. Leafy greens, peaches, celery, berries, and any fruit or veggie on the “dirty dozen” list
I too rolled my eyes when the news recently said organic was no better. I’ll keep buying as much organic (or local) as I can afford. 🙂
They waste their time with all these studies. They should be doing research on the pesticide/GMO/poison-laden food they try to pass off on us instead of organic food grown the way it is supposed to be grown. I don’t understand why organics undergo the ‘burden’ of a label. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Oh that’s right……power and money 🙁
The AAP also gets hundreds of thousands of dollars from Pharmaceutical companies every year ( I wouldn’t doubt from companies like Monsanto that produce drugs and pesticides that are used in conventional crop growing). They can’t very well throw their funders under the bus and keep getting money can they!?
If you use white vinegar it is made of GMO corn, if you use “cheap” white vinegar it is full of petro- I use only organic white vinegar in my food…just wanted to share my thoughts have a good day..
can you share the name of the white vinegar you use? thanks!
I’d like to know too! I’ve never been able to find it!
I was able to see the video. I do the same thing with my produce, i buy local stuff and make sure to use the vinegar wash.I picked up some organic produce and it was from New Zealand!! Are you kidding me! Plus the organic peppers were pretty expensive, it was 2.59 for an organic pepper.I can get local peppers for 88 cents.Trader joes does have local organic peppers, but your still paying 4 bucks for 3 peppers. Not bad.
My only problem with local anything around here is that NONE of the farmers believe in organic, organic methods or grassfed-finished. There is soooo much farm land where I am and it makes me soooo sad. I choose not to buy the local produce because they all admit to using pesticides so instead I go to Mom Organic Market or Whole Foods. Occasionally I’ll buy something thats organic from California (I live in MD) but those grocery stores are very good at getting local organic produce(from either MD or PA). So in the case of the local farmer that uses pesticides or getting organic produce from California you think I should go local? I just dont see how its smart to risk the pesticide ingestion at all.
Alexis, poison is poison, wherever it is located. You are absolutely right not to eat pesticides, and neither do we.
@Alexis, I think I’d buy the organic. There are some conventional farmers where I live who are very conscientious about their pesticide use and they don’t use much and are careful where they spray it. It sounds like your farmers don’t care. If that’s that case, get the stuff from California. Can you start your own small garden?
Yes we actually didnt think about doing it until this past summer and we live in a townhouse but once spring starts we’re going to get vertical gardens and hang on our fence in the backyard. We’ve been doing research this whole time on how to garden and what natural things we can use to ward off bugs. Thanks for the replies guys!
Hi Alexis,
What general area of MD are you in? I’m still in the process of making the switch to local organic or essentailly organic without being certified but I have found some good sources so far. I’m in Harford county, MD. I’d be happy to share some ideas if we’re in the same area and that would be helpful to you.
Hey Mandie I live in Calvert County…southern MD. And yes I’d love to hear of any places that you know of that have local, organic produce. Sally Fallons farm (the author of Nourishing Traditions and president of the WAPF) is about 15-20 minutes away from me in Brandywine so I have that for meat, cheese and eggs but thats limited. They did however say they planned on starting a greenhouse soon and having baked goods so that’d be pretty awesome.