Organic panic

Dirty hippies rejoice! A new study appearing in PLoS ONE shows that organic strawberries are better for you and if you eat conventionally-grown food, you'll die a painful death.

Actually, the study doesn't exactly say that, but get ready, cuz that's how a lot of people are going to interpret it. From the abstract:

At multiple sampling times for two years, we evaluated three varieties of strawberries for mineral elements, shelf life, phytochemical composition, and organoleptic properties. We also analyzed traditional soil properties and soil DNA using microarray technology. We found that the organic farms had strawberries with longer shelf life, greater dry matter, and higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds, but lower concentrations of phosphorus and potassium. In one variety, sensory panels judged organic strawberries to be sweeter and have better flavor, overall acceptance, and appearance than their conventional counterparts. We also found the organically farmed soils to have more total carbon and nitrogen, greater microbial biomass and activity, and higher concentrations of micronutrients. Organically farmed soils also exhibited greater numbers of endemic genes and greater functional gene abundance and diversity for several biogeochemical processes, such as nitrogen fixation and pesticide degradation.

I'm an organics advocate (full disclosure: I buy organic when I can, but feel buying local is more important) and I'd love to take this study as gospel, but I can't. There are a few things that bother me, including this sentence: "In one variety, sensory panels judged organic strawberries to be sweeter and have better flavor, overall acceptance, and appearance than their conventional counterparts." That may be true when it came to the Diamante variety, however, unless I'm reading the chart wrong, they were 50/50 on the Lanai variety and actually preferred the conventional berries from the San Juan variety. Yet, the authors didn't feel compelled to mention that in the abstract, which smacks of bias. It kind of makes me wonder what else is going on in there.

Also, the extra antioxidant in the organics is great, but then there's the electrolytes (potassium and phosphorus) in the conventional strawberries to balance that out. Here's an interesting take from the Los Angeles Times:

Anthony Trewavas, a professor at the University of Edinburgh's Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, also questioned the study's assumption that extra antioxidants made the organic strawberries more nutritious. Studies have found that people who eat a balanced diet don't get any boost from additional antioxidants or vitamin C, he said, and it is unclear whether the body can even absorb the extra nutrients.

Of course, the LA Times is a bit of an exception to the online rule this time. I'm already seeing blogs skipping the cynicism and treating this study as though the researchers found the Dalai Lama himself nestled among the organic berries. Organic farming tends to be better for the soil - and therefore the environment - but if you're eating strawberries on a (seasonally) regular basis, you're already ahead of the game nutritionally. I get a little annoyed at the reports that people who eat conventionally-grown fruits and veggies are destined to burst into flame by their 49th birthdays. If conventional produce fits into your budget, you're still rockin' the healthy diet, so don't stress studies like this.