Reports on the healthy attributes of organic produce versus conventional have jumped the gun, according to researchers.
Peer review on the EU-funded Quality Low Input Food project research into nutritional benefits of organics that was reported in the Sunday newspapers this week, is not expected to be complete for another two years, the project leader Professor Carlo Leifert said. “Our research project is still ongoing, but the field trials for most crops have now finished and the full reports on the four years of field trials will be prepared and submitted for peer review over the next two years.”
However, the Soil Association was quick to jump on the “news” and claim that the study underpins the founding philosophy and practices of the organic movement. “For the past 60 years, the Soil Association has sought, on the basis of practical observation, underpinned where available by sound science, to show the benefits of sustainable, organic farming to the health of people and planet,” said the association’s director Patrick Holden. “On a far larger scale, with much greater resources and more precise, modern analytical methods, this EU-funded project builds on what our founder Lady Eve Balfour sought to do on just 200 acres … Today’s growing body of evidence backing her instincts and practical observations comes from dozens of independent scientists from around the world, the early results from the QLIF project back that wider body of work.”
The association is now calling on the Food Standards Agency to “publicly acknowledge the nutritional benefits of organic food”. But the agency told FPJ that its advice remained unchanged. “Our advice is the same: to eat a healthy balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables,” said an FSA spokeswoman. “We do not advocate organic over non-organic. However, there have been a number of studies over recent months on the nutritional qualities of organic produce so we have started a tender process to conduct our own independent review of the latest research. We expect to appoint in January and for the work to take three months.”
