Pacific Standard May-June 2013 Cover

Organic Food Fight, Part Two

February 26, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
(PHOTO: FOODPICTURES/SHUTTERSTOCK)

Stanford researchers caused a minor scandal in natural-foodie circles last fall when they published a meta-study refuting the nutritional benefits of organic produce. The online commentariat quickly divided into two camps—the vindicated (“I told you so!”) and the aggrieved (“You’re missing the point!”)—and web editors gleefully posted story after link-bait story about the findings. The big footnote to that research, of course, is that the researchers were focused primarily on organic veggies’ nutritional content and not their small environmental footprint or lack of noxious ... Read More

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Evidence Lacking for Health Benefits of Organics

September 3, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
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They sit side by side on the supermarket shelf: Blueberries, $2.99; organic blueberries, $3.99. You hesitate before making a decision. You have a vague sense that organic foods are somehow better for you, but aren’t sure precisely what direct benefit your body will get from that extra dollar. A new meta-study suggests the answer, as best we can tell, is: Not much. “The evidence does not suggest marked health benefits from consuming organic vs. conventional foods,” a research team led by two Stanford University scholars writes in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Specifically, ... Read More

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Get Stressed, Stop Organics, Become A Better Person

May 21, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Eating an organic salad

Do you want to be a better person? First, get stressed out. And whatever you do, don’t go near organic food. Those are the counterintuitive implications of two newly published studies. One finds that exposure to organic foods reduces willingness to help others, while the other reports high levels of stress can increase trustworthiness and sharing. Kendall Eskine, a psychologist at Loyola University New Orleans, examined the psychological impact of organics in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. His work builds on the concept of “moral licensing”—the notion ... Read More

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‘Fair Trade’ Chocolate Perceived as Healthier

January 5, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year when weight-conscious people, determined to shed the pounds they put on during the holidays, pay closer attention to food labels. While the savvy are skeptical of overreaching health claims, newly published research suggests an entirely different assertion can lull us into caloric complacency. It finds socially conscious consumers are more likely to perceive a chocolate bar as being low in calories if it is labeled “fair trade.” “Ethical food claims can bias consumers to see poor-nutrition foods in a healthier light,” reports a research team led by ... Read More

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Could Organic Farming Threaten Our Food Supply?

August 8, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

Untold numbers of species are threatened by extinction due to people. Yet, a class of animals is thriving, despite humans' best efforts to wipe them out: agricultural insect pests. And these pests pose a serious threat to global food supplies. Insects like the desert locust and the Russian wheat aphid can very quickly destroy the farm production from vast areas. What is it about the biology of these animals that allows them to survive whatever people can throw at them? In this podcast, Dr. Scott Merrill discusses the often bizarre adaptations of insect pests, like the Russian wheat ... Read More

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More Food Banks Offering Fresh Fruits, Vegetables

June 9, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
(Natalie Maynor)

On a recent afternoon after school in Isla Vista, Calif., 35 children invited by the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County got lessons on healthy snacks, starting with the serving size for a bag of tortilla chips (10 chips). They helped the teacher make salsa (tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, limes, garlic and red onions) and they ate the chips and dip. Then they helped themselves to fresh pears, potatoes, cabbage and carrots from boxes on a table, and each student took a big bag home. The program, called the Kids’ Farmer’s Market Program, operates in 10 locations once a month, drawing from ... Read More

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The Farm School: Growing Organic Farmers

March 10, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

No one arrives at The Farm School by accident, because it's not around the corner from, or on the way to, much of anything. You drive increasingly narrow, winding and erratically paved roads through the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts until the only signs are historical markers for battles that old Yankees fought against the British or Native Americans. But Emily DeFeo knows exactly where The Farm School is. "Over the rainbow," she says with a gentle smile. DeFeo is one of 14 students paying for the privilege of spending a year living on and working a 183-acre organic farm. ... Read More

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Wine Snobs Sour on Organic Grapes

March 12, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment

What kind of wine would you like with dinner: Red, white or green? Newly published research suggests wine made from organic grapes is often an excellent choice. But the concept of eco-friendly cabernet doesn’t have a lot of cachet with consumers. Two University of California researchers studied 13,426 wines from 1,495 of the state’s wineries, focusing on vintages from 1998 to 2005. They looked at each wine’s rating in Wine Spectator magazine and noted (a) whether it was made with organically grown grapes, and (b) whether that fact was noted on the label. For cheaper wines — ... Read More

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Not All Can Stomach Raw Milk

September 4, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment

The current organic marketing frenzy promotes "wholesome" and "unprocessed" as health benefits to consumers seeking a "natural food product." But when it comes to unpasteurized raw milk, "buyer beware" might be a better slogan. That's a lesson learned the hard way by the residents of northern California's Del Norte County, where public health officials are investigating the incidence of illness in 115 families who drank raw milk from the Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms. The farm owners have since ended their raw milk sales, available through a "cow share" program, following a series of ... Read More

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