Organically Grown Foods Higher In Cancer-Fighting Chemicals Than
Conventionally Grown Foods

March 4, 2003
(American Chemical Society) -- Fruits and veggies grown organically
show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than
conventionally grown foods, according to a new study of corn,
strawberries and marionberries. The research suggests that pesticides
and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics -
chemicals that act as a plant's natural defense and also happen to be
good for our health. Fertilizers, however, seem to boost the levels
of anti-cancer compounds.

The findings appear in the Feb. 26 print edition of the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the
American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
The article was initially published Jan. 25 on the journal's Web
site.

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant
activity. Many are produced in plants in response to environmental
stressors, such as insects or competing plants.

"If an aphid is nibbling on a leaf, the plant produces phenolics to
defend itself," says Alyson Mitchell, Ph.D., a food scientist at the
University of California, Davis, and lead author of the
paper. "Bitter or harsh phenolics guard the plant against these
pests."

The need for these natural safeguards decreases with the use of
herbicides and pesticides in conventional agriculture. This decrease
is reflected in the total amount of antioxidants the plants
produce. "This helps explain why the level of antioxidants is so much
higher in organically grown food," Mitchell says. "By synthetically
protecting the produce from these pests, we decrease their need to
produce antioxidants. It suggests that maybe we are doing something
to our food inadvertently."

Mitchell measured antioxidants found in corn, strawberries and a type
of blackberry called a marionberry. "We started with these three due
to plant availability," Mitchell explains, "but we intend to widen
our search to include tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and a variety of
other vegetables. We expect these results to be transferable to most
produce."

The investigation compared the total antioxidants found in foods
grown organically (using no herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers) to
foods grown sustainably (in this study fertilizers but no herbicides
or pesticides were used) and conventionally (using synthetic
chemicals to protect the plants and increase yield).

The results showed a significant increase in antioxidants in organic
and sustainably grown foods versus conventionally grown foods. The
levels of antioxidants in sustainably grown corn were 58.5 percent
higher than conventionally grown corn. Organically and sustainably
grown marionberries had approximately 50 percent more antioxidants
than conventionally grown berries. Sustainably and organically grown
strawberries showed about 19 percent more antioxidants than
conventionally grown strawberries.

Antioxidant levels were highest overall in sustainably grown produce,
which indicates that a combination of organic and conventional
practices yields the highest levels of antioxidants. "This may
reflect the balance between adequate nutrition in the form of
fertilizers and external pest pressures because of the lack of
pesticides and herbicides," Mitchell explains.

"Originally, the question was just really intriguing to me," says
Mitchell, whose research grew naturally from a personal interest in
organic foods. "I found that the higher level of antioxidants is
enough to have a significant impact on health and nutrition, and it's
definitely changed the way I think about my food."