The (not so) great organic debate

The Food Standards Agency report on the nutritional value of organic food versus ‘conventionally produced foodstuffs’ has produced a large amount of press coverage over the past few days. This coverage has sparked debate, letters, claims and counter-claims by experts and amateurs alike.

Time for me to weigh in.

The study looked at nutritional value, finding ‘no evidence of a difference in content of nutrients and other substances between organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock products’.  It did not look at pesticides or other contaminants, nor did it look at the environmental impacts of the different agricultural practices.  According to The Times, the study took one year and cost £120,000.

Being a semi-organic consumer (I buy organic when I feel it is especially important), I have been educated on the subject by friends and the press for years now. And the question with organic food was never ‘is the nutritional value higher?’ It seems to me that £120,000 was spent on something that few people were overly concerned about. The issues that this report specifically does not look at provide the strong arguments for organic farming and consumption, and these do not take a hit from the results of the report.

Organic businesses are businesses like any other, but with an automatic focus on sustainability. With the recession hitting organic sales, things are likely to be tough for organic producers for a while. However, the sustainable nature of organic production may bring serious long-term benefits, with lower carbon intensity and a focus on local sourcing likely to become more serious concerns as the UK begins (I hope) to tackle its carbon emissions. *

There are a huge number of issues that need addressing in the agricultural sector, from greenhouse gases to wages and working conditions, and these issues need action now. £120,000 and a year of work seem like something of a waste in this context.

* An interesting development on this front was brought to my attention by Stewart Brand’s post on the Long Now Blog, looking at the possibility of organic genetic engineering.