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 A Myth Bites the Dust 
A research report of seismic importance has been published in the November-December 2007 issue of the
Journal of Environmental Quality, a highly respected publication put out by the Tri-Societies
(Agronomy Society, Soil Science Society, and Crop Sciences Society). The paper is called "The Myth of
Nitrogen Fertilization for Soil Carbon Sequestration." It reports findings by a University of Illinois team. Their research was based on the famous Morrow plots, the country's longest running field experiment on the impacts of farm production systems on soil quality.
This paper will be widely read and vigorously debated, and then likely ignored by policy-makers. It provides compelling arguments --backed up by four pages of references -- that high nitrogen (N) conventional corn-soybean cropping systems are NOT leading to soil carbon sequestration, as now assumed by most scientists and climate change models. Why? Because the extra N is stimulating additional microbial activity in the soil, and in the process, microbes quickly consume and break down the organic matter in crop residues. This releases the carbon in crop residues, rather than sequestering it in the soil, as previously assumed. Major implications of this paper include --
Source: The
full article is available free of charge.
Editorial comment - Not too many years ago, Tyson was among the companies arguing most stridently
that there was no way to sustain conventional broiler production in the U.S. without subtherapeutic use of
antibiotics. Given that there have been no major technological breakthroughs in poultry disease prevention,
Tyson has apparently found ways to reduce the stress on birds sufficient to keep them healthy without a daily
dose of antibiotics.
Mothers exposed to the organochlorine insecticides dicofol and endosulfan during weeks one through
eight of pregnancy - the critical "developmental window" when the central nervous system is first
formed - had more than a six-fold higher chance of bearing children with ASD, compared to women living
away from pesticide applications during pregnancy. The risk of ASD increased with pounds of
pesticides applied near maternal residence, and decreased the farther the residence was away from
fields receiving routine pesticide treatments.
Endosulfan (Thiodan) remains a widely used insecticide in the U.S. and is found by the USDA in a
significant percentage of several fresh fruits and vegetables. It is even more heavily used overseas,
and often is found in imported foods at levels well above those typically present in domestic produce.
The glycosylation status of nutrients matters greatly in human health because it impacts the bioavailability
of nutrients as they pass through the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In general, the more fully
glycosylated a nutrient, the less bioavailable it is. One of the generic benefits of organic farming under
study by the Center is whether a greater share of the nutrients in organic fruits and vegetables are present
in their aglycone form, compared to conventional grown produce that tends to have higher sugar levels and a
tendency toward more complex and stable forms of glycosylation.
Advanced glycosylation end products, or AGEs, further complicate the science of nutrition. AGEs are created
when bonds are formed between nutrients and sugars through non-enzymatic means, usually with a lot of help
from high temperatures. AGEs have only recently been discovered and are, in general, bad news. Some papers
refer to AGEs as "toxic glycoproteins," although only some AGEs encompass proteins. Several are known to be
overtly toxic and much more stable than other glycosylated nutrients, and animal studies have shown a wide
array of damaging impacts when diets contain high levels of AGEs.
Foods like bacon, cheese, steak, and pizza contain relatively high levels of dietary AGEs. French fries
contain acyrlamide, and AGE that forms through the reaction of proteins in potatoes and cooking oil, under
high temperature. Many other deep-fat fried foods contain elevated levels of AGEs. Most fresh fruits and
vegetables are low in AGEs.
A paper in the Journal of Food Science points out that elevated dietary levels of AGEs appear to promote
cardiovascular disease complications in people with diabetes. The authors note that excess sugars in the
diet, coupled with consumption of food that has been heated to high temperatures, tend to increase AGE
levels in the human bloodstream, with several negative consequences. One of the reasons is that in diabetic
patients, persistent hyperglycemia inhibits mechanisms that can break down AGEs. Non-diabetic patients
with heart diseases are also known to have elevated levels of AGEs - confirming their central role in the
progression of inflammation that can lead to heart disease.
The Soil Association subsequently made a number of strong statements about "new science" supporting the
nutritional superiority of organic food, and directed the attention of the U.K.'s Food Standards Agency (FSA)
to the new findings. The FSA has recently announced it is commissioning a fresh review of all published
studies comparing the nutritional quality of conventional and organic foods, in order to determine whether
its position that there are no proven, consistent nutritional benefits of organic food is supported by
contemporary science. (The Organic Center is collaborating with the QLIF team at the University of Newcastle
in the hope of successfully competing for this FSA contract).
Unfortunately, Leifert also pointed out to the media that the results of these projects are not fully
analyzed and will not be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals for 12 to 24 months. A number
of food industry groups in the U.K. have criticized the Soil Association for making overly broad claims based
on research that is not yet complete or published.
The pace of transition to organic production in Stemilt is remarkable and highly significant given that
this is one of the largest, premier fruit growers in the country, with sizable market share among U.S. fruit
destined for Pacific Rim markets.
900 million rural people live on less than $1.00 per day.
75% of the world's poor live in rural areas, yet just 4% of government foreign aid goes to agriculture in developing countries.
The Food Standards Agency in the U.K. has initiated a scientific review of the wisdom of fortifying foods with folic acid to help prevent birth defects. New evidence has been published that suggests that different people absorb and metabolize folic acid differently. The levels of folic acid that are beneficial to some people may actually harm others, particularly people with liver disease. New evidence has also emerged that folic acid fortification might increase cancer risks.
In the U.S. nearly all flour-based products are fortified with folic acid, the form usually used in food fortification. Folic acid differs from the folate found naturally in food. Folic acid is the monoglutamate form of folate and is highly oxidized. Natural folate contains a polyglutamate chain. Past research suggests that folic acid is more bioavailable than the natural polyglutamate form.
New concerns, like those raised about folic acid food fortification, are bound to arise with other nutrients. As a practical reality, different people have markedly different nutrient needs, and also absorb and metabolize food and nutrients differently. One thing is certain - any food fortification program will precisely meet the needs of only some people, and may pose risks for others. As the food industry strives to offer more nutritious products, excessive reliance on fortification with synthetic analogues of natural nutrients could lead to unintended, and sometimes negative consequences for at least some segments of the population. The time is ripe for deeper reflection across the organic food community on the principles and criteria governing fortification of organic foods, as well as on when and how such foods should be marketed.
The Debate Rages over Local Foods, Air Travel, Industrial Organic, and Food Elitism
On October 24th, the Soil Association announced that airfreighted food would have to meet additional
ethical requirements to retain organic certification in the United Kingdom. The new policy was adopted after an intense,
lengthy internal debate, and reflects the desire of the Soil Association to address the high carbon
emissions associated with food shipped by airplanes.
The new policy triggered heavy media coverage, and formal complaints from food and grower associations in
Africa that have invested much effort in gaining organic certification and access to the U.K. market. The
Kenya High Commission in London formally responded to the new policy, pointing out that U.K. exports support
around a million poor farmers in Kenya who use much less energy-intensive horticultural practices than
farmers in the U.K.
This action by the Soil Association clearly addresses one of the most complex and pressing issues of the
day. Many local food advocates regard prohibiting the transport of food by airfreight as a logical,
other-side-of-the-coin action that should help leverage demand for locally grown food via local market
outlets. No doubt some will argue for a similar policy intervention in the United States.
The local food movement is one of the most promising developments on the social and cultural horizon, and has
potential to help heal both agriculture and people. But those who place their faith in local food as the
driver for change in the American food industry need to be realistic about the portion of the food consumed
by people that can be grown and marketed locally. They also need to remember that all people, those in the
Sunbelt and New England, need their eight to 13 servings of fruit and vegetables every day, all year, and not
just in the six weeks to three months when locally grown produce is in season.
Shipping dried milk, dried fruits, and other concentrated, low-moisture food ingredients long distances, and
perhaps even sometimes by air, may prove surprisingly beneficial if a thorough, life cycle analysis is done
of the full range of alternatives for getting a serving of fruit to a kid in New York in February. Probably
the most significant single, universal strategy with potential to dramatically lower the carbon footprint of
food transport is to find ways to take some or all of the water out of food before shipping it long distances.
We also need to take a fresh look at freezing food and other novel food processing and storage technologies.
New methods like flash freezing, for example, could significantly improve food quality for some staples, and
lower the costs of getting nutrient-rich foods that were picked ripe to dinner tables around the country in
the dead of winter, and on a scale sufficient to make a meaningful difference across the American
agricultural landscape and in the health of 300 million Americans, many of whom are struggling to fit two or
three servings of fruits and vegetables into their daily diets, let along the eight or more they need to
promote good health.
Which brings us to the as-yet-unmet challenge of making good, nutritious food logistically and economically
available for all Americans, year round. I believe strongly that the achievement of this goal needs to be
elevated among the many goals driving change in the food industry. Some of the reasons why are stated
clearly in a provocative piece entitled
"They say it's not fair to criticize an author for the book he didn't write, but in Pollan's case, the
problem is the book he almost wrote. Pollan chronicles the whole spectrum of food issues in such charming,
reasonable, colorful prose that the reader longs for him to help unravel some of the messy (and ubiquitous)
questions about America's food politics and food culture. Instead, he gives us 400 pages of fantastic
reportage in the service of a question that troubles only a small subculture of ethical eaters, all the
while pretending to answer a question asked by everyone: 'What's for dinner?'"
Questions about what's for dinner, how food is grown, and where it comes from will continue to arise on a
daily basis in millions of homes, and that is many small steps decisively in the right direction. But will the
answers change? The quest to change the American food system has become a magnet for causes - advocates
seeking major transformation to address social justice, economic, cultural, technological, health, and
environmental challenges are constantly finding new ways to hook their campaigns for change to the "lets
change the American food system" bandwagon. And as a result, the ship is steered in a thousand directions
and it is no surprise that progress proves painfully slow and fleeting.
A Famous Exchange
In the fall of 1989 Consumer Reports ran a widely read story entitled "Too Much Fuss About Pesticides?"
The article featured the research and analysis of Dr. Edward (Ned) Groth, then CU's resident expert on food
safety and pesticide risk. In the 1989 story, Consumer Reports critiques the scientific validity of the
arguments advanced by Dr. Bruce Ames and colleagues at the University of California-Berkeley that the
thousands of natural carcinogens in food pose far greater cancer risks to humans than pesticides and other
man-made chemicals. The Consumer Reports article points out that -
The article explains how Ames et al. came up with their conclusion that natural carcinogens pose far greater
risks that man-made ones, and then points out where the methods and data used by Ames et al. move away from,
or beyond sound science.
The CR article triggered a strong complaint from Bruce Ames to the President of Consumers Union, publisher of
Consumer Reports. Ned Groth's lengthy response to Ames was "required reading" for the next 10 years as the
debate raged on over whether and how to amend the anti-cancer Delaney Clause.
While much time has passed since the 1989 article and the Ames-Groth exchange, the underlying issues are
still actively debated in many circles. Unfortunately, until now, the original Consumer Report article and
the letters were not available on the Internet. The Organic Center contacted Consumers Union and obtained
permission to post a scanned copy of the copyrighted article and the letters.
Access the Consumer Reports
article - 1.5 Mb
Access the Ames response
- 2 Mb
Access Ned Groth's reply
to Ames - 8.4 Mb
The three presenters during the webcast are:
"More than half of Americans now buy organic food at least once a month at premium prices because they
believe that these foods are pesticide free, and therefore healthier than conventionally grown foods.
Baby boomers are fueling the organic trend, with produce grabbing the biggest market share (41 percent).
But are organic products really more healthful? EPA monitoring of the use of pesticides has found no evidence
to suggest that they cause any health related problems. At the same time, others believe that organic
products are superior to non-organic foods. Join us as we bring both sides together to discuss the issues
at the center of this lively debate."
Dr. Benbrook has also been invited to present at a session Thursday afternoon, January 24th from 4:00 to
5:30 p.m. entitled "Strategies for Dealing with Food Safety and Environmental Protection." This session
will focus on efforts to address E. coli O157 and related food safety challenges in the Salinas Valley and
other intensively farmed regions of California. Chuck will draw on the
"Unfinished Business" Critical
Issue Report in his presentation.
Other panelists included Dr. Don Davis, University of Texas-Austin; Jaime Yanez, Washington State University;
Dr. Gene Lester, Agricultural Research Service, Weslaco, Texas; and Elizabeth Torres, University of Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
Benbrook's presentation focuses on nutrient density, flavor, and the critical role of sugar levels and
glycosylation patterns in plants and humans. The possible linkages between a diabetes-like syndrome in
plants and human diabetes were presented and triggered considerable discussion.
Access the full
presentation in pdf format (six slides to a page).
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"Remember, higher quality, from the consumers' vantage point means:
More than one-half of the population of Great Britain will be extremely obese by 2050, according to a
report authored by 250 scientists and public health specialists.
Results of a Commonwealth Fund comparative assessment of health care in the U.S. and six other developed
countries: 
In the United States, ethanol-driven demand for corn has increased grain prices 70% across the board in the last year, while the price of sugar and fats has fallen about 14%.
By Chuck Benbrook
The addition of nutrient supplements to organic food is governed by Section 605(b) In the NOP rule. This section refers to and makes mandatory Food and Drug Administration voluntary guidelines, which are subject to a wide range of interpretations regarding sources of supplements and levels allowed. One option for the food industry to reduce the risk of possible folic acid fortification problems, while retaining the benefits of supplementation, would be to only use the natural, polyglutamate form of folate in food fortification programs, and to fortify food with folate only up to the level present in natural whole foods. Such an approach would be consistent with the general principles governing organic farming and food processing.
By Chuck Benbrook
Hopefully the locally grown portion of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed by the
average American will increase steadily in the months of the year when local farmers can harvest and preserve
fresh produce. But for many fruits and vegetables, other options are needed to meet nutritional needs in the
off-season. We need to broaden the dialogue about how to address these needs, and we should not presume to
know the answer when we have not even thoughtfully posed the question.
The Organic Center is sponsoring a workshop at EcoFarm, January 23-26, 2008, on the impacts of high yields
and production levels on plant and animal health, food nutritional quality, and food safety. Presenters
will include Chuck Benbrook and Klaas Martens.
The Organic
Center's groundbreaking 108-page coffee table book is still
available. Core Truths provides an overview of the science showing that:
Individuals can support the scientific work of
The Organic Center by:
Backed by the world's leading
scientists, physicians and scholars, The
Organic Center is committed to two goals.