What's for Lunch? A Comparison of Organic and GMO Foods
Consumers have many choices about the foods they eat, and those choices are impacted by numerous factors including price, quality, taste, convenience, health benefits and process attributes – just to name a few. To make an informed decision today, consumers need a good understanding of nutrition, food science and, sometimes, even agriculture.
For example, the marketing of, and discussion about, the benefits of organic foods versus conventional foods and genetically modified (GMO) food have created confusion and misperceptions among some consumers about the safety and benefits of each farming system. In actuality, organic foods, conventional foods and GMO food all share the same observable physical characteristics. The difference between these foods is in the production or the practices farmers use when growing the crop.
“For us, organic, biotech and conventional are all management systems, and you use them in terms of balance in how it fits into your operation,” says Jennie Schmidt, a registered dietitian and US farmer who grows both organic and GMO crops. “I’m comfortable with knowing that farmers are good stewards of what they’re doing. And therefore, that the food that is raised conventionally or through biotech is safe.”
Greater than 99 percent of the world’s farmers use conventional farming techniques, which include crop rotation, tillage, government-approved pesticides and fertilizers. A conventional farmer’s options are typically limited only by regulations set by governing agencies such as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
A biotech farmer is simply a conventional farmer that chooses to plant a crop variety developed or bred through biotechnology methods. For example, some types of corn have been genetically modified to resist insect pests, thereby requiring fewer pesticide applications to control insect infestations.
In comparison, to achieve recognized organic labels, organic farmers must conform to a strict agricultural system that minimizes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. However, these practices can result in variable or lower yields and increased labor compared to conventional farming, which makes organic foods generally more expensive.
But, all food – regardless of whether it is organic, conventional or GMO – must meet the same inspection and food safety standards. There is no evidence that organically produced food is any safer or more nutritious than its conventionally produced counterpart.
“There is no evidence that it’s more nutritious. There’s no evidence that it’s more safe. It’s not sustainable. It’s not any healthier,” says Dr. Bruce Chassy from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois, addressing the misperception that one of the benefits of organic foods versus GMO food includes being better or more nutritious.
A second misperception about the benefits of organic foods versus GMO food is that it is safer. However, before any new GMO crop is produced or sold, it undergoes rigorous testing and safety assessments to demonstrate the GMO food is as safe to consume as an existing food with the same compositional and nutritional characteristics. As a result, GMO crops are the most thoroughly studied, regulated and understood crop or food in history.
In a 2000 report, a committee of the National Academies noted, "The committee is not aware of any evidence that foods on the market are unsafe to eat as a result of genetic modification," and other groups have reached similar conclusions.
More than 25 Nobel Prize winners and 3,400 prominent scientists have expressed their support for the advantages of biotech crops and safety of genetically modified foods as a "powerful and safe" way to improve agriculture and the environment. Numerous international organizations also have endorsed the health and environmental safety of GMO food, including the Royal Society (UK), National Academy of Sciences (USA), the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Commission, the French Academy of Medicine, and the American Medical Association.
“For many people, organic agriculture and food biotechnology is an either/or proposition,” says Mary Lee Chin, who has been practicing dietetics for more than 30 years. “And in actuality – you know – all these food processes produce foods that are healthy and of benefit.”
...
