- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Organic Foods Are Healthier For You (and for everything else that lives on planet Earth) https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/29975?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/29975?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/29975?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Organic Foods Are Healthier For You (and for everything else that lives on planet Earth)&body=ESG News from Equal Exchange, Inc. https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/29975?absolute=1 "Share via email") # Organic Foods Are Healthier For You (and for everything else that lives on planet Earth) ##### A Response to the Recent Stanford University Meta-study Sep 4, 2012 9:00 PM ET ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_2x/s3/images/DSC_1350_0.JPG "Organic banana farm, Ecuador, El Guabo farmer co-operative. credit: AgroFair") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_2x/s3/images/cocoa%20farmer%203_0.jpg "Eusebio Laron Torres, organic cacao grower, CACVRA co-operative, Peru. Credit: Equal Exchange") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_2x/s3/images/Basila%20Issa%20Nov%202011_0.jpg "Basila Issa, organic olive producer, The West Bank, Occuppied Territories. Credit: Equal Exchange") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_2x/s3/images/cecovasaShadePlot.04.JPG "Organic coffee farm, CECOVASA co-operative, southern Peru. Credit: Rodney North, Equal Exchange") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/s3/images/DSC_1350_0.JPG?h=7685ba0d "Organic banana farm, Ecuador, El Guabo farmer co-operative. credit: AgroFair") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/s3/images/cocoa%20farmer%203_0.jpg?h=a78bbbd4 "Eusebio Laron Torres, organic cacao grower, CACVRA co-operative, Peru. Credit: Equal Exchange") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/s3/images/Basila%20Issa%20Nov%202011_0.jpg?h=19f14c2c "Basila Issa, organic olive producer, The West Bank, Occuppied Territories. Credit: Equal Exchange") ![](https://3blaws.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/s3/images/cecovasaShadePlot.04.JPG?h=adbb760b "Organic coffee farm, CECOVASA co-operative, southern Peru. Credit: Rodney North, Equal Exchange") [Organic Foods Are Healthier For You (and everything else that lives on planet E…](http://3bl.me/m79b2a) by Rodney North You may have heard about a new meta-study by researchers at Stanford University that looked into the health benefits of organic foods. It was covered by the *New York Times*, NPR, TV news programs and others. Unfortunately many will not read past the often misleading headlines that suggest, or outright declare, that organic foods are not healthier for you than ‘conventional’ foods (meaning those foods grown with the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, GMOs and – for livestock – with artificial growth hormones, antibiotics, etc.). We believe that a careful reading of the study *does* confirm that for many foods there is a demonstrable health benefit in eating organic, either *directly* because the organic foods can be more nutritious, or *indirectly* by reducing one’s exposure to chemical residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To learn more about this perspective on the study’s findings please check out [this message](http://www.organicnewsroom.com/2012/09/stanford_research_confirms_hea.html) from the Organic Trade Association, and their [nutritional information page](http://www.ota.com/organic/benefits/nutrition.html). But today we think it’s even more important to remember that organic farming is about **much more than just the amount of chemical residue** on that apple you’re eating. It’s equally about protecting, and promoting, the health of…: \- Farmers \- Farm workers \- Their families, nearby communities, and those living downstream \- The soil \- Ground water \- Wildlife \- Our fisheries \- Our atmosphere It is also about challenging an increasingly industrialized, homogenized, large-scale form of agriculture that seems to work only for large ag corporations (think of Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, ConAgra) and food conglomerates (Kraft, Nestle, etc), but not for farmers, workers or farming communities. **A broader look at ‘health’** In the U.S. alone over 1 billion of pounds of [pesticides](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide) are applied annually. Globally over 5 billion pounds of pesticides are used every year. And much of it ends up not just on your food, but in the soil, [streams, rivers](http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/420/420-013/420-013.html#L4), estuaries and [bays](http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110707.htm). It also ends up on farmers and [farm workers](http://www.panna.org/issues/frontline-communities/farmworkers), and in their lungs, and so on. Every year there are about [1 million serious accidental pesticide poisonings](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2238694) world-wide. A close look at the use of synthetic *fertilizers* also raises many important environmental problems, especially around climate change. At Equal Exchange we’ve been working with farmers for 25 years and consequently think about conventional, chemical-intensive farming through this broader lens. And ever since we imported our first shipment of organic coffee (around 1990) we’ve been trying to maximize our support for organic farmers. Today about 98% of the [coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, bananas and other foods we import](http://shop.equalexchange.com/) are certified organic (and even some of the remaining 2% are crops from *not-yet*-certified organic farms). **So – what have we learned that has made us so committed to organic farming**? Let’s just say “a lot”. We could write a book on the virtues of organic farming ([but](http://smallplanet.org/books/diet-for-a-hot-planet) [others](http://www.amazon.com/Bringing-It-Table-Farming-Food/dp/158243543X) [already](http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/this_organic_life:paperback) [have](http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/organic_futures:paperback)\*) so for today we’ll just offer you this partial list: *Organic farming is:* \- *Healthier for the planet, for farmers, farm workers, the families of both, for everyone who lives on, or near, or downstream from a farm* *- Helps [improve soil quality](http://www.organic-center.org/science.environment.php?action=view&report_id=73)* \- *A great tool to [combat climate change](http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20080515/gw4) (aka “mitigation”)* \- *A great tool for [coping with climate change](http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/susagri/susagri021.htm) (“adaptation”)* \- *Better for [helping farmers cope with droughts](http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/07/what-organic-ag-teaches-us-about-feeding-ourselves-while-planet-heats)* \- *A tool to [prevent the growth of “dead zones](http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20091117/nf_hypoxia_gulf_mexico_agricultural_runoff_seafood)” in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake bay*, & elsewhere \- *[Offers better tasting food](http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/Taste2Pager.pdf)* We could go on, for example, about the many ways organic farming benefits wildlife, or it how strengthens the economy of farming communities, but we think you get the picture. Now I think I’ll end this post and go have some organic mac ‘n cheese. \- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (\*The books linked to here are: ▫ Diet For A Hot Planet by Anna *Lappé* ▫ Bringing It To The Table by Wendell Barry ▫ This Organic Life by Joan Dye Gussow ▫ Organic Futures – The Case For Organic Farming by Adrian Myers) [![](/sites/default/files/Clients/EElogo_1.jpg)](/profiles/equal-exchange-inc) ### More from Equal Exchange, Inc. ###### [FoodTank.org series on Sustainable Food Companies: Equal Exchange](/news/foodtankorg-series-sustainable-food-companies-equal-exchange) Oct 18, 2013 11:00 AM ET ###### [Win 2 Tickets to Paradise with Equal Exchange! ](/news/win-2-tickets-paradise-equal-exchange) Oct 17, 2013 9:00 AM ET ###### [The History of Authentic Fair Trade – Now Available Online](/news/history-authentic-fair-trade-now-available-online) Oct 16, 2013 3:00 PM ET ###### [Google Hangout - Vote With Your Dollar: The Power of Fair Trade](/news/google-hangout-vote-your-dollar-power-fair-trade) Oct 11, 2013 9:00 PM ET ###### [The Avocado Obstacle Course](/news/avocado-obstacle-course) Oct 9, 2013 9:00 AM ET ###### [By Small Farmers, For Small Farmers](/news/small-farmers-small-farmers) Oct 1, 2013 9:00 AM ET ###### [Host a Holiday Bazaar with Gifts that Matter](/news/host-holiday-bazaar-gifts-matter) Sep 23, 2013 9:00 AM ET ###### [Meet Two Co-ops Behind Our Chocolate](/news/meet-two-co-ops-behind-our-chocolate) Sep 10, 2013 11:15 AM ET