Greenfield, Massachusetts
October 29, 2007
The
Organic Trade Association (OTA) today hailed preliminary
findings from a four-year European Union (EU) study that
indicate some organic foods are more nutritional than their
non-organic counterparts.
"This study may be the breakthrough that helps prove what many
in the organic sector believe to be true about food grown using
organic practices," said Caren Wilcox, OTA's Executive Director,
on learning of the findings announced by Professor Carlo Leifert
of the Tesco Centre for Organic Agriculture based at Newcastle
University in the United Kingdom.
Preliminary results from this study, which is part of the
EU-funded Quality Low Input Food (QLIF) Project, show organic
fruit and vegetables have up to 40 percent more antioxidants
than non-organically grown produce, while organic milk contains
up to 60 to 80 percent more antioxidants than conventionally
produced milk in the summer, and 50 to 60 percent higher levels
in the winter. Organic milk also was found to contain higher
levels of vitamin E.
The research team led by Professor Leifert has been raising
fruits, vegetables and cows both organically and non-organically
on sites on a 725-acre farm near Newcastle University. The
research is scheduled to run for an additional year.
In announcing the preliminary results, Professor Leifert said
such benefits suggest that eating organic food would be
equivalent to eating an extra portion of fruit and vegetables a
day.
The QLIF Project, set up in March 2004, is funded with a grant
of 18 million Euros ($25.8 million) from the EU. The research
program involves 31 research centers, companies and universities
in Europe and elsewhere. To read more about QLIF, go to its web
site, at http://www.qlif.org/.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based
business association for organic agriculture and products in
North America. Its more than 1,600 members include growers,
shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations,
distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and
others. OTA's mission is to promote and protect the growth of
organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public
and the economy. |
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