¿Es la comida biológica más segura que la convencional?

 Parece ser que no somos capaces de encontar diferencias medibles. La intuición en este caso no es apoyada por la ciencia. De momento.

 

Esta revisión sistemática no encontró ninguna evidencia que indique que los alimentos orgánicos son más nutritivos que los alimentos producidos convencionalmente. Aunque los resultados sugieren que el consumo de alimentos orgánicos incurre en una menor exposición a residuos de plaguicidas y bacterias resistentes a los antibióticos, los efectos de salud a largo plazo del consumo de ambos tipos de alimentos no han sido estudiados. Por último, los autores señalan que "la variación en los sistemas de agricultura orgánica y convencional es probablemente tan grande como las diferencias entre los dos sistemas."

 

 

Are Organic Foods Safer Than Their Conventional Counterparts?

A review shows few differences.
From 1997 to 2010, U.S. sales of organic foods rose from US$3.7 to $27 billion. Although consumers buy organic foods for a myriad of reasons, health often is a key factor. In this systematic review of 240 studies, researchers compared organic and conventional foods from the perspective of health benefits and risks.
The analysis yielded no significant differences in vitamin content, prevalence of bacterial contamination (in produce, chicken, or pork), or heavy metal contamination (in produce). Risks for isolating bacteria resistant to 3 antibiotics was 33% higher in conventional chicken and pork than in organic meats, and likelihood of detecting pesticide residues was higher in conventional than in organic produce (38% vs. 7%).

Comment: This systematic review showed no evidence indicating that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventionally produced foods. Although the findings suggest that eating organic foods incurs less exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the long-term health effects of eating organic (vs. conventionally produced) foods have not been studied. Finally, the authors note that "variation within organic and conventional farming systems is likely as large as differences between the two systems."

— Jamaluddin Moloo, MD, MPH
Published in Journal Watch General Medicine October 9, 2012

Citation(s):

Smith-Spangler C et al. Are organic foods safer or healthier than conventional alternatives? A systematic review. Ann Intern Med 2012 Sep 4; 157:348. (http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1355685)

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