Organic Library > Reference Articles
Organic Research and Reference Articles
Learn more about the health and environmental issues concerning organic foods.
What’s the Difference?
from the Environmental Working Group
Government data show that some conventional fruits and vegetables carry a much heavier pesticide load than others. EWG has ranked 44 popular fruits and vegetables for pesticide contamination.
New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods
from The Organic Center
The Organic Center's Dr. Charles Benbrook and colleagues have published the first major, in-depth review of the scientific literature on the nutritional benefits of organic food done since 2003, with a foreword by Dr. Andrew Weil.
Pesticides Trigger Parkinson’s Disease [pdf]
from Beyond Pesticides
A review of the scientific literature finds strong evidence linking Parkinson’s disease to pesticide exposures, adding fuel to the movement to phase out numerous classes of pesticides and adopt safer management approaches.
Harmful Pesticides in Everyday Food Products
from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle, WA
A recent University of Washington study of children on Mercer Island, WA, found dramatic differences in the levels of pesticide traces found in children’s bodies when they ate organic vs. conventional produce.
Go to Environmental Health Perspectives to read the published study.
Minimizing Pesticide Dietary Exposure Through the Consumption of Organic Foods [pdf]
by Dr. Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center
Evidence linking low-dose pesticide exposures to life-long adverse effects is substantial and growing. Many parents opt for an ounce of prevention by seeking out high-quality organic foods for their families.
Go to The Organic Center to download the full 63-page report.
Compromising Our Children [pdf]
from the World Wildlife Fund
Studies show that the brain development of many European children today has been harmed by man-made chemicals.
Why Food Safety Will Continue Driving Growth in Demand for Organic Food [pdf]
by Dr. Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center, presented at EcoFarm 2003
A majority of consumers voice significant concerns over pesticides in food.
Genetic Engineering Presentation
from the Pesticide Action Network
A brief but comprehensive overview of genetically engineered crops and foods.
Organic Produce and Children’s Pesticide Exposure [pdf]
from Environmental Health Perspectives, the Journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
This study concludes that consumption of organic produce appears to provide a relatively simple means for parents to reduce their children’s exposure to organophosphorus pesticides.
Frogs hermaphroditic, demasculinized after exposure to the herbicide atrazine at low ecologically relevant doses [pdf]
from the University of California, Berkeley
Atrazine is the most commonly used herbicide in the US and probably the world. Researchers examined the effects of this widespread compound and found that atrazine and other environmental endocrine disruptors may be a factor in declines of amphibian populations worldwide.
The Pesticides Database
from the Pesticide Action Network
The Pesticides Database is an easy-to-use, searchable reference for current pesticide toxicity and regulatory information.
Health Risks Associated with Genetically Engineered Foods
from Friends of the Earth
The environmental group argues that a genetically engineered food supply represents a major gamble with human health.
Feeding or Fooling the World? Can GM food really feed the hungry? [pdf]
from the Genetic Engineering Alliance
This report from a UK-based coalition argues that the promotion of genetic modification technologies to solve world hunger oversimplifies the issues and overlooks the risks to biodiversity and to human and animal health posed by widespread integration of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into world food supplies.
Pesticides in Our Food [pdf]
from Friends of the Earth
Research in the UK has found that as much 20 percent of fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets there contain more than one type of pesticide residue.Some of the pesticides are of more concern than others, and some are potentially harmful to human health.
Seeds of Doubt [pdf]
from the Soil Association
In the first detailed look at what has happened in North America since the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops began in 1996, researchers conclude that GM crops have been an economic disaster in the US and Canada.
10 Reasons Not to Use Pesticides [pdf]
A self-explanatory list from The Journal of Pesticide Reform.
A Snapshot of Federal Research on Food Allergy: Implications for Genetically Modified Food [pdf]
from the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
This study concludes that current federal efforts are insufficient to provide the timely and comprehensive information needed by food safety regulators.
