Gary Null, Ph.D. and Jeremy Stillman - Shilling for Big Agra: Challenging the Stamford Report’s Conclusions

Mainstream news outlets have widely covered the results of a recent meta-analysis by researchers at Stanford University which claims to offer proof that organic produce is not any healthier than conventional foods. Most Americans, if they believe the media, would no longer be interested in spending a little more money at a local farmers market or health food store and buying organic produce. They would believe, based upon the review by Stanford scientists, that there is no difference between organic and conventional produce. However, there is a backstory that recasts this entire discussion.

New evidence has emerged that Big Agra, including those that support or benefit from genetically modified (GMO) foods, were behind this review and this is nothing more than a PR effort; especially since, there is a November election in California to decide whether to label GMO foods or not. The pro-organic food and GMO labeling movements have little funds and no PR campaign, only concerned citizens using common sense. On the other hand, the pro-GMO camp has tens of millions of dollars and is waging an aggressive campaign to disseminate their propaganda. They know that if consumers vote yes to labeling GMO foods in California, it will spread throughout the country. Therefore, they are trying their hardest to keep our politicians and health safety organizations from speaking out on the side of public health and real, independent science, which shows that GMOs are dangerous and unproven in safety.

Last Wednesday, the Cornucopia Institute released a report which raises serious doubts over the scientific integrity of the Stamford report. In their analysis, the non-profit agriculture policy group sheds light on the strong ties between powerful biotechnology and agribusiness firms and the research center that employs many of the scientists who published the review- Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute. Their investigation points out that Big Agra behemoths such as Cargill and Monsanto have donated millions of dollars to the Freeman Spogli Institute.¹ It’s no secret that these corporations, which are leading producers of chemical pesticides and GMO technology, would stand to lose a great deal of business if California votes to label GMO foods. The Cornucopia Institute also reveals that Stanford’s researchers have also accepted millions in donations from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a long history of supporting biotech and agricultural chemical interests.² Despite the clear conflict of interest, the scientists who produced the review stated that their findings were independent and failed to make any mention of the heavy industry influence.

In addition to the highly questionable financial backing of the Stamford meta-analysis, a critical review of the methodology used in the report reveals that it was deeply flawed. A critical assessment of the Stamford conclusions by UC Berkeley professor of agroecology, Miguel Altieri, mentions several important reasons why we should be skeptical of the authors’ findings. Altieri points out that few of the studies examined as part of the meta-analysis were carried out abroad. In point of fact, numerous studies carried out in Germany and other countries have established the superior nutritional properties of organic versus non-organic foods. In addition, the study fails to take into account the vital fact that many individuals opt to eat organic because of environmental reasons. As opposed to conventional agriculture, which requires more energy, promotes erosion, and results in unhealthy, depleted soil, organic agriculture is a sustainable practice. Finally, Altieri argues that organic farming in California is dominated by about 5% of organic farmers who control 60% of the market. These large-scale operations commonly apply organic sprays to manage their monoculture crops, effectively departing from traditional organic farming methods which encourage biodiversity and don’t rely on external inputs. According to Altieri, the results of the Stanford report are more explainable if the foods studied were produced from such an industrial organic model. ³

Going beyond the distortions and flaws of the meta-analysis, we provide you with a wealth of scientific evidence that clearly demonstrates two key points that are critical to this discussion:

1: The pesticides sprayed on conventional produce are highly damaging to our health.

2. Organic produce contains more life-sustaining phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds than non-organic alternatives and is therefore healthier.

Studies Showing the Health Risks of Pesticides with Summary:

The connection between pesticides and childhood cancers

Daniels JL, Olshan AF, Savitz DA 1997. Pesticides and childhood cancers. Environ Health Perspect 105:1068-1077. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.971051068

Adler T 2007. Keep the Sprays Away?: Home Pesticides Linked to Childhood Cancers. Environ Health Perspect 115:A594-A594. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.115-a594a

Sandler DP, Ross JA. Epidemiology of acute leukemia in children and adults. Seminars in Oncology 1997; 24:3-16.

"Environmental Health Perspectives"; Household pesticides and risk of pediatric brain tumors.; Pogoda, Preston-Martin 1997; 105:1214-20.

Prenatal exposure to the pesticide impairs neurodevelopment, cognition and motor skills in children

Barrett JR 2007. Pesticides: Toxic Legacy. Environ Health Perspect 115:A190-A190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.115-a190b

Lower IQ in elementary school students whose mothers were exposed to higher amounts of pesticides during pregnancy

Rauh V, Arunajadai S, Horton M, Perera F, Hoepner L, Barr DB, et al. 2011. Seven-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide. Environ Health Perspect 119:1196-1201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003160

Bouchard MF, Chevrier J, Harley KG, Kogut K, Vedar M, Calderon N, et al. 2011. Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticides and IQ in 7-Year-Old Children. Environ Health Perspect 119:1189-1195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003185

Engel SM, Wetmur J, Chen J, Zhu C, Barr DB, Canfield RL, et al. 2011. Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphates, Paraoxonase 1, and Cognitive Development in Childhood. Environ Health Perspect 119:1182-1188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003183

Research links autism and pesticide exposure in utero

Shelton JF, Hertz-Picciotto I, Pessah IN, 2012 Tipping the Balance of Autism Risk: Potential Mechanisms Linking Pesticides and Autism.Environ Health Perspect 120(7): doi:10.1289/ehp.1104553

McGovern V 2007. Autism and Agricultural Pesticides: Integrating Data to Track Trends. Environ Health Perspect 115:A504-A504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.115-a504a

Long-term exposure to low levels of pesticides result in cognitive impairments in adults

Baldi I, Filleul L, Mohammed-Brahim B, Fabrigoule C, Dartigues J-F, et al. 2001 Neuropsychologic Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Pesticides: Results from the French Phytoner Study. Environ Health Perspect 109(8): doi:10.1289/ehp.01109839

Examining the connection between Parkinson’s Disease and chemical pesticides

Twombly R 2004. Pesticides and Parkinson Disease. Environ Health Perspect 112:a548-a548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.112-a548b

Brown TP, Rumsby PC, Capleton AC, Rushton L, Levy LS, 2005 Pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease—Is There a Link?. Environ Health Perspect 114(2): doi:10.1289/ehp.8095

Studies associating pesticide exposure with increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease

Parrón, T., et al. 2011. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. Epub ahead of print

Hayden KM, et al. 2010. Neurology, May 11;74(19):1524-30

Tyas SL, et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2001 Jun;30(3):598-9]

Adults exposed to pesticide oxychlordane twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes

Airaksinen, R., P. Rantakokko, J. G. Eriksson, P. Blomstedt, E. Kajantie, and H. Kiviranta. "Association Between Type 2 Diabetes and Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants." Diabetes Care 34.9 (2011): 1972-979. Print.

Pesticide applicators up to 200% more likely to suffer from diabetes

Montgomery MP, Kamel F, Saldana TM, Alavanja MCR, Sandler DP. Incident diabetes and pesticide exposure among licensed pesticide applicators: Agricultural Health Study 1993 – 2003, Amer J Epidemiol, 2008;167:1235-46.

Studies Showing the Health Benefits of Organic Versus Conventional with Summary:

Three-year Italian study shows organic peaches and pears have more polyphenols and vitamin C than conventional alternatives

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2002, 50 (19), pp 5458–5462

DOI: 10.1021/jf0202584

Organic crops have higher phenolic content compared to non-organic crops

 Brandt K and Molgaard JP (2001), 'Organic Agriculture: Does it enhance or reduce the nutritional value of food plants', Journal of Science in Food and Agriculture, 81, p. 924 - 931

UK’s Soil Association finds that organic produce generally contains higher amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients than conventional produce

Soil Association (2001) Organic Farming, food quality and human health: a review of the evidence.

Independent analysis determines organic foods contain significantly greater amounts of vitamin C, magnesium, iron and phosphorus compared to conventional foods

Worthington V (2001) Nutritional quality of organic versus conventional fruits, vegetables, and grains. The Journal of Complimentary Medicine, vol. 7, No. 2, p. 161 - 173. 

Organic oranges offer more vitamin C than conventional oranges

American Chemical Society (2002, June 3). Research At Great Lakes Meeting Shows More Vitamin C In Organic Oranges Than Conventional Oranges. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 7, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2002/06/020603071017.htm

Organic soups found to have an average of 600% more of the anti-inflammatory compound salicylic acid than non-organic soups

Baxter, GJ, Et Al. "Salicylic Acid in Soups Prepared from Organically and Non-organically Grown Vegetables." European Journal of Nutrition 40.6 (2001): 289-92.Pubmed.gov. Web. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11876493>.

Research demonstrates organic tomatoes have higher antioxidant content than those that were sprayed with pesticides

Anna Vallverdú-Queralt, Olga Jáuregui, Alexander Medina-Remón, Rosa Maria Lamuela-Raventós. Evaluation of a Method To Characterize the Phenolic Profile of Organic and Conventional Tomatoes. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2012; 60 (13): 3373 DOI: 10.1021/jf204702f

Study of organic and non-organic strawberry crops finds that organic strawberries have greater concentrations of antioxidants and vitamins and also survived longer without rotting.

Reganold JP, Andrews PK, Reeve JR, Carpenter-Boggs L, Schadt CW, et al. (2010) Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems. PLoS ONE 5(9): e12346. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012346

Blueberries produced by organic farming practices displayed significantly higher levels of antioxidants when compared to conventionally-grown varieties

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 56, pages 5,788-5794 (2008), published online on July 1, 2008.

Four-year Study from Europe discovers organically-grown vegetables, fruits, and milk show greater antioxidant activity and healthy fatty acid content.

"Organic Food Is More Nutritious Say EU Researchers." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 29 Oct. 2007. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86972.php>.

Organic lemonade contains 10 times as much of the antioxidant eriocitrin than lemonade made with conventional fruit.

Biopharmaceutics & Drug Disposition, Vol. 29, pp. 63-82, September 2007.

52% more vitamin C in organic corn than conventional corn and higher antioxidant content in organic marionberries compared to the conventional kind.

Danny K. Asami, Yun-Jeong Hong, Diane M. Barrett, and Alyson E. Mitchell

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2003, 51 (5), pp 1237–1241

Organic foods contain higher levels of certain nutrients, lower levels of pesticides, and may provide health benefits for the consumer

Crinnion, WJ. "Organic Foods Contain Higher Levels of Certain Nutrients, Lower Levels of Pesticides, and May Provide Health Benefits for the Consumer." Alternative Medicine Review 15.1 (2010): 4-12. Pubmed.gov. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20359265>.

Swedish Study shows that extracts from organically grown strawberries are more effective combating cancer growth than extracts from conventional strawberries.

Olsson, Marie E., C. Staffan Andersson, Stina Oredsson, Rakel H. Berglund, and Karl-Erik Gustavsson. "Antioxidant Levels and Inhibition of Cancer Cell Proliferation in Vitro by Extracts from Organically and Conventionally Cultivated Strawberries." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 54.4 (2006): 1248-255. Pubmed.gov. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16478244?dopt=Abstract>.

Study shows ascorbic acid and phenolic activity higher in organic broccoli than non-organic broccoli

Zapata, PJ, Et Al. "Quality Parameters and Antioxidant Properties in Organic and Conventionally Grown Broccoli after Pre-storage Hot Water Treatment." J Sci Food Agric (2012): n. pag. Pubmed.gov. 30 Aug. 2012. Web. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22936597>.

Mineral content greater in organic produce compared to non-organic produce

Journal of Applied Nutrition  1993; 45:35-39.

1^ "Stanford's "Spin" on Organics Allegedly Tainted by Biotechnology Funding | Common Dreams." Common Dreams. The Cornucopia Institute, 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Sept. 2012. <http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/09/12-8>.

2^ Ibid

3^ Altieri, Miguel. "Raj Patel." Berkeley'€™s Miguel Altieri on 4 Problems With the Stanford Organic Study. Rajpatel.org, 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://rajpatel.org/2012/09/10/berkeleys-miguel-altieri-on-4-problems-with-the-stanford-organic-study/>.