According to a recent report by the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA), organic food is of better quality than conventional food, with fewer pesticides and less nitrate (a substance linked to a range of health problems, including diabetes and Alzheimer's disease). Shane Heaton, a nutritionist in Australian ecological agriculture, believes that this study has provided a fairly comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the nutrition and quality of organic food. This study also found that organic food contains higher levels of minerals and antioxidants, along with many other benefits. This stands in contrast to another recently published assessment commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency, which was widely reported in the media as showing that organic food offers no more benefits than non-organic food. Shane Heaton's research, drawing on data such as dry matter content, antioxidant content, pesticide levels, and nitrate levels, reached a fair conclusion: organic food surpasses conventional food in many respects.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
The key points of the French food safety agency's study are:文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
1. Organic plant products contain more dry matter (denser, more nutritious).文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
2. Organic plant products have higher mineral content.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
3. Organic plant products contain more antioxidants, such as phenols and salicylic acid (known to help prevent cancer, heart disease, and other health problems).文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
4. There is insufficient evidence regarding carbohydrate, protein, and vitamin content.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
5. 94-100% of organic food contains no pesticide residues.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
6. Organic vegetables contain significantly less nitrate, approximately 50% less (high nitrate levels are associated with a range of health problems, including diabetes and various forms of dementia).文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
7. Organic grains contain the same levels of mycotoxins as conventional grains.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
8. Organically raised cattle have more lean meat and more unsaturated fatty acids than conventional cattle.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/
9. Organic chicken contains only one-half to one-third of the fat found in conventional chicken, and its content of n-3 fatty acids (reported to have anti-cancer effects and other health benefits) is significantly higher than that of conventional chicken.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11206/