I've never met anyone who buys organic food to get more vitamins and minerals, so it's unclear why the public has been treated to a series of studies -- most recently a meta-review out of Stanford University -- telling us that for the most part organics don't have more vitamins and minerals.
As a Times editorial pointed out last week, consumers buy organic to avoid ingesting common agricultural chemicals and to prevent those chemicals from harming the environment. Pesticide levels in organic food were found to be significantly lower.
But one particular finding in the study carries tremendous importance -- and received almost no attention. Organic chicken and pork were lower in levels of drug-resistant bacteria, though the study's authors were quick to point out that levels of drug-sensitive E. coli were about the same.
As a Times editorial pointed out last week, consumers buy organic to avoid ingesting common agricultural chemicals and to prevent those chemicals from harming the environment. Pesticide levels in organic food were found to be significantly lower.
But one particular finding in the study carries tremendous importance -- and received almost no attention. Organic chicken and pork were lower in levels of drug-resistant bacteria, though the study's authors were quick to point out that levels of drug-sensitive E. coli were about the same.
