Organic Nutrition

Eating Organic Produce is About More Than Just Nutrition

By Anne Patterson, Director of Good Earth Food Alliance

Owner of Living Earth Farm, Farmington, Illinois

(Following this article is another about the herb, lovage, and its many uses as well as a recipe for lovage soup.  Finally, we list some new Basil's Harvest products and a link to an article featuring Good Earth Food Alliance grower, Lyndon Hartz.)

There has been a lot of buzz in the media with regards to a recent published scientific paper titled, "Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review," written by a team led by Alan Dangour, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, funded by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA).   The study was published in the September issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."   I couldn’t help but notice how most of the headlines I heard and read touted the findings of this review as though they were the last definitive study on the question of nutritional quality of foods.

The FSA London based paper downplayed positive findings of organic food even though, in several instances, their analysis showed organic foods to be more nutrient dense than conventional foods.  However, it lacked quality controls like those contained in a competing study released in March, 2008, by The Organic Center.  One of the main differences was the FSA-funded team used data from very old studies – going back over a 50 year-period.  Most of the older studies used plant varieties no longer in use and did not measure or report total phenolics or antioxidant capacity, nutrient classes which are very important for human health.  These nutrients were just being discovered at that time. In addition, the older studies used analytical methods that are now considered inferior compared to modern methods. 

New studies support greater nutrient density in organic plant-based foods.   Since February, 2008, the cut-off date for the London study, some 15 new studies have been published, most of which use superior design and analytical methods.  These studies indicate that Vitamin C, total phenolics, and total antioxidant capacity are typically higher in organically grown foods.

 The Organic Center review focused on nutrient differences in "matched pairs" of crops grown on nearby farms, on the same type of soil, with the same irrigation systems and harvest timing, and grown from the same plant variety. It also rigorously screened studies for the quality of the analytical methods used to measure nutrient levels, and eliminated from further consideration a much greater percentage of the published literature than the FSA team.

As more research studies are published we hope to learn more about the nutrient quality of organic fruits and vegetables. In the meantime, there are so many other reasons to be eating fruits and vegetables grown using organic systems.

Why support conventionally grown fruits and vegetables knowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found them to contain on average more than three to four times more pesticide residues than organic produce? The chemical cocktail of multiple pesticide residues increases to eight to eleven times more than corresponding residues in organic samples. Do our taxes need to continue to subsidize non-organic U.S. farming practices which release more than one billion pounds of pesticides into the environment each year?

Lovage – A Little Goes a Long Way

Anne Patterson, Farmer and Lover of Food

It is always good to have a change in our personal culinary world. Who says we have to spend time sitting on the couch watching others have fun with food on the television food shows when we have something like lovage coming into our kitchen?  Although I wasn’t surprised many CSA members asked about what do with lovage, I was surprised no one asked about its name.

This herb has been grown since antiquity. It has been used for just about anything from medicinal to culinary.  It was once used to lighten freckles and it was often used to relieve indigestion, sore throats and rheumatism.  During the Middle Ages lovage was also called “love parsley” for its reputed aphrodisiac qualities. At inns lovage leaves were laid in the shoes of weary travelers to provide rejuvenation for tired feet.  Inns also served a popular cordial made from lovage leaves.  During this time the emperor Charlemagne so revered the plant that he issued a decree that it be grown in all his gardens.  Appalachian people used lovage as a tobacco substitute. 

Because it has a relatively strong flavor, use a little caution when adding lovage to any dish. Remember, you can always add more herbs to a dish but it is nearly impossible to remove them. Use chopped leaves in stews, salads, soups, rice or potatoes.   

Try doing what I did the other night. Chop two lovage leaves and cook with some diced fresh vegetables, along with a little water and white wine for 7 minutes. Place a lovage leaf on the top of a fish fillet (Jim usually brings home a few fresh bass from our lake) set the fillet on top of the lightly sautéed vegetables, cover with buttered aluminum foil and pop into a 375 oven for 8 minutes.  You have a  meal in less than 20 minutes, well, not counting the fishing time.

Here is an easy soup recipe.

 Lovage Soup

• 1oz. butter
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4T lovage leaves, finely chopped
• 3T all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• salt and white pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan and gently sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the lovage; whisk in the flour and cook at medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly.

Gradually whisk in the broth, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer. Do not boil the soup or it will curdle.

Good Earth Food Alliance CSA Members:

• Granola has arrived!  Basil's Harvest is offering two varieties of granola using local honey.  Erin's 100% Whole Grain Hearth Bread was a hit last week and she has decided to offer it again this week.  A wonderful complement to her White Bean and Italian Kale Soup.
• Good Earth Food Alliance grower, Lyndon Hartz, was featured on Mother Nature Network's "40 Farmers Under 40" recently.  Read about it by following the link here.