Organic Farming Provides a Blueprint to Improve Food Quality, Safety and Security
- Animal and human dietary intervention studies designed to identify the main nutritional drivers (e.g., lower dietary intake of pesticides and/or toxic metals; increased intake of antioxidants/phenolics and/or mineral micronutrients) for health benefits linked to organic food consumption [8].
- Organic farming minimizes negative impacts of agricultural intensification
- Monoculture and short rotationscan increase crop species-specific weed, pest and disease pressure and may lead to (a) greater dependence on synthetic chemical pesticides, (b) higher pesticide residues being present in crops, and (c) a greater risk of Fusarium infection and mycotoxin contamination of cereal grains;
- Mineral phosphorus fertilizercan (a) reduce mycorrhizal development on roots and thereby negatively affect mineral micronutrient uptake and resistance against soil-borne diseases, and (b) increase cadmium concentrations in crops;
- Mineral nitrogen fertilizeris associated with (a) a reduction in crop resistance, (b) lower concentrations of nutritionally desirable phenolics and other resistance-related phytochemicals/antioxidants in crops, and (c) increases the risk of Fusarium infection and mycotoxin contamination in cereal grains;
- Synthetic chemical pesticidesin agriculture is responsible for chronic dietary pesticide exposure and may reduce concentrations of certain nutritionally desirable phytochemicals/antioxidants and mineral micronutrients in crops; and
- Modern short-straw cereal varieties, results in crops that are (a) less competitive against weeds and more susceptible to certain diseases (e.g., Fusarium, Septoria), (b) have lower grain protein and mineral micronutrient concentrations, and (c) more susceptible to Fusarium infection and associated mycotoxin contamination.”
- organic and/or non-organic (including regenerative) crop production systems
- specific crop management practices (e.g., rotation designs, tillage systems, crop protection methods, fertilization regimes, and varieties/cultivar selection)
- Observational studies linked organic food consumption to health benefits
- a recent human dietary intervention study reported that (1) total pesticide intake with conventional food is similar to dietary intake of the essential mineral micronutrient Cu, and (2) a large number of pesticides are suspected or confirmed endocrine disrupting chemicals and may therefore have effects at very low concentrations [11];
- observational studies comparing (1) human cohorts with high and low pesticide intakes and (2) high and low organic food consumption reported association between high pesticide and low organic food consumption, and negative health impacts for a similar range of diseases including obesity, metabolic syndrome, lymphomas, breast cancer, and hypospadias [8,11]; and
- factorial dietary intervention studies with rats identified dietary pesticide and (poly)phenolic intakes as important explanatory variables/drivers for differences in hormonal balances and immune-system responsiveness in rats raised on feeds made from crops produced with organic versus conventional fertilization and crop protection regimes [12,13].
- The need to change diets and the way food is produced to increase Food Security and Public Health
- health benefits linked to organic food consumption may be greater for consumers with healthy diets (e.g., individuals that follow current nutritional guidelines to reduce meat and/or increase wholegrain, fruit and vegetable consumption); and
- the adoption of both healthier diets and organic food production methods may have synergistic effects with respect to reducing environmental impacts and increasing food quality, safety and security, and public health.
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Leifert, C. Organic Farming Provides a Blueprint to Improve Food Quality, Safety and Security. Agronomy 2022, 12, 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030631
Leifert C. Organic Farming Provides a Blueprint to Improve Food Quality, Safety and Security. Agronomy. 2022; 12(3):631. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030631
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeifert, Carlo. 2022. "Organic Farming Provides a Blueprint to Improve Food Quality, Safety and Security" Agronomy 12, no. 3: 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030631
APA StyleLeifert, C. (2022). Organic Farming Provides a Blueprint to Improve Food Quality, Safety and Security. Agronomy, 12(3), 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030631