Consumers of organic produce, take a moment to feel good about yourselves: A study published today shows that organically grown foods contain a fraction of the pesticides found in conventionally grown foods. Organic foods were less likely than their conventional counterparts to have any pesticide residues; what residues they did have were from fewer sources and at lower levels. On average, the study found, organics contain only a third as many pesticide residues as conventional foods. The study was published in the Food Additives and Contaminants Journal, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and Consumers Union. The conventional food industry, which holds that low levels of pesticides do not harm human health, was unimpressed by the findings. Gilbert Ross, a scientist with the American Council on Science and Health, which is heavily funded by the industry, said, “So what?”
