Ursana's claims (fwd)

[Laura Larsson]

Friends:

I'm forwarding some comments from a non-subscriber on this topic for your
consideration.

Regards,

Laura Larsson
Health Services, University of Washington
listowner: PHNUTR-L, PHNURSES, PNWHEALTH, PHSW, HSR-L +
http://depts.washington.edu/hserv/hshome.html
http://depts.washington.edu/hsic/hsichome.html

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. "  Alvin Toffler

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 11:21:09 -0500
To: phnutr-l at u.washington.edu
From: David Leonard <David.Leonard at unh.edu>
Subject: Ursana's claims

Ursana's claim about mineral depleted soils causing deteriorating crop
nutritional quality is flawed on several grounds:

1.  Most of the minerals mentioned by Ursana's promoters (namely calcium,
magnesium, iron, copper, molybdenum, zinc, boron) are also essential
nutrients for good crop yields (so are manganese and sulfur).  Conventional
growers don't use only NPK fertilizers but also an array of secondary and
trace minerals based on soil test results.

2.  The claim that a 1948 bowl of spinach used to contain 150 mg of iron
but now has just 2 mg is baseless.  A crop's nutritional quality varies
widely with growing conditions including soils, weather, and fertilization
practices as well as with storage time and conditions.

I would also disagree with Robert Heltman's response citing a study
claiming that organic produce has twice the nutritional content of regular
supermarket produce.  Indeed, studies presented at a 1997 Tufts University
conference revealed that there were little or no significant nutritional
differences between organically and chemically grown produce.  Even the
Henry Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture agrees that the jury is
still out on nutritional differences.

As for Robert's claim that overuse of nitrogen fertilizers crowds out trace
element uptake, that may be true to some extent.  However,  the incidence
of overuse of nitrogen  is becoming much less  common due to high costs,
the monitoring of agricultural runoff (as well as the monitoring of nitrate
levels in vegetables), and the adverse effects on yields (due to secondary
and trace element deficiencies).

I fully support the purchase of organic produce but not on its supposedly
superior nutritional quality.  Rather, the proven benefits are fewer
pesticide residues (both in food and in soil and runoff), the support of
smaller, family-owned farms,  and the preservation of varietal biodiversity.

David Leonard, M.Ag. (agricultural sciences)
98 Portland Ave.
Dover, NH  03820
(Book indexing and information research in 
nutrition and health sciences)

For low-carbo diet reviews (Atkins, Zone, Protein Power, SugarBusters!)
fully supported by
journal citations see
http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/discus/messages/140/679.html?