New Organic Center Research Provides First-Ever Estimate For Benefits of Eating Organic Produce

The Organic Center today releases an historic report that concludes converting the nation’s eight million acres of produce farms to organic would reduce pesticide dietary risks by about 97 percent. The Organic Center provides the first-ever quantitative estimate of the degree to which pesticide risks from food can be eliminated through adoption of organic farming methods in “Simplifying the Pesticide Risk Equation: The Organic Option,” a new State of Science Review by Dr. Charles Benbrook, the Organic Center’s chief scientist. Less than three percent of the nation’s cropland produces fruits and vegetables. Yet, according to The Organic Center, these crops account for most of the pesticide risks from dietary exposure in domestically produced foods. The 97 percent risk reduction can only be achieved if converting domestic cropland of organic is coupled with consumers choosing only imported produce that is certified organic.