The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

2016 Composition Contest Winnners 23 After reading many scientific articles that observed these nutrition differences, I have learned the health benefits of organic agriculture are complex. Partly because no definitive study has been done, but also because of the exceptional amount of variables existing between the two methods; a fair comparison between the two methods is very complicated. Although the complexity makes it difficult to pinpoint certain correlations, conclusions can still be drawn from some of the studies that have been conducted. Smith- Spangler et al. (2012) conducted a meta-analysis examining studies which reported the nutritional values of organic and conventional produce. They made sure to carefully select their studies, hiring a professional Liberian to assist them in their search for such material. Their purpose was to expose the nutritional differences seeing if they could find any health benefits. They looked at many studies regarding nutritional differences and accumulated their results. As they began to correlate their results they note that little patterns and much diversity existed between each study, but they were able to scrape up some differences that were considered statistically significant (pp. 350-354). They found that there is a difference in the amount of phosphorus level between the foods (Smith-Spangler, pp.357-358, 2012). Also, in organic milk, there was a little more omega-3 fatty acids recorded in organic milk compared to conventional milk. Smith-Spangler et al. (2012) analyzed these differences referring to The Food and Nutrition board and sate that the phosphorus levels do nothing to affect the health of someone unless he or she is dying from starvation (pp. 357-358). And while omega-3 fatty acids are essential to anyone’s diet, the difference is not large enough to affect the individual. Also, Smith-Spangler et al. (2012) were concerned of publication bias, noting that some of the funnel plots in the studies they used appeared to be asymmetric. This raises a concern for the validity of the study that was dealing with the omega-3 fatty acids. With this in mind, they note that their results should be interpreted with caution. Besides these two findings, the other nutritional differences were not even statistically significant enough for Smith- Spangler et al. (2012) to discuss (pp. 357-358). They state, “Despite the widespread perception that organically produced foods are more nutritious than conventional alternatives, we did not find robust evidence to support this perception” (p. 357).