A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE finds that tomatoes grown on organic farms were about 40 percent smaller than conventionally grown tomatoes. The upside? They pack more of a nutritional punch. The researchers found the organic tomatoes had significantly higher levels of vitamin C, sugar and lycopene.
Go here for the full story: link.
This is a very positive thing to hear! I am aware that many people who are advocates of conventional farming insist that organic has no health benefits so it is nice to see that there are studies being done to disprove this. Personally, when I eat organic produce it always tastes better and my body feels better naturally due the higher vitamin content.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting observation! I think a lot of people judge by the appearance of the tomatoes too much. Just because organic tomatoes are small does not mean that they are not nutritious. I would rather buy a whole dozen of organic tomatoes than 1 regular tomato. Most people would probably see it as a waste of money since they are so small. I think I'm about to start buying organic!
ReplyDeleteI saw this on NPR and I happen to believe that this is a good thing. Often people think that the beautiful large red tomatoes are good for us and in actuality perfect looking products are grown to look perfect and not taste great or be nutritionally beneficial. When we had the presentation about strawberries I realized that strawberries with the white centers are turned red artificially and are not as sweet as truly ripened strawberries. Locally grown organic products taste better are better for a person’s health because they are not grown to be large and perfect. I agree with Deanna because often people judge food on the looks and not the actual benefits or how it tastes and it is good for organic products to have these properties such as higher vitamin C and sugar levels.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they will do research behind this and find out if some of the chemicals (herbicides, pesticides, etc) commercial farmers use are responsible for the lower vitamin C content. Hopefully the reason wil be found and hopefully it can be applied so commercial tomatoes gain more vitamin C.
ReplyDelete