Standing behind his table of produce at the Webb City Farmers Market, Chris Sharpsteen said he has a good reason for using primarily organic growing methods.

“I do it because I eat this stuff, too,” he said after bagging up a few Mountain Fresh tomatoes for Penny Scearce, a Joplin resident. “Why put anything in your body that you don’t have to?”

Sharpsteen was alluding to chemical pesticides and fertilizers used in conventional farming.

Several shoppers — Scearce included — at the market Tuesday said they try to buy organic produce when they can, but a study released this week by Stanford University could lead consumers to believe doing so has little impact.

“Here’s the thing,” said Sue Baird, executive director of the Missouri Organic Association. “You can always do studies. But it’s real interesting how you can skew results of studies. We have a lot of big corporations involved in (nonorganic farming).”

In the Stanford study, researchers analyzed thousands of reports and then narrowed them to 237 that most rigorously compared organic and conventionally grown foods. Of those, 17 compared the health of consumers who were eating organic versus conventionally grown foods, while the remainder looked at the properties of the foods.

Stanford researchers — who said they did not use any outside financing — wrote that “the published literature lacks strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods.”

The report said conventionally raised meat does harbor more antibiotic-resistant bacteria than organic meat, and that consumers of nonorganic chicken or pork are 33 percent more likely to ingest strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria than those who eat organic meat.

The study also concluded that the consumption of organic foods “may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.” The report said organic produce has a 30 percent lower risk of containing detectable pesticide levels, but that the amount measured from conventionally grown produce was within safety limits.

Reaction was mixed at the farmers market.

Marilyn Clark, a Webb City resident who visits the market regularly with her granddaughter, said the thought of eating produce that has come in contact with pesticides or fertilizers makes her “uneasy.”

But she doesn’t limit her family’s produce consumption to solely organic.

“I don’t specifically go after them,” she said. “In other words, if I see produce that looks like quality, I will buy it even if it isn’t from an organic vendor. I know what I’m getting here at the market is clean and fresh.”



Demand

Demand for organic food is rising nationally. Organic foods accounted for $31.4 billion in sales last year, according to a recent White House report. That’s up from $3.6 billion in 1997.

Baird said membership in the Missouri Organic Association has risen in recent years, and includes consumers, restaurant owners and producers.

“I think more and more people are paying attention to the positive benefits of it,” she said of organic food consumption.

She said several past studies have suggested that exposure to even a small amount of pesticide might be risky.

“Definitely consumers should invest the time to do their own research,” Baird said. “There is a lot of conflicting data out there. I would say that if you’re a young family, there’s so much definitive research that shows some of the childhood diseases have been linked to some of the neurotoxins — so at the very least invest in organic baby foods and organic milk and dairy products, because those are a major part of a child’s diet.”

Eileen Nichols, who heads up the Webb City Farmers Market, said she requires all vendors to participate in training on how to use pesticide sprays safely. They also must participate in a food safety course that covers soil preparation, application of manure, sprays and chemicals, harvesting and storage.

Two of the market’s growers, Sharpsteen and Larry Cassatt, use primarily organic methods but are not certified — a procedure that includes detailed documentation of all farming practices.

Sharpsteen prefers to use natural methods like row covers — a spun nylon plastic that he drapes over hoops to protect plants — and BT, or bacillus thuringiensis, a natural pesticide.

“We’re breathing car fumes, and we can’t really do anything about that,” he said. “But this, you can do something to avoid it, so why not?”

Cassatt grows certain varieties of crops that are more resistant to diseases and pests, and he stays away altogether from those that are demanding when it comes to pest control.

He said he believes his method actually is cheaper than using pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

“It costs a lot of money to have a spray schedule going,” he said. “I feel people shouldn’t get so excited if they see bugs. In a home garden, even, if you are keeping your plants healthy, they get adequate water and fertilizer, and you weed them, they can combat a lot of pests and will be just fine, even if some pests appear.”

He said he has a good reason for using organic growing methods, something his family has done since he was young.

“My sister has an environmental illness, so she has to really watch where she lives and what she eats,” he said. “If she’s exposed to pesticides and chemicals, her central nervous system will shut down.”



Cost

While consumers often pay more for some organic products, particularly in grocery stores, Granby organic grower Mike Simmons said stores are simply charging a premium for the word “organic” on the label.

“It shouldn’t cost any more to grow the organic broccoli than it does the conventional broccoli. There is no reason for it,” he said.

“We’ve been organic gardeners (since) before it was fashionable to be organic gardeners — probably 40 years.”

That means he doesn’t use chemical fertilizers or chemical herbicides and pesticides. He does use fertilizers, in the form of compost and manure. He also uses pyrethrum, which is derived from the flowers of chrysanthemums, for pest management.

“Everything is natural,” Simmons said. “We only grow open-pollinated heirloom seeds.”

He has 1.5 acres for a garden and used to sell produce commercially, but now grows it just for his family.

“This area — Southwest Missouri — is not really keen on organics,” he said. “It hasn’t caught up with the rest of the country.”



THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this report.





Research



STANFORD RESEARCHERS also reported that in two studies of children, urine testing showed lower pesticide levels in those who consumed only organic foods. But the researchers also cautioned that both groups — those who ate organic and those who ate conventional — harbored very small amounts, and they said one study suggested that insecticide use in homes may be more to blame than food.

Source: The Associated Press