U.S. sales of organic foods and beverages increased from $1 billion in 1990 to $20 billion in 2007. People are willing to pay more for organic products because they think they're healthier. Researchers at Copenhagen University disagree. In a study that included apples, carrots, kale, peas and potatoes, the researchers found organic produce doesn't contain more nutrients than non-organic produce grown with pesticides. Of course, the study, published in the "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture", didn't look into the health risks of pesticides. JSFA is a chemical industry journal.
Increasing health risks from raw produce led to the FDA'S discovery that modern radiation techniques can kill food-poisoning germs without compromising the safety or nutrient value of some vegetables. As of August 2008, the FDA has allowed food producers to treat fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce with "enough radiation" to kill E-coli and other dangerous germs. Who knows - maybe kids will eat more spinach if it glows in the dark.
There's no problem, however, getting Americans to eat iceberg lettuce. They eat more of it than any other lettuce variety - 22 pounds per person in 2005. Although romaine is a distant second at 8 pounds per person, acreage for growing romaine is increasing while acreage for iceberg is decreasing. Because iceberg in 95%-96% water and contains few nutrients, it's becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of lettuces. To give it more respect David Still, a plant science professor at California State Polytechnic University, is trying to cross iceberg with butter lettuce. This would boost iceberg's levels of antioxidants, as well as vitamins A, C, E and K. Although iceberg has only 1/20 of the vitamins as darker/softer greens, it's perfect for crunchtimes.
Because being a vegetarian isn't perfect for everyone, more people are becoming flexitarians - people who eat meat occasionally. A growing number of experts and famous foodies feel that cutting back on meat is a practical compromise that benefits our bodies and our planet. Dawn Jackson Blatner, registered dietitian and author of "The Flexitarian Diet", believes that vegetarianism is a healthier lifestyle, but too hard to do 100% of the time. Mark Bittman, gourmet food writer and author of "Food Matters" believes the average American eating 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish a year - twice the global average - affects both global warming and global obesity. As for flexitarians, they believe the meat of the matter is - less meat.
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