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Organic strawberries better for environment and tastebuds, according to research
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Many consumers have embraced the organic food movement – buying fruits and vegetables grown without the aid of pesticides because they believe that they taste better, are more nutritious and are better for the environment. Now, a new study is validating these claims.
The study, conducted by Washington State University and published in the online journal PLoSOne, compared organic and conventional strawberries from 13 pairs of neighboring farms in Watsonville, California, and found organic strawberries to be superior.
A team of ecologists, chemists, soil scientists and other experts analyzed the berries’ vitamin content, taste and effects on soil.
They found that the organic strawberries had a significantly high concentration of antioxidants and vitamin C and could survive long before rotting. Organic Diamante strawberries were the clear winner in the taste test, which included three different varieties. A panel of testers found them to taste sweeter and have better overall flavor.
Additionally, organic fruit proved to be more beneficial for soil – a wider array of microbes found on organic farms suggests a more resilient ecosystem.
"Our findings show that the organic strawberry farms produced higher quality fruit and that their higher quality soils may have greater microbial functional capability and resilience to stress," the authors wrote.
However, in some respects, the organic berries were outperformed by their conventional counterparts. They contained less potassium and phosphorus and were, on average, 13.4 percent smaller.
Critics of the study added that it failed to take into account the higher costs and lower yields of organic farming. The study’s lead author, John Reganold, said that Watsonville strawberry farmers produced about 25 percent fewer strawberries than the conventional farmers.
Organic farming has continued to gain popularity. According to the Toronto Sun, the industry has increased from a mere $3.6 billion in 1997 to $21.1 billion in 2008.
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