Organic Agriculture and Food Utilization

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 90. Food safety: Many aspects of organic agriculture reduce the risks of pathogens (zoonoses), mycotoxins, bacterial toxins and industrial toxic pollutants, compared to conventional agriculture. However, some other aspects potentially increase them. Reduced resistance to antibiotics in zoonotic pathogens indicates a better prognosis for patients if an infection does occur. For natural plant toxins, the content in plants appears to systematically be 10 to 50 percent higher than in conventional plants. However, this is in a range of concentrations where these compounds have no toxic effect and may even benefit human health. 91. Pesticide poisoning: This is an area where very substantial health problems have been documented, especially among farmers and their families. Pesticide poisoning causes some 20 000 deaths per year globally and an average of 11 days wages lost due to illness, per farmer per incidence, in some areas. Even symptom-free workers often exhibit biomarker changes indicating increased risk of diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. With the present level of knowledge, elimination of such horrible conditions, which can be achieved on a short timescale, is the quantitatively single most important benefit of organic farming in terms of human health. Still, long-term occupational exposure to copper also increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease, but not as much as exposure to synthetic pesticides. 92. Pesticide residues: The levels in organic products are consistently 4 to 5 times lower than in conventional products. However, no definitive causal connection with harm to consumers has ever been demonstrated for food produced in accordance with general (conventional) food safety rules. Errors and accidents can cause contamination with harmful levels of pesticides, but this risk is eliminated when no pesticides are present. Across the different safety risks in both systems, the best managers achieve much better standards than the average producers, and the occurrence of serious hazards is so low that no significant differences have been demonstrated between production systems. 93. Food quality: Consumers generally appreciate that food is authentic and trustworthy and produced with care for them and the environment. So reduced food additives and pesticide residues, good traceability and emphasis on animal welfare all support the perception of organic food as being of high-quality. Differences in taste between organic and conventional food products are strongly affected by interaction with local aspects and therefore show few general trends. Only poultry (broiler) produced according to the organic standards results in a clearly differentiated taste compared with mainstream conventional products. 94. Nutritional adequacy: In developing countries, organic agriculture has several advantages for the provision of nutrients, such as higher Zn/phytate ratio and better amino acid composition in cereals. Also, a more balanced diet due to the greater diversity of organic rotations, including legumes and various types of vegetables, and the need for animals on each farm provide important nutritional benefits. In developed countries, nutritional value is much more difficult to determine. However, the higher levels of plant secondary metabolites and conjugated fatty acids in milk may provide important protection against cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases known to be influenced by diet. 95. Human health: Epidemiological studies have shown better health scores among consumers of organic food for immunological characteristics and weight control, and similar benefits have been reproduced in animal studies, supporting a possible causal role of the food production system. 96. Post-harvest operations: Higher activity of plant defense mechanisms in organic plants reduces the losses during transport and storage. The preference for local products and short supply chains also reduce the loss of quality during transport. 97. Pollution of drinking water: Organic farmers have substantially higher economic incentives than conventional farmers to establish and maintain sufficient capacity for collection, composting and incorporation of animal and human wastes as valuable fertilizer. This is particularly important in areas where sanitation is not provided or standards not enforced by the authorities. Such measures will also substantially reduce contamination with nitrates and phosphorus. There is little evidence that these minerals have any harmful effects on humans, if the drinking water is free of pathogens, except by promoting blooms of toxic algae. 98. Pollution of the environment: Persistent pesticides (such as DDT) have damaged wildlife globally and are still being used in many developing countries. Organic agriculture protects the local environment against all types of pesticides and has potential to benefit the global situation if the proportion of land under organic management becomes large enough to reduce the total use. Pollution with nitrate and phosphorus are major causes of eutrophication. Organic farms leach lower levels of phosphorus into drainage water than conventional ones. For nitrate, the loss from organic farms tends to be slightly lower than conventional, except when comparing organic outdoor pig production with conventional indoor production. However, recent data indicate that organically managed soil may be more efficient at denitrification, releasing most of the nitrate into the atmosphere as harmless N2. If this is a general trend, the benefits of organic farming are much larger than previously estimated

Investigations of organic food and health

Numerous studies have attempted to elucidate if there is a difference in the effect on human health, between food produced according to the organic standards compared with conventionally produced food. While many studies support a few general trends of differences in food composition, none have provided any conclusive evidence for differences in the effects on human health. Most of the studies have been inadequate in size or focus to allow any definitive conclusions. The major problem is the complexity of the issue, and the general paucity of knowledge about the impact of food on health, which means that it is virtually impossible to tackle all relevant uncertainties in any one study. Instead a whole range of different types of studies are needed to provide a conclusion. Presently, a study is in progress, which attempts to provide some of the missing key information on this issue. This study comprises controlled cultivation of plants in three different models of growing systems for two years, and feeding rats for 3 generations on diets composed of these plants. It will show if food from different growing systems can result in differences in health of rats, and if so, which aspects of health are affected. However, if differences are found, subsequent studies will be necessary to determine the applicability and possible consequences for human health. Still, together with other existing and planned studies it might soon be possible to determine some of the consequences for human health of the methods used for food production. This could result in increased demand for organic food, and it could at the same time lead to changes in the farming methods in either organic or conventional production systems. In any case, this type of research will improve crucial aspects of the knowledge base, which is needed also in other contexts, to support the efforts to improve food safety and quality

Which aspects of health are likely to be affected by our choice of food quality, such as organic food, and how can we investigate this question?

There are ample examples that the methods used for production of food do make a difference for food composition or other aspects of its quality, and that some of these differences are large enough to make a real difference for the consumer in terms of health. Some of these differences may in fact cause (yet unproven) general differences in food quality between organic and conventional products. However, many of the production methods that benefit food quality are not necessarily restricted to either organic or conventional systems. Understanding the links between production methods and food quality therefore allows improvement of the products of any system, whether organic or conventional. Many of these benefits are linked with what is presently common practice in organic farming, but which is not prescribed by the regulations, and for these the main challenge can be to conserve existing quality benefi ts during further development of the productivity of organic methods

Advantages and pitfalls of different types of studies for investigations of the impact of food on health

Several types of studies can be used to elucidate various aspects of the effect of food on human health. The main categories are: • Epidemiological (observational) studies with humans. These can be prospective, where the diet is recorded and health indicators are moni-tored after the first recording, or retrospective, where people who have a disease are identified and it is then investigated if their diet has been different from those who did not get the same disease. • Intervention studies with animals or humans, where the outcome is differences in indicators of health between groups eating different controlled diets. • In vitro studies, where specific aspects of the mechanisms of the effects of food or food com-ponents are studied in cell cultures, isolated or-gans or on enzyme activities. Each type of study is useful for elucidation of certain types or aspects of hypotheses. They also differ in terms of sensitivity (precision) and accuracy (risk of confounding with other influences than the food it-self). A thorough understanding of the effect of a food on human health requires that all three types of stud-ies give corresponding and predictable results

Pseudomonas and Bacillus Soil Isolates Produce Antibiotics

The recent emergence of antibiotic resistance bacterial strains presents a significant challenge and threat to human healthcare. While new methods of treatment such as bacteriophage therapy and combinations of existing antibiotics are being researched, the human population is in dire need of new antibiotics to replace those that are ineffective. This research addresses this need by identifying antibiotic producing bacteria in a soil sample from Davenport, IA. This project is a collaboration with the Tiny Earth Project Initiative (TEPI), which is a global network of educators and students focused on studentsourcing antibiotic discovery from soil. Microbiology lab techniques and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were used to isolate and identify antibiotic producing bacteria as Bacillus and Pseudomonas

A New Phytochemical Screening Programme used for Crops grown with Organic and Conventional Methods

A broad screening programme, covering the most general phytochemical groups of compounds, was developed on the basis of Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). A total of 46 TLC systems, comprising 26 derivatization reagents, 3 stationary phases, and 4 mobile phases, were included. The TLC systems were classified according to the groups of phytochemical compounds detected: Alcohols and phenolic compounds; Carbohydrates; N-containing compounds; Organic acids and lipids; P-containing compounds; S-containing compounds, and Terpenoids. Furthermore, one group of TLC systems detected compounds from several of the mentioned groups. The screening programme was applied in the screening of potatoes (S. tuberosum L.), peas (P. sativum L.), kale (B. oleracea L.), carrots (D. carota L.), and apples (M. domestica Borkh.), cultivated with combinations of organic and conventional methods for plant protection and nutrient supply, for phytochemical differences (biomarkers). Distinctive phytochemical differences were found between the differently cultivated samples of these crops. In peas and carrots only one biomarker was found. In peas the biomarker was related to the soil conditions, while the biomarker in carrots was related to the use of pesticides. In potato, two biomarkers related to the use of pesticides were found. Three biomarkers were found in kale. Two of these could be related to the use of pesticide, while the last was related to either fertiliser or soil conditions. Several biomarkers were found apples, but a relation to the cultivation methods was not clear. Three of the biomarkers in apples could be related to either the use of pesticides or fertiliser, while no conclusions could be drawn from the other biomarkers found. The results of the screening programme form the basis for a potential development of a kit to detect whether crops are organically- or conventionally cultivated. Furthermore, the results from this part and other parts of the project "Organic food and health – a multigenerational animal experiment" provide basis for the selection of which secondary compounds to quantify by specific chemical analysis, isolate, and/or structure elucidation

Auswirkungen unterschiedlicher Duroc-Genanteile auf das ökologisch erzeugte Mastschwein

It is the aim of the present study with 93 organic fattening pigs of varying Duroc gene portion (0 %, 25 %, 50 %, and 75 %) to deduce the optimal Duroc gene percentage. Increasing Duroc gene portions resulted in an impaired feed conversion ratio, decreasing lean meat content, and increasing intramuscular fat content. It is concluded that in a carcass quality based marketing system Duroc gene percentage should not exceed 50 %, whereas already 25 % Duroc gene portion significantly promotes meat quality. Only for marketing systems very strictly based on meat quality Duroc gene portion should have 75 % due to a significant promotion of intramuscular fat content

Biofilm Associated Staphylococcus Aureus Viability is Altered By Burkholderia Cenocepacia

Respiratory failure caused by chronic and recurrent microbial infections is the most common cause of death for people with cystic fibrosis (CF)1, a disease causing the formation of thick mucus in the lungs2. Most bacteria can form biofilms, collections of sessile cells adhered to a surface by a secreted substance. Biofilm-associated cells develop antibiotic resistance at higher rates3. The thicker mucus in CF lungs is extremely difficult to clear via action of the mucociliary escalator and its presence fosters the formation of bacterial biofilms. Staphylococcus aureus and Burkholderia cenocepacia are two pathogens commonly found in the CF lung. Previous work in the Yoder-Himes laboratory established an antagonistic relationship between members of the B. cepacia complex and S. aureus biofilms4. To understand this antagonism, it is crucial to identify the biofilm changes occurring when S. aureus and B. cenocepacia interact. This work provides insight into the changes that may be responsible for the reduced viability of S. aureus in biofilms. Using crystal violet to measure biofilm biomass, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and assessing differences in antibiotic susceptibility, S. aureus and B. cenocepacia were examined in both monoculture and co-culture conditions. The results of this experiment indicate S. aureus and B. cenocepacia biofilm formation increases over time and is greater in nutrient-rich media. Additionally, B. cenocepacia inhibits biofilm formation of S. aureus. These findings provide information that can be used for understanding the interactions between pathogenic bacteria in the lungs of CF patients, leading to the development of more effective therapeutics.https://ir.library.louisville.edu/uars/1038/thumbnail.jp

Die Bedeutung antiker Theorien für die Genese und Systematik von Kants Philosophie. Eine Analyse der drei Kritiken

Zusammenfassung von: Die Bedeutung antiker Theorien für die Genese und Systematik von Kants Philosophie. Eine Analyse der drei Kritiken. Kant ist viel mehr durch die hellenistische Philosophie (Stoizismus, Epikureismus, Skeptizismus) beeinflusst als durch Platon. Die These eines Platon-Einflusses wurde vor allem von Schopenhauer, Nietzsche und dem Neukantianismus vertreten.Aber Kants Platonverständnis ist das von Ciceros "Orator" oder Seneca. Kant hat Platon und Aristoteles nicht im Original gelesen, sondern bezog seine Informationen über Sekundärquellen. Mit der Lektüre lateinischer Autoren wie Cicero und Seneca hingegen war er aus der Schule vertraut. Durch die Gliederung der Arbeit anhand der Abfolge der kantischen Schriften ist es im Gegensatz zu einer an antiken Autoren orientierten Darstellung möglich, sowohl Konstanten des Umgangs Kants mit der Antike als auch charakteristische Unterschiede zu berücksichtigen. Der genaue Ort der Antike bei Kant kann folgendermaßen beschrieben werden: Sie ist an Stellen präsent, an denen Kant seine Philosophie im Sinnes eines bewussten Klassizismus stilisiert. Er denkt durchweg in Antithesen, deren Pole er mit "Leitautoren" besetzt: Epikur/Platon (schon bei Cicero), Epikur/Stoa, Aristoteles/Platon (seit Bonaventura, für Kant greifbar bei Leibniz). Allerdings entsteht Kants Philosophie nicht aus einer genuinen Auseinandersetzung mit der Antike: Kein antiker Autor, sondern Hume hat ihn "geweckt". Obwohl die kantische kritische Philosophie allgemein für "revolutionär" und "modern" gehalten wird, kann gezeigt werden, dass Kant sie auch für die abschließende Summe aller bisherigen Philosophie gehalten hat. Die "Technik der Natur" in der "Kritik der Urteilskraft" ist nicht aristotelisch, sondern stoisch. Die kann sowohl von der Wortwahl als auch von den philosophischen Implikationen her gezeigt werden. Die Arbeit ist in die folgenden fünf Teile gegliedert (Untereinteilungen werden hier ausgelassen): I Einleitung; das Thema; Absicht und Methode der vorliegenden Arbeit; Forschungslage; Grundsätzliches zu Kants Umgang mit der Philosophiegeschichte II Von der Dissertation (1770) bis zur "Kritik der reinen Vernunft" (1781/1787): Platon, Aristoteles, Epikur, Skepsis III Die "Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten" und die "Kritik der praktischen Vernunft" IV Die Antike im zweiten Teil der "Kritik der Urteilskraft", der "Kritik der teleologischen Urteilskraft" V Schlus