OTA: Dietary Guidelines Need to Take Stronger Stand on Organic Foods

"WASHINGTON, July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Organic Trade Association (OTA) today called on the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health & Human Services (HHS) to encourage those seeking to minimize their exposure to toxic chemicals to look for the USDA Organic label wherever they shop by revising the draft Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.

In oral testimony at a hearing conducted by the Advisory Committee preparing the latest version of the guidelines, OTA's Executive Director and CEO Christine Bushway pointed out serious concerns with statements in Resource 3 entitled "Conventional and Organically Produced Foods." For one, although the Dietary Guidelines statement on organic foods references only limited research on nutrient density, it draws the broad conclusion that "Our current understanding of conventional and organically produced foods indicate that their nutritional value and contributions to human health are similar.""

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