A groundbreaking study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds eating organic cuts cancer risk by up to 25 percent
French government scientists tracked the diets of nearly 70,000 people for four years and found those who consumed the most organic foods were 25 percent less likely to develop cancer.
For people consuming the highest amount of organic food, the study found a significantly lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, all lymphomas and postmenopausal breast cancer.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on October 22.
“Although organic foods are less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional foods, few studies have examined the association of organic food consumption with cancer risk,” the study’s authors wrote.
“Promoting organic food consumption in the general population could be a promising preventive strategy against cancer,” they concluded.
The scientists focused on 16 different organic food and beverage products, including fruits and vegetables, soy-based foods, eggs, dairy, grains, meat and fish.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the pesticides malathion and diazinon as “probable carcinogens” and tetrachlorvinphos and parathion as “possible carcinogens.”
Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer has also been classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization and a “known carcinogen” in the state of California.
“This study provides more evidence suggesting even low levels of pesticides in food may be harmful,” said Environmental Working Group toxicologist Alexis Temkin in a press release.
Each year, the Environmental Working Group releases the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which includes the Dirty Dozen list of conventional fruits and vegetables that consistently have the highest levels of pesticide residues, as well as the Clean Fifteen list showing which conventional foods have the fewest pesticides.
“Nobody wants to eat pesticides, and tracking the explosive growth of the organic industry in the U.S. against the flat sales of its conventional counterparts is all the evidence you need to confirm it,” says EWG President Ken Cook “Scientists are sounding the alarm on the risks they pose to human health, and consumers are responding.”