July 9th, 2010 OTA Challenges Dietary Guidelines Draft
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has called on the U.S. government to revise the draft Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 to reflect the value organic foods have for public health. 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.” “These conclusions are neither grounded in current science nor relevant to the mandate of the Dietary Guidelines,” Ms.
