Organic Is Better

The FDA and scientific establishment may not know that there is a difference between organic and commercially grown foods, but the European corn borer does. [Editor: We are in no way implying here that certain experts haven't got the brains of an insect. One study never proves a case.]

Proponents of organic farming have always maintained that healthy plants are more resistant to insects. A recent study by entomologists at Ohio State University found that the European corn borer moth lays 18 times more eggs on sweet corn plants grown in chemicalized soils than on plants raised in organically managed soils.

When minerals occur in the soil in the right balance, plants can absorb what they need for photosynthesis, and are able to more efficiently convert amino acids and simple sugars into the complex proteins and starches need for growth. Commercially farmed soils, on the other hand, do not have that correct balance of minerals, and plants grown in them contain more simple amino acids and sugars. Many insect pests are attracted to these plants because they prefer diets rich in these nutrients. Based on information in: Organic Gardening, May/June 1997