Fruit and Veg
A report claiming fruit and veg are half as nutritious as in the 1960s went around the world. The real picture is smaller, and the biggest cause doesn't care what label is on the bag. The reasons to eat organic hold up anyway.
pesticides
In 2007, 62% of New Zealanders told a government survey they were concerned about pesticides on food. Most of us still walk past the organic shelf. Researchers call it the attitude-behaviour gap. Here's what sits between the worry and the checkout, and the one thing that might close it.
pesticides
MPI says washing takes about a quarter of the residue off silverbeet. Its newest tests found pesticides on nearly half the food samples, after normal preparation. Some wash off, some are inside the plant, and some are baked into the bread. Here's which is which, and what to do about it.
pesticides
Twice, MPI's pesticide survey found an organophosphate on New Zealand silverbeet. Both times the exposure went over the safe daily limit. The first time, the public report said so. The second time, it said there were no risks, and the internal file said otherwise.
Baby Food
For a lot of people, a new baby is the reason they start buying organic. Only Organic says it was the first certified organic baby food here. Who's behind it, what the pouch actually tells you, and what the research says about why it might matter.
pesticides
An Australian charity bought supermarket fruit and veg and sent it to a lab. In New Zealand, only the government does that, 300 samples a year. Its latest report found fipronil on NZ spinach. Here's what else it found, and what it doesn't test for.
Health
A Massey study found NZ children carried more of one pesticide marker than American kids, mostly from food. Studies that switched people to organic saw urine levels fall within days. What that does and doesn't prove, including the finding an organic site might skip.
Health
Health is the reason most people give for buying organic. I went looking for what's actually been measured, across long-running population studies, systematic reviews and one real randomised trial, and laid it out with the caveats attached. Not a verdict. Just the evidence, honestly weighed.
Health
We will buy pills, powders, and “health” products, then say better food is too expensive. A friendly question: have we been sold the add-on while neglecting the foundation?
