Is organic better? Ask a fruit fly....

[Tussiemussies]

This is a great article about a study a young girl did with fruit flies and the effects of organic versus non-organic food on them:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/0...k-a-fruit-fly/

[redfox]

I love that this experiment was designed by a middle schooler who found a University professor to advise her! That he called her work college or grad level is so impressive. I hope the findings are a springboard for more research.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Aren't pesticides specifically designed to kill flies? So isn't this just kind of stating the obvious? Pesticides aren't good for pests, maybe that's why they are called pest-icides (pest killing is what the word means). They are bad for the things they are specifically designed to be bad for, in other words they work? I'm actually all for organic, its just I'm not sure if studies like this are going to elicit anything more than mockery of how obvious they are.

[RosieTR]

Aren't pesticides specifically designed to kill flies? So isn't this just kind of stating the obvious? Pesticides aren't good for pests, maybe that's why they are called pest-icides (pest killing is what the word means). They are bad for the things they are specifically designed to be bad for, in other words they work? I'm actually all for organic, its just I'm not sure if studies like this are going to elicit anything more than mockery of how obvious they are.

My thoughts exactly! Pesticides are designed to act very differently in invertebrates than mammals. There may be various merits to organic, but pesticides are geared to screw up the longevity, locomotion and reproduction of insects....

[redfox]

Did you both read the article?

[ToomuchStuff]

Read the article and it doesn't go into specifics, only saying traditionally grown, verses organically grown. (at one time, organic was traditional)

Anyway, traditionally anymore, can mean a few things (involves pesticides hence the discussion above, and genetic engineering, of natural pesticide tendencies). I don't see a reason to snipe at them.

[Mrs-M]

Very interesting. What a bright girl.

[iris lily]

Did you both read the article?

I read the article. What is the conclusion of the study, exactly? According to the article summary there ISN'T one. It says:

The difference in outcomes among the flies fed different diets could be due to the effects of pesticide and fungicide residue from conventionally raised foods.

Or it could be that the organic-fed flies thrived because of a higher level of nutrients in the organic produce. One intriguing idea raises the question of whether organically raised plants produce more natural compounds to ward off pests and fungi, and whether those compounds offer additional health benefits to flies, animals and humans who consume organic foods. “There are no hard data on that, but it’s something we’d like to follow up on,” he said.


Emphasis mine. Where's the beef (data driven conclusion?)

[JaneV2.0]

Read the article and it doesn't go into specifics, only saying traditionally grown, verses organically grown. (at one time, organic was traditional)

Anyway, traditionally anymore, can mean a few things (involves pesticides hence the discussion above, and genetic engineering, of natural pesticide tendencies). I don't see a reason to snipe at them.

How did we get to the point where "traditional" means "requires potentially harmful chemicals," anyway? It's like "traditional medicine" now means throwing drugs at every conceivable condition--like "insufficient eyelashes."

[redfox]

I read the article. What is the conclusion of the study, exactly? According to the article summary there ISN'T one. It says:

The difference in outcomes among the flies fed different diets could be due to the effects of pesticide and fungicide residue from conventionally raised foods.

Or it could be that the organic-fed flies thrived because of a higher level of nutrients in the organic produce. One intriguing idea raises the question of whether organically raised plants produce more natural compounds to ward off pests and fungi, and whether those compounds offer additional health benefits to flies, animals and humans who consume organic foods. “There are no hard data on that, but it’s something we’d like to follow up on,” he said.


Emphasis mine. Where's the beef (data driven conclusion?)

I got two points out of it. One, the conclusions are significant enough to warrant further, more in-depth study. Second, a genius young girl is doing near graduate school work! I for d both very compelling.