Love her or hate her, most people give kudos to Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin for choosing to feed her kids organic food. Her view, and that of many who choose to eat organic (last year Australians spent $600million on organic products), is that it’s more nutritious.

As organic food is typically more expensive and harder to find, does the organic-is-better-for-you theory stack up? Not really, says the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. They reviewed over 170 studies on the subject from the last 40 years and found organic food is no healthier than regular food.

While the study was the most comprehensive to date, it looked only at nutritional value of organic produce – not at its environmental impact or the long-term effects of pesticide consumption.

Dietitian Kate Di Prima supports the UK report but says there are reasons other than nutrition to buy organic. “I will sometimes buy organic fruit and vegetables because they taste a little bit different and that means you’ll get children to eat them,” she explains. Similarly, some children are sensitive to pesticides, herbicides, colours and preservatives, and Di Prima says parents of these kids may want to buy organic as a personal preference.

Organic advocates are proud of their anti-pesticide position. “While the debate goes on about the safety of pesticide residues in food, one thing is clear: while uncertainty persists, consumers who wish to minimise their dietary pesticide exposure can do so with confidence by buying organically grown food,” argues Shane Heaton on behalf of the Biological Farmers Association of Australia.

So is Kate Gosselin wasting her time with her organic obsession? No – the important thing is she makes healthy eating a priority for her kids. Getting your brood to eat fruit and veg is the name of the game, regardless of whether you can afford (or find) organic.

(Pic: Snapper Media)

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