Organic...or not?

No sooner did I write this post about when to buy organic foods than I heard the shocking news: Organic food might not be any healthier than conventionally grown foods.

Ok, so I wasn't shocked. This isn't the first time that the label "organic" has been called into question. Its become such a popular term that everyone is looking to slap "organic" or "natural" stickers on their products, often without really meeting the standards the consumer is hoping or expecting.

I have a lot of questions though. For instance, the study suggests that the nutritional content is not higher in organic food than in conventionally grown food. That makes sense to me. But what about benefits that come from not having exposure to pesticides? Was that studied as well?

I've never been converted to the full organic lifestyle, though I do try to make that choice when it is affordable, convenient, and seems important to me. But intuitively, food grown without chemicals seems better to our entire eco-system than food with chemicals.

I'm not the only one with questions - an entire industry has been put on edge by the news. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more studies in the near future.

In the meantime, Organic gardening is all the rage this year, studies or no studies. After Michelle Obama planted an organic garden at the White House with her own hands, there was literally a run on organic seeds and plants at Garden Centers all over the world. Even the Queen of England started a garden at Buckingham palace, for the first time since World War II.

Now, my friends and I planted an organic garden this year as well, even before Michelle put her's into the ground. Who's to say that the Queen wasn't equally influenced by my garden?

Yeah, I guess not.