State of Science :: Nutritional Quality
"Enhancing Food Nutritional Quality and Human Health Through Organic Farming Systems"
November 2007
The Organic Center's Chief Scientist was asked to deliver the keynote address on a panel exploring the contributions of organic food and farming to human health.
Other panelists included Dr. Don Davis, University of Texas-Austin; Jaime Yanez, Washington State University; Dr. Gene Lester, Agricultural Research Service, Weslaco, Texas; and Elizabeth Torres, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Benbrook's presentation, posted here six slides to a page, focuses on nutrient density, flavor, and the critical role of sugar levels and glycosylation patterns in plants and humans.
The possible linkages between a diabetes-like syndrome in plants and human diabetes were presented to this audience and triggered considerable discussion. Several scientists remarked that the possible linkages, or commonalities, between plant and human diabetes are worth exploring and indeed might lead to insights on common causes. The impacts of excess nutrients in plants (nitrogen) and in people (sugars) are highlighted in this presentation.
Houston Conference Presentation (4 pages)
