LE BUGUE, France, July 11 In the left corner, the organic-is-better-for-you group is waving aloft a fertilizer-free tomato. And in the right corner, the it-ain't-necessarily-so lobby is touting a bottle of tomato ketchup.
New findings based on work at the University of California-Davis and the University of Minnesota published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have reignited the organic-versus-conventional produce fisticuffs show.
Over the course of 10 years, the scientists looked at levels in organically and conventionally grown dried tomatoes of quercetin and kaempferol aglycones -- which I shan't mention again. These are beneficial flavonoids.
Flavonoids reduce high blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. They have also been shown to diminish rates of some types of cancer and dementia.
The scientists found that organic tomatoes contained the former flavonoid at levels on average 79 percent higher than conventionally grown tomatoes and for the second flavonoid at levels 97 percent higher.
They think the answer lies in the soil.
Flavonoids develop in self-defense, in response to a deficiency of nutrients such as a lack of nitrogen in the soil.
Conventional tomatoes, the researchers believe, suffered from over-fertilization.
Commercial fertilizers are packed with chemical nutrients like inorganic nitrogen, so flavonoids can lay low. The conventional tomatoes in the test were grown and processed with commercial fertilizers.
Organically grown plants are naturally, not chemically, fertilized. The object in organic farming is to feed the soil with composted organic matter at the same time as decreasing applications of manure as the soil reaches a natural balance.
Manure contains high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients. Diminish the manure and you diminish those nutrients.
The organic tomatoes in the study were naturally fertilized. Levels of flavonoids rose with the additions of organic compost and the reduction of manure as, said the researchers, "soils in the organic systems had reached equilibrium levels of organic matter."
The former chairman of Britain's Food Standards Agency, Lord Krebs, was not persuaded by the study. He told The Times, "Tomato ketchup has higher levels of lycopene (a strong antioxidant) than either organic or conventional tomatoes. So if you wanted lots of lycopene you should eat tomato ketchup."
Claire Williamson of the British Nutrition Foundation wrote recently in a review in Nutrition Bulletin: "From a nutritional perspective, there is currently not enough evidence to recommend organic foods over conventionally produced foods."
In short, nutrient differences don't necessarily translate into better nutrition.
While the jury may still be out on the health benefits of organic versus conventional produce, it's surely a comfort to know that when you bite into your apple or your love apple (the tomato), you are not also taking in artificial fertilizers and pesticides.
And that you are more likely, at this stage of the organic movement, to be benefiting not mega-agribusiness, but a small farmer who is applying principles of crop rotation and natural farming to controlling pests and disease.
The number of consumers who do believe organic is better is in fact on the rise.
According to recent figures in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, in 2003 the global market for certified organic foods was estimated at between $23 billion and $25 billion, growing each year by 19 percent.
It's a fine time of year to be discussing tomatoes. How they are picked is as important as how they are grown. Fresh off the vine at the point of ripeness they are a million times (no, there are no official statistics behind this assertion) more full of flavor than tomatoes wrenched off their stalks before ready to drop, in order to survive long-distance delivery.
You don't need a recipe for one of the best ways to eat them -- Italy's famous Capriciosa Salad, a combination of eighth-inch thick slices of tomato and mozzarella, scattered with basil leaves.
But it's a salad that could do with an update. Try it with large tomatoes cut in eighths first, then in half. Rip the ball of mozzarella (preferably buffalo, not cow's milk) into similar sized chunks, sprinkle with rock salt, freshly ground black pepper and the basil leaves, and drizzle over good olive oil. The tomato juice will provide enough acid.
LE BUGUE, France, July 11 --
