1. I recently posted about a report from the Food Standards Agency of England which reported that there were no differences in nutritional content between conventionally grown and organic food. This article from the Life Extension Foundation argues that that claim is wrong and that: ‘”The science has consistently shown that organic food provides higher levels of Vitamin C and total antioxidants, two nutrients that the American public needs more of,” said Richard Wiles, Senior Vice President for Policy and Communications with the Environmental Working Group. “The London study is not supported by the majority of the science. We should not attach too much significance to its findings until it can be replicated,” Wiles added.’

2. Are proponents of organic food naïve? I found the following article by a conventional farmer fascinating and thought-provoking. While I believe that a number of his logical arguments are flawed, he raises some points I think we need to consider.  As a fan of organic food, this article made me wonder, are all the chemicals a “necessary evil”?  Would the “best” farming system include the many insights of organic and permaculture farming and combine it with the targeted and minimal use of chemicals (herbicides, insecticides, etc.)?

3. In another post I spoke about some of the less-than-ethical tactics that the pharmaceutical companies use to increase their sales and bottom line. Ghost writing, where a scientific article is written by a media agency and signed off by a prominent doctor that had little or nothing to do with it, is one of those things. The following article talks about some examples of this practice.

4. This three part blog post (Part 1. Part 2. Part 3) is one woman’s birth story. Originally a die-hard fan of medicalized childbirth, to her own surprise she finds herself deciding to opt for a natural birth. Compelling, raw, and very, very honest.  WARNING: Not kid friendly. These posts contain quite a bit of profanity.

What are your thoughts?  We’d love to hear them, please share them in the comments below.