Is organic food really linked to a lower risk of cancer?

[jim mcnamara]

This thread is about cancer risk and organic food consumption - reporting on it mostly.

USA today: (drive by journalism?)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...vent-cancer-french-study-suggests/1737791002/

Commentary from JAMA (a critique)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2707943

Original article (linked by JAMA)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/ja...t=personalizedcontent&previousarticle=2707943

And we have this from a science watchdog group (This is not well written, IMO)
https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/10/2...ncer-risk-thats-biologically-impossible-13538

This is why Nutrition Research has problems:
1. USA Today says basically 'Organic foods reduce cancer risk'.
2. The original article has a more limited view.
3. The JAMA commentary critiques the original research.
4. ACSH take on the article is extremely critical of the original French paper

My initial response: this is why "fake news" works, at least according to Yuval Noah Harari
What internet companies sell is reader attention to advertisers. Not correct content to the viewership. See-
"21 lessons for the 21st century" 2018 Yuval Noah Harari

This is also a clear example of why PF has a list of online journals that we accept. And why we delete or lock some threads.

If you are going to comment on this: Please do!

Please Do A Good Job. Do not do what you see above - . In this case, that means at least please try to read the abstracts. If you cannot understand something, please ask.

My current take is that organic food is generally more expensive in the US than non-organic foodstuffs. I cannot sensibly say a lot more at this point.

 

[russ_watters]

USA today: (drive by journalism?)

Thanks for this thread. I saw that article and thought the same thing; drive-by journalism/this can't be true. I'll read up on it...

Commentary from JAMA (a critique)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2707943

Original article (linked by JAMA)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/ja...t=personalizedcontent&previousarticle=2707943

Those two links are taking me to the same place (the full article; not a critique).

 

[jim mcnamara]

https://media.jamanetwork.com/news-...of-organic-food-consumption-with-cancer-risk/

This link let's you select the invited commentary - choose the "invited commentary"

 

[BWV]

P-hacking at its finest

https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/problems-with-that-organic-food-and-cancer-study/

 

[russ_watters]

P-hacking at its finest

https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/problems-with-that-organic-food-and-cancer-study/

Oy. Bob Park needs to update his book "Voodoo Science" to include a chapter on "organic" food, right after the chapter about "Power Lines Cause Cancer". This is far more harmful than that poor study/media driven hoax.