You may have heard the NPR story this morning about the meta-
study from Stanford University, published in the Annals of
Internal Medicine, which found "no significant health benefit"
to organic food. As physician R Dena Bravata, the study's co-
author, told KQED Science's Amy Standen today, when it comes to
healthfulness, "there is, in general, not a robust evidence base
for the difference between organic and conventional foods." A
2010 Nielsen study found 76 percent of respondents bought
organic because they thought it was healthier. So this seemed to
merit a call to the person who convinced me in the first place
that it was okay to pay $4.00 for a head of cauliflower: local
journalist, professor, and food advocate Michael Pollan, whose
book The Omnivore's Dilemma was a major influence in
popularizing organic and locally produced food. JON BROOKS: So
is this meta-study a big deal? MICHAEL POLLAN: I'm not sure it's
a big deal. The media's playing it as if there were something
new here, but this is not new rese