IT IS NOT surprising that David Miliband has relied on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on the quality of organic food (Organic food is no better, says minister, News, last week). Flying in the face of the science, which the FSA purports to uphold, it disregards the research — for example the work from Glasgow and Liverpool universities, which showed substantially higher levels (68.2%) of Omega 3 fatty acids in organic milk compared with conventional milk, and a more favourable ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids.

There is other information showing higher levels of vitamins and lower levels of pesticides — nobody knows the true risks as nobody has tested the safety of the use of multiple chemicals on food crops — the so-called cocktail effect.

Miliband shows no vision. The environmental benefits of organic farming have been well established, fortunately, and Defra (Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs) has actively supported the research and conversion and maintenance of organic farming for many years.

Mark Measures
Institute of Organic Training
Craven Arms, Shropshire

CHEMICAL OVERLOAD: What on earth is Miliband talking about when he says there is no “hard evidence” that organic food is healthier than its regular counterpart? The charity I represent sees many people whose health has been irreparably damaged by organophosphates which are a basic ingredient of many products used in everyday agriculture.

Miliband would argue that such chemicals are harmful but not in the volumes we are exposed to; this may be true for someone ingesting them occasionally, but most people take them several times a day.

Ronald White
Breakspear Hospital Trust, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

GREEN QUALITY: Miliband is to be commended for speaking sense about organic produce. At a time when politicians are competing to occupy the green high ground, it is refreshing to see one base an opinion on evidence rather than jumping on a fashionable bandwagon.

All the evidence is that a diet high in fruit and vegetables is good for health, whether or not pesticide residues are present. To suggest otherwise creates unwarranted concerns about the 96% of produce which is “non-organic”.

Politicians and others should encourage the growing of good-quality food, whatever the farming method.

Professor Anthony Trewavas
Scientific Alliance, Cambridge

PRODUCING ENOUGH: Miliband is right, organic food is just a lifestyle choice. He must also realise that the only way everyone can be fed is by using conventional farming methods, but in the UK food output continues to fall simply because it is unprofitable.

Will we be able to import all our future needs? My small arable farm produces much less than before.

Fred Henley
Green Farm, Yorkshire

FATTY POISONS: Whether food is “organic” or not is trivial in nutritional terms, although it may be important for those pursuing ethical issues. The “poisons” in food are not pesticides but calories — in low-fibre and fatty foods and especially in the chemically produced hydrogenated fats found in many prepared foods.

Dr Barrie Smith
Erdington, Birmingham