Does organic farming reduce the content of Cd and certain other trace metals in plant foods? A pilot study
✍ Scribed by Jorhem, Lars; Slanina, Premysl
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 81 KB
- Volume
- 80
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-5142
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The effect of organic cultivation systems on the level of Cd in wheat was studied in two consecutive harvests. Additionally, the concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr and Zn were analysed in single harvests of rye, carrots and potatoes from different farming systems. Wheat and rye were obtained from controlled ®eld trials using several conventional and ecological systems at two separate locations in Sweden. Potatoes and carrots were collected at private farms with conventional or ecological production. These farms were juxtapositioned and had similar soil properties. The levels of Cd in the wheat did not correlate with the cultivation system or the Cd content in the soil. Conventionally grown wheat from one ®eld trial showed a signi®cantly higher Cd level compared with ecologically grown wheat, while in the other ®eld trial signi®cantly lower Cd levels were detected in the conventionally grown wheat. No statistically signi®cant differences in the concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr or Zn in rye, carrots and potatoes were detected between the cultivation systems. The results indicate that organic farming, at least in the short term, does not necessarily result in reduced levels of Cd and other potentially harmful metals in foods of vegetable origin. Factors other than cultivation system may be of greater importance for the ®nal concentration of Cd and other metals in plant foods.