Is organic food more nutritious than conventional food?

Organic food is derived from crops or animals produced in a farming system that avoids the use of man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and feed additives. Consumer attitude studies show that organic food consumption in Europe is part of a certain lifestyle, which results from an ideology, connected to a particular value system. The view that organic foods are ‘healthier’ than conventionally produced foods appears to be based on the belief that organic foods have superior sensory attributes, contain lower levels of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, and have higher levels of nutrients and protective phytochemicals. However, current evidence neither supports nor refutes the higher nutritional qualities attributed to organic food over conventionally produced food. This is because nutritional quality and taste depend greatly on the variety and on growth conditions such as the soil and weather conditions.