Organically produced plant foods – evidence of health benefits

If in plant secondary metabolites, the presence of pesticides and nutritional balances are the most important determinants of nutritional value of food plants, then organically produced plant foods could be expected to be more health-promoting than conventional foods. Differences arise in management practices between organic and conventional farming where the former support (a) an activation of the plant defence mechanisms by excluding synthetic plant protection agents, (b) an active soil life where plants and microbes interact, exchanging certain metabolic compounds and (c) a balanced mineral nutrient uptake where excesses of easily available nutrients are avoided.