GLP Podcast: ‘Science-backed’ case for organic food; Dirty Dozen debunked; Gene therapy treats deadly immune disorder

Is there a science-based case for organic farming? One professor says yes, but how compelling are his arguments? Environmental Working Group (EWG) is back with its annual ‘Dirty Dozen’ list, and experts are again criticizing EWG for unnecessarily scaring consumers away from safe fruits and vegetables. Ten years after receiving a novel gene therapy, children diagnosed with a rare immune disorder are symptom free. Have they been cured?

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Join geneticist Kevin Folta and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 164 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

• Viewpoint: A science-backed case in support of organic farming

Critics of organic farming are quick to point out its deficiencies. Growers generally have to cultivate more land to produce the same amount of food that conventional farmers do, meaning that organic agriculture has a higher environmental footprint. Moreover, there is little evidence that organic crops are more nutritious than their conventional counterparts, though they tend to cost significantly more.

Nonetheless, advocates maintain that there is sound science behind organic farming and insist it has an important role to play in global food production. Do they have a convincing case?

• Viewpoint: Why scientists and health experts believe you can ignore the Environmental Working Groups’s Dirty Dozen list

Each year, the Environmental Working Group publishes its “Dirty Dozen,” a list of fruits and vegetables that contain the highest levels of pesticide. Mainstream news outlets like CNN uncritically report EWG’s results to the public. What they don’t mention is that health experts see little value in using the Dirty Dozen to guide your grocery shopping. The reality is that essentially every product on the shelves of your local supermarket is perfectly safe; exceptions to this rule are few and far between.

• Children with deadly immune disorders remain healthy a decade after being treated with gene therapy

Nine out of 10 children treated with a novel gene therapy for ADA-SCID, or adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency, were completely healthy more than 10 years later. The disease is caused by mutations in the gene that creates the ADA enzyme, which can prevent the immune system from functioning properly. Children with the disease often die following exposure to germs they would otherwise be able to fight off.

The new therapy involves removing blood-forming stem cells from a patient’s bone marrow and inserting the functioning ADA gene into the stem cells using a modified virus. The enhanced stem cells are then transplanted back into the patient’s bone marrow, where they ensure that the immune system can fight infections. The new therapy is a dramatic improvement over twice-weekly enzyme injections or stem cell transplants from a matched bone marrow donor. When might this groundbreaking treatment receive FDA approval?

Kevin M. Folta is a professor, keynote speaker and podcast host. Follow Professor Folta on Twitter @kevinfolta

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow ACSH on Twitter @ACSHorg