restructuring of the livestock-feed complex would further be

necessary as society shifted from saturated to unsaturated fats and

cooking oils, necessitating the reduction or discontinuance of many
livestock by-products• Converting sugar cane acreage to fruit and
vegetable production“A move toward healthier diets would involve
balancing nutrition and health gains against potentially higher food
prices, increasing pressures on the natural resource base, increasing
concerns about food quality and safety, and perhaps, creating large-
scale dislocations in the agricultural sector, particularly in the feed-
livestock complex,” the report concluded.
The study warned about
the potential for food industry advertising, currently amounting to
$36 billion annually, to exceed federal efforts to dis-seminate
nutrition information.
In respect to increased pesticide and other
chemical use, the report noted that organic produce may become
more popular and result in state and federal efforts to regulate
chemical use and generate interest among farmers in developing
alternative production methods.
Source: Patrick O’Brien, “Dietary
Shifts and Implications for U.
S.
 Agriculture,” American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition 61(suppl):1390S-96S, 1995.

• Organic Produce Higher in Mineral Content - Researchers at
Rutgers University reported that non-organic produce had as little as
25 percent as much mineral content as organic produce.
 The
scientists compared beans, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and spinach
purchased at a supermarket and an organic natural foods store and
found substantially higher levels of phosphorous, calcium,
magnesium, potassium, sodium, boron, manganese, iron, copper,
and cobalt and other minerals and trace elements in the organically
grown vegetables.
Source: Firman E.
 Baer Report (New Brunswick,
N.
J.
: Rutgers University, 1984).

• Organic Farming Preserves Topsoil - Comparing two neighboring
farms in the Palouse region of Washington state, researchers found
that the organic farm’s topsoil was six inches thicker than the farm
using chemical methods.
 The organic soil also had a softer crust and
held more moisture.
 The scientists concluded that intensive tillage
practices associated with continuous monoculture or short rotations
of crops may make soils more susceptible to erosion.
 “This study
indicates that, in the long term,