Time for “20/20” Vision

By Dana Joel Gattuso

In a major defeat for eco-activists, but a major plus for TV-viewing audiences, consumer-advocate John Stossel isn’t leaving his show, “Give Me a Break,” on ABC’s 20/20 just yet. But the eco-activist group, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), hasn’t given up its public call for ABC to fire John Stossel for an error he made. In a desperate attempt to make their case, they themselves are guilty of misrepresentation.

At issue is the segment aired last February, and again last month, in which Stossel references a lab test 20/20 commissioned to compare counts of the bacteria E. coli on organic foods with counts of the bacteria on conventionally grown foods. In summarizing the lab results performed by Dr. Michael Doyle of the Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement at the University of Georgia, Stossel reported that E. coli traces were found on some of the organic foods but the conventionally grown foods were “generally bacteria free.” This was the main focus of the lab test, and ABC has not retracted these results.

Stossel also stated that the tests found no pesticide residue on either the nonorganic food or the organics. This latter statement was in error because the lab never tested for pesticides, only for the E. coli bacteria. ABC maintains that Stossel received inaccurate information from a staff member that they had tested for pesticides. Stossel has been reprimanded for the error, as has the producer who has been suspended for a month without pay.

One has to remember mistakes happen. EWG has made some of its own. Two years ago, the group had to revise data and insert a disclaimer for an error it made when using EPA data in a report on California schools’ exposure to air pollution from industrial sources. While Stossel’s error in no way excuses him for carelessness, we should understand the facts.

Stossel’s attackers – who have been on a crusade to remove Stossel long before this segment aired – are giving the impression that Stossel fabricated the whole story. In point of fact, the error which pertained to the issue of pesticides was one very small aspect of the report.

The gist of Stossel’s story, entitled “Organic Produce not as Healthy as Consumers Think,” is that organic foods aren’t the miracle food for health, nutrition, and safety that most people think they are, even though organic enthusiasts pay double the price for these foods believing they are getting a healthier product. This is consistent with the findings of many scientists. Back in 1991, Dr. Richard Carnevale who headed the Residue Monitoring and Control Program in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, was asked by Food News for Consumers if organic foods are safer than other foods. His reply: “No…there is no reason to eat organic foods, or to pay more for them, on the presumption that such foods are safer.”

To support his point, Stossel interviewed the Executive Director of the organic industry’s Organic Trade Association, Katherine DiMatteo who, when asked if organic foods are more nutritious than conventional foods, could not claim they are. According to DiMatteo, “Organic agriculture is not particularly a food safety claim. That’s not what our standards are about.” Yet a pole by 20/20 on organic foods, referenced in Stossel’s report revealed that close to half those surveyed believe organic foods are more nutritious.

Stossel’s attackers claim he calls organics “dangerous.” At no point in the story does he call them dangerous. In fact, when asked by Barbara Walters on last February’s segment if organic foods are dangerous, he said, “No, I wouldn’t go that far. We found bacteria on only 5 percent of the foods...” He also laid to rest any unfounded fears by stating that the nation’s food supply on the whole is pretty safe.

But he does reveal what many consumers simply don’t know about organic foods – that they typically are grown in compost made from cow manure which, as he says, “can contain a deadly bacteria which may find its way into organic produce.” This information is nothing new, despite the fact that most of the public is unaware.

A 1997 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports, “Experts say that increased consumption of organically grown, unprocessed foods…may also be contributing to the problem [of contamination].” The article quotes Dr. Robert Tauxe, chief of the Centers for Disease Control’s foodborne and diarrheal disease branch: “Organic means a food is grown in animal manure.” The article goes on to say that studies found that the bacteria E. coli can survive in manure for as long as 70 days and multiply in foods grown in the manure unless heat or preservatives are applied.

Mistakes unfortunately happen. And while that doesn’t excuse the error , let’s not allow agendas and crusades to get in the way of facts.

Dana Joel Gattuso is an adjunct scholar with the Washington, D.C.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute.