Organically-grown foods are a controversial topic. They do produce foods with less pesticides however there exists much debate as to whether or not they are nutritionally superior.
One thing about organics is clear, however - they are a marketers dream. Somehow being grown without the use of commercial pesticides has been interpreted by a disturbing amount of people as being "less caloric".
That's right - according to this paper in the journal Judgment and Decision Making, Norbert Schwarz, professor of marketing at the U-M Ross School of Business found that Americans believe that organic foods contain fewer calories than do conventional foods. This is true despite both having the same calories labelled.
- The researchers showed more than 100 subjects nutrition information for a regular Oreo cookie and for one that was made with organic flour and sugar.
- The label clearly showed a serving size (two cookies) of 160 calories for both Oreos.
- 38% of the participants thought that the organic cookie had fewer calories than non-organic brands.
Schwarz's research team asked more than 200 study participants whether a female college student trying to lose weight could forgo her daily post-dinner, three-mile run if;
- She ate an organic dessert
- She ate a conventional non-organic dessert (in both cases, a small bowl of ice cream or a chocolate chip cookie)
- She skipped the dessert altogether.
If ever there were a study that underscores both the level of nutritional confusion and the power of food marketing - this would be it.
