Organic produce nutrition focus of study

By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — A collaboration at the N.C. Research Campus could help determine whether organically grown food is more nutritious than food grown by conventional methods.

Dole Food's director at the Research Campus wants to test vegetables grown at the Cabarrus County training farm to learn more about the nutrition content of local, organic food.

"The implication of that is far-reaching," said Debbie Bost, Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension director.

While farmers suspect that locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables pack a bigger nutritional punch, they have little scientific evidence, Bost said.

Analyzing their produce using state-of-the-art instruments at the Research Campus will provide empirical data, she said.

Farmers then could tell consumers that their food is more nutritious.

"They can use those claims, and it will create a different niche for our farmers than anyplace else and help them to obtain top price for their product," Bost said.

Dr. Nick Gillitt, director for the new Dole Nutrition Research Laboratory in Kannapolis, said he plans to measure nutrients in organic produce grown at the Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm, a county-owned project that trains 16 people to become farmers.

"The information we learn could help agronomists in our company," Gillitt said.

While he came up with the idea as a way to help local farmers, Gillitt said Dole Food will want to know whether organic farming changes the nutrition content of fruits and vegetables.

"If an organic farming technique is used that dramatically increases the nutrient levels, that is something Dole would definitely take notice of," he said.

In exchange, farmers would learn whether their organically grown vegetables are nutritionally superior to those grown conventionally.

Billionaire Dole Food Co. chairman David Murdock owns the Research Campus, a life sciences complex where eight universities and more than a dozen private companies study health, nutrition and agriculture.

The collaboration between Dole and Cabarrus County is still evolving.

County Manager John Day, who has criticized some aspects of the Research Campus, supports the idea.

Nutritional analysis at the Research Campus would give the county's incubator farm "some way of actually measuring our success," said Day, who with Bost started the training program.

Farmers could market their produce as higher in certain nutrients, he said. Day is working with Lynne Scott Safrit, president of campus developer Castle & Cooke, to iron out the details.

At least one farmer at the incubator farm says privately that he will not participate in the project because of Dole Food's relationship with Monsanto Co.

Monsanto, a flagship tenant at the Research Campus, is the world's leading producer of genetically modified seed and the herbicide Roundup, both abhorrent to most organic farmers.

Others have expressed concern about Monsanto's presence at the Research Campus, although site leader Dr. Susan MacIsaac said Monsanto will not modify plant DNA in the company's 9,000-square-foot Kannapolis lab, expected to open this fall.

Instead, Monsanto will use traditional plant breeding techniques to develop tastier, healthier vegetables.

While Dole Food and Monsanto have a five-year agreement to study vegetables, the companies do not have an official collaboration at the Research Campus, Gillitt said, but it's a possibility.

Both companies currently have one scientist in Kannapolis. Monsanto plans to have 10 employees, and Gillitt said he will hire two more researchers this month.

Dole's corporate relationship with Monsanto shouldn't be a deal-breaker for area organic farmers, said Aaron Newton, the new Cabarrus County local food system project coordinator.

"To dismiss out of hand any collaboration with them would be over-generalizing," said Newton, who farms at the incubator farm. "Not to say that I agree with all the practices of Monsanto, but I don't have to to be able to enter into a relationship with Dole Foods if it's beneficial to us."

The county should "carefully examine" what Dole is offering and what the company expects in return, Newton said. But at first glance, he favors the partnership.

"We will get access to equipment that we could never afford," he said.

If scientific analysis shows that organic, sustainable farming methods produce better tasting, more nutritious food, "it gives us more legitimacy," Newton said.

Farmers have told Day and Bost that they trust the leaders "not to collaborate with someone that will compromise our values," Newton said.

Gillitt, who moved to Kannapolis in March, said he'd like to help settle the debate between organic and conventional farming.

He also needs samples to validate the highly sensitive equipment in his lab.

"I can't think of better samples other than locally grown produce," he said.

He will compare nutrient levels in produce from the incubator farm against the U.S. Department of Agriculture database to determine if local, organic food is healthier, Gillitt said.

He could test food at different stages of farming to help determine which techniques produce the best results, he said.

Gillitt's primary responsibility at the Research Campus is to test the amount of every nutrient in every Dole product at the consumer level, he said. Comparing those results with just-picked local organic produce would help, he said.

"You need to know where you started from," he said.

Gillitt said his 5,000-square-foot lab at the Research Campus was delayed because his equipment requires 230 volts of electricity but the building was wired for only 208 volts.

It was a problem in several locations across the campus, he said.

Transformers have been installed and the Dole lab should be up and running this month, Gillitt said. The recession also delayed the project, he said.

"Dole is extremely happy to finally have a scientific presence on campus," he said. "Our job is to provide as much useful information to Dole as possible and endear ourselves to the local community by helping out a bit where we can."