Many people who eat organic food do so to avoid pesticides and to support farming practices that are better for the environment.

If you ask people shopping at Capers grocery store, they'll tell you it tastes better as well.

"It tastes a lot better, it's very fresh," said one customer, Jroslaw Jakubiac, as he cruised the aisles. "Look how fresh this is."

But is organic food actually more nutritious?

"If I had my own lab I would test it myself but I have to trust someone who is telling me," said Jakubiac.

CTV News took a selection of food to SGS Laboratories in South Vancouver. We tested organic potatoes and organic peas for several markers of nutritional value: vitamin C, iron, calcium, and potassium.

The scientists found that the organic potatoes had more vitamin C and potassium, but less calcium and iron.

And as for the organic peas, they had more vitamin C and potassium.

The results for these samples?

"They tied, definitely. Between the potatoes and the peas, there was no difference between the two," said scientist Ron Kurideaythe.

That single sample is representative for all of organic food. But it gives a hint of the debate that's raging right now among organic producers and others.

A British study last year looked at over 100 studies, and found eating organic isn't necessarily more nutritious.

But scientists like Charles Benbrook of The Organic Centre disagree, saying their studies show a greater level of some nutrients.

The organic industry argues the extra money you pay at the store isn't for nutritional value but for environmentally friendly growing techniques.

"I would really love for my grandchildren to be able to eat the kinds of food I eat," said Davidson. "That food won't be available for them if we follow the route of chemical, genetically engineered, corporately pyrimidalized system."

In the end, the choice is up to you. There are good reasons for choosing organic. But the science hasn't settled on whether nutrition is one of them.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Health Specialist Dr. Rhonda Low

Watch the Food For Thought five part investigative series beginning Monday, March 1, 2010 on CTV News at Six.