There's proof that organically-grown açai and other organic fruits are more nutritious than conventional versions. In a 2004 study from the University of California, Davis, researchers grew crops of corn and marionberries (blackberry-like fruit) three ways: organically (no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers), sustainably (reduced or no synthetic pesticides), and conventionally. Organically and sustainably-grown corn and marionberries contained up to 65 percent more phenolic compounds--powerful, health-promoting antioxidants--than did the conventionally grown crops; sustainably-grown strawberries contained 19 percent more.

Researchers speculate that plants synthesize phenolic compounds to protect themselves from disease and pests and may not waste the energy to produce the compounds if they don't need them to survive.