ORGANIC?

There was a time when shopping for organic or naturally grown food was a project in deciphering labels to determine if the product was really naturally grown, or taking a little too much liberty with the terminology. Now organic food actually has to meet specific criteria to legally use the term organic on their label.

Organic foods are foods that are grown and processed in an ecologically healthy way. For example, organic farming prohibits the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides in order to ensure healthy, rich, chemical free soil. Organic foods are grown or raised in a natural environment to not only grow healthy food, but conserve water and reduce air and water pollution. These foods are also handled and processed differently than conventional foods. Here are some of the differences from conventional farming:

Farmer's Concern	Organic Methods	Conventional Methods	Results of Conventional Methods
pests & disease	insects, birds & traps, companion planting	insecticides, fungicides & irradiation	toxic soil, water run off, toxic plants and insects that are then ingested by insects, people and birds feeding on them. irradiating can eliminate the nutrition as well as disease. Unknown what effect consuming irradiated (treated with radiation) food has on those eating it.
weeds	crop rotation, weeding, tilling, mulching	chemical herbicides	toxic soil, water run off, toxic plants and insects that are then ingested by insects, people and birds feeding on them.
plant growth	natural fertilizers such as manure & compost feeds soil and plants	chemical fertilizers genetically modified organisms (GMO)	toxic soil, water run off, toxic plants and insects that are then ingested by insects, people and birds feeding on them. effects of eating genetically modified products unknown. GMO treated crops can spread to other properties & fertilize other crops.
Livestock, animal diseases & growth	Organic feed, outdoor grazing to increase health	Antibiotics, growth hormones	Growth hormones are increasing early onset of puberty in young adults who consume large amounts of hormone fed meat. Over use of antibiotics are creating super virus’s that are resistant to antibiotics

The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has now established an organic certification program.

100% Organic=Product is completely organic/made with organic ingredients

Organic= Product is at least 95% organic

Made with Organic ingredients= Product contains at least 70% organic ingredients.


Any farmer or food manufacturer who sells over $5,000.00 a year in organic foods must meet these standards in order to label their food as organic. One concern about this new process is that small farms selling over $5,000.00 may not be able to afford the fees associated with the certification. These farms will share the details of their organic efforts as part of their marketing, but can’t put the organic label on their food. So if something looks good to you read the label & talk to the farmer. You may see the product is mostly organic even if it isn’t clearly marked that way on the main label.

Of course, there're plenty of other considerations in looking for healthy food. We'll talk about other considerations in organic and natural food in future posts. For now, you're up to date on the organic label.