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>> What Does Organic Mean? |
Less than five years ago, if you were looking for “organic” products you would have to go to a health-food store, or a farmers’ market, even then you had to search high and low for foods that would even pass as being “organic”. Today, with the heightened awareness of the health related benefits of eating cleaner and protecting the environment from harmful products, you can almost walk into any grocery store, hardware store, or even local food marts, and find aisles full of “organic” products. Until recently there was really no way to govern whether a not a product was truly organic.
Manufacturers and regulatory agencies have agreed on what the term organic truly means. There is even a National Organic Standards, organization. This agency determined the meaning of organic, and defines it as such; “an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.” Automatically when you see this definition, you associate the term with farming, with the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The United States Department of Agriculture states that organic crops are raised without the use of the most conventional pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers or sewage sludge-based fertilizer. Even animals raised on an organic operation must be fed organic feed and given outdoor access in order for the farm to have the title of being organic. Today the organic label is more rigorously controlled, and organic certification requires that a grower and processor must not use any synthetic chemicals including food additives, or genetically modified materials.
Careful shoppers will more than likely want to understand the true meaning of organic. Being organic does not necessarily mean that a product is “all natural”. The term natural does not have the same rigorous requirements as being labeled organic. Although being labeled organic it tough for most farmers, it is well worth it, because consumers are willing to pay more for safety. |
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