Advertisement
Unlike food growers who rely on chemical pesticides, organic food producers use either far less or no chemical pesticides at all. Food additives like artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings, preservatives and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are limited or not used at all.
Compost and manure replace chemical fertilizers and chemical weed killers are not used. Instead, food growers rotate their crops, and kill weeds using manure or mulch. Beneficial birds and insects are also encouraged in order to decrease the effects of pests or disease, rather than turning to insecticides.
Animals whose meat or animal by-products are intended to be sold as organic, are not given growth hormones, antibiotics or other medications to make them grow larger unnaturally. Animals eat organic feed, and have room to roam out in the air.
To be considered organic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides an organic certification program. While food-producers selling less than $5,000 a year do not require USDA certification, they must still adhere to the USDA organic food standards. Completely organic foods are allowed to bear the USDA seal, and can be marked "100 percent organic". If a food is at least 95 percent organic, it qualifies to be called "organic"; food that is labelled "made with organic ingredients" need only have 70 percent organic ingredients in it.
It's also important to be aware of all the pros and cons of organic food. Organic foods don't stay fresh as long as some foods that are treated with various types of additives and preservatives, and often don't have the uniform look that consumers have become accustomed to seeing in their grocery stores. They may come in assorted shapes and sizes and produce may have superficial (though usually safe) blemishes.
Some chemical pesticides are permitted in some situations by the USDA organic program, so be sure to clean your organic produce. Streptomycin, tetracycline and copper compounds are a few of these pesticides.
Organic food can also come with a substantially higher price tag than other foods. And when you get down to it, organic food is not necessarily healthier food.
Jody Smith is a freelance writer for EmpowHER.com.
Sources:
Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? June 10, 2011.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255
Organic Food Isn't Always Safer: Where Does Your Food Come From? Nov. 14, 2011.
What is Organic Food and Why Should I Buy it? Nov. 16, 2011.
http://www.empowher.com/wellness/content/what-organic-food-and-why-should-i-buy-it
Organic Food: Worth the Cost?
http://greenliving.about.com/od/healthyliving/a/Organic_Foods.htm
