What Makes and Organic Food, Organic?

We all have heard about it, many of us dabble with it in our diets, but most of us are still confused. Just what is organic food, and what makes organic food organic?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented a national organic standard in October 2002 called the National Organic Program or NOP. It replaced the standards held by several states. In effect it nationally standardized the standard on organic foods. It states what is considered organic and just 'how organic' the organic foods are.

Organic Food defined:
Organic food is; food grown and processed without the use of genetic engineering, any sort of synthetic or artificial fertilizer, in other words real fertilizer. It is grown without use of all of the 'cides, referring to pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide. It cannot be grown or processed with antibiotics, preservatives, chemicals or use of radiation. Actually it sounds pretty good, and its sort of scary thinking of food being irradiated and eaten!

This is true of a single ingredient food; beef, corn or a multi ingredient food like canned chili or soup. To be considered organic all of its ingredients must be processed organically.

Who Qualifies Food as Organic?
Okay, so who determines whether a food product is organic or not? Well, in order to be certified as organic a Government approved certifier inspects the entire farm where the food is produced to make sure the farmer is indeed following all USDA organic standards. If the farm does not or any product or process used in the producing the food does not follow standards, no certification is awarded. If the food is further processed or handled after leaving the farmer or grower the companies that handle and process that food must be certified as well. So, if everything checks out by the time the food product hits your groceries shelf it is certified organic. But is it 100% organic?

So, how do you tell what food is 100% organic, some percentage organic, and what isn't? Well, your supermarket might have an organic foods section, or at the very least they will have signs identifying organically grown, produced or processed foods. There should be a USDA seal on the package, which certifies the product is at least 95% organic.

If the food is 100% organic it can have the USDA organic label on it and may state on the package it is 100% organic. As stated before if the food is certified to be 95% organic it may carry the USDA seal. Products that are 70% organic may list the organic ingredients on the front of their package; they do not get the USDA seal. If a product is less than 70% organic, the ingredients that are organic can be listed on the side of the package, but the product may not be labeled organic on its front.

So, there is always a seal on organic food? No, sorry to say, that is not the case as the use of the seal is voluntary. However, whether having the seal or not any entity selling a product labeled as organic and stating that it meets USDA standards had better be up front and honest because they can be fined.

Also, a product labeled as natural does not mean it is organic. Only food labeled as organic has been certified by the USDA.

Popularity of Organic Food:
Organic foods have grown in popularity and organic food production is said to have risen over a steady 25% per year over the last several years. Why the increase in popularity? Probably several things, people perceive the organic food as more attuned to a healthy lifestyle, the food tastes better, and the fact there are no chemicals, pesticides or antibiotics used in the product goes a long way.

Is it healthier? The jury is out on that still; there just isn't enough data yet. But there is no doubt that the environment is more natural for the crop or product is safer for the farmer and is better for the environment.

It is more expensive than non-organic food but the costs of growing and producing the organic food are more.

Organic foods are here to stay, and the big conglomerates are well aware of it and are involved in it as well as small and medium organic farmers and growers.

Everyone seems to be more and more aware of organic food. Is it better for you than non-organic foods? Probably. Is it much better for the environment? No doubt.

Hopefully the waters regarding what makes an organic food, organic is more clear and less murky, and you can make an educated decision as to whether organic is for you.

Article researched and written by Frank McGovern for OrganicEating.com