In 2000, consumers purchased $5.8 billion worth of organic products, from staples like milk, eggs and lettuce to snacks such as cookies, tortilla chips and salsa, according to the Nutrition Business Journal. And organic product sales, in both natural foods stores and conventional supermarkets, are increasing exponentially – up 20% or more per year. What’s more, the diversity is expanding. As a result, you needn’t look far to find organic food.
The term "organic" refers to food that is grown and processed in a practical, ecological partnership with nature, without the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. Organic foods are minimally processed with no artificial ingredients, preservatives or irradiation.
Choosing organic safeguards our own health and enhances the ecology of the land. By purchasing organically grown foods, we support more than a line of safer food products. We also work to create a just and sustainable food system for ourselves and for future generations.
When you buy organic, you:
- Protect your family’s health
Conventional farmers rely heavily on pesticides that may cause cancer and detrimental reproductive effects. Of the 28 most commonly used pesticides, at least 23 are carcinogenic. Pesticide residues in food cause 20,000 cancer deaths and thousands more new cancers per year, according to the National Academy of Sciences. - Prevent soil erosion
We are facing the worst topsoil erosion in history due to our current conventional agricultural practices of chemical-intensive, mono-crop farming. The Soil Conservation Service estimates more than 3 billion tons of topsoil are eroded from U.S. croplands each year. Organic production practices inherently build long-term soil health and stability. - Protect water quality
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that pesticides contaminate the groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country’s population. Conventional agriculture is considered the largest non-point source of water pollution in the U.S. - Support small farmers
For the most part, organic farms are small, independently owned family farms of fewer than 100 acres. It’s estimated that the U.S. has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade. Organic farming could be one of the few survival tactics left for family farms. - Support a true economy
Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional foods, conventional food prices don’t reflect the hidden costs borne by taxpayers, including billions of dollars in federal agricultural subsidies. If you add in the environmental and social costs of irrigation to a head of lettuce, for example, its price would range between $2 and $3. - Taste better flavor
There’s a good reason why many chefs use organic foods in their recipes -- they taste better! Because organic foods are not treated with fungicides, they must be sent to market as close to harvest as possible. Produce is ripe and may have suffered less nutritional loss by the time you eat it.
The "Certified Organic" Label
The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop national standards to assure shoppers that foods marketed as organic meet consistent, uniform growing and production guidelines. The resulting National Organic Standards were finalized in 2000.
Beginning on October 21, 2002, producers and handlers must be certified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent to sell, label, or represent their products as one of the following three types of organic product:
- 100 percent organic
- organic
- made with organic (ingredients or food)
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