Keeping It "True Organic"

By:  Timothy Dennis

The definition of organic is stricter. For a food to be labeled "organic," it must be produced through approved methods. ... "By general definition, organic foods have not been treated with synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, and animals raised organically are not given hormones or drugs to promote more rapid growth.

We all have a right to know what’s in our food, how it’s produced, and where it’s from. But food companies are often not required to give us the information we want to know. The current rules on food labeling leave a lot of room for vague claims that make it difficult to differentiate between food produced by sustainable farmers using humane practices, and corporate agribusinesses greenwashing their products.

As a result, the array of labels found on meat, milk, and eggs can be overwhelming. You can and should be informed what current labeling practices really mean and how they affect you – and this guide will help.

But we also need labels that are accurate and useful, and we won’t get them unless we tell our elected officials to put our interests ahead of those of corporations.

Right now the most meaningful label on your food, in terms of upholding specific government requirements, is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic seal. For a product to be certified organic, it’s required to meet specific standards:

• Organic crops cannot be grown with synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides or sewage sludge.

• Organic crops cannot be genetically engineered or irradiated.

• Animals must eat only organically grown feed (without animal byproducts) and can’t be treated with synthetic hormones or antibiotics.
• Animals must have access to the outdoors, and ruminants (hoofed animals, including cows) must have access to pasture.
• Animals cannot be cloned.

For produce it is a little more vague. We gtrow all our produce hydrponically using organic nutrients and filter all our water to ensure it is pure before adding the organic nutrients. This ensures a true organic product that is nutrient rich and juicier thennormal produce