| The term "organic" is being | | | | synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. In |
| tossed around quite a bit lately, and | | | | the case of meat or milk, it means that |
| you'll soon be seeing a big jump in the | | | | all the USDA stipulations concerning |
| number of organic choices when you visit | | | | hormones, feed, and time spent outdoors |
| your local Safeway or Wal-Mart store. | | | | were met.Organic: This type of produce |
| That's because the demand for organic | | | | or meat doesn't quite meet the highest |
| produce, milk, and meat has been | | | | organic standard, but the remaining 5 |
| steadily increasing, to the point where | | | | percent of its ingredients have been |
| the giant retail chains have begun to | | | | approved for organic use by a nationwide |
| take the trend seriously. In turn, there | | | | certification organization called the |
| will be a growing concern over the | | | | National Organics Standards Board.Made |
| certification process as factory-style | | | | with organic ingredients: This |
| farms begin to muscle their way into the | | | | certification assures consumers that no |
| organic food market as a result of | | | | less than 70 percent of the produce, |
| increased demand. In 2000, the U.S. | | | | milk, or meat was produced using organic |
| Department of Agriculture (USDA) | | | | ingredients. The last two other labels |
| established what were supposed to be | | | | you'll see are considerably more |
| clear guidelines for gaining organic | | | | ambiguous. First, there's the term |
| certification, but various ambiguous | | | | "free-range," which is used |
| areas will continue to confuse consumers | | | | interchangeably with the term |
| until those guidelines are made even | | | | "cage-free." The USDA |
| more clear. For instance, under USDA | | | | regulates the use of either term when it |
| rules, growers of fruits, vegetables, | | | | comes to poultry, but not to eggs, and |
| meat, and milk are forbidden from using | | | | there’s no clear definition of how |
| most synthetic pesticides or fertilizer | | | | much outdoor access animals should |
| in food production. They're also | | | | receive. The other term is |
| prohibited from using genetic | | | | "natural," which has no real |
| engineering, irradiation, or sewage | | | | meaning in any food commodity other than |
| sludge. To be certified organic, | | | | meat and poultry, which can't have any |
| livestock must be fed nothing but | | | | artificial coloring, chemical |
| certified organic feed and can't be | | | | preservatives, or ingredients. Although |
| given any sort of growth hormone. They | | | | it's supposed to have only minimal |
| must also be allowed to be outside at | | | | processing, there's no certification |
| least a portion of every day, though the | | | | process that meat or poultry producers |
| rules for what that actually means have | | | | must comply with in order to place the |
| been open to serious dispute over the | | | | term on their labels. As the market |
| past few years.The USDA guidelines were | | | | continues to grow, you'll be seeing |
| meant to be fairly all-inclusive, but | | | | these labels more and more. What remains |
| there are a number of gradients, as | | | | to be seen is if the USDA will tighten |
| well. Here are some of the labels you'll | | | | or loosen the process in order to allow |
| see in your local co-op or | | | | producers to meet the growing demand for |
| supermarket:100% organic: For produce, | | | | organic products.Copyright © 2006 |
| this designation means that fruits or | | | | Jeanette J. FisherJeanette Fisher |
| vegetables were grown completely without | | | | teaches environmental interior design. |