What is Organic?

What is organic?

Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used

That is todays definition. As a young adult organic was growing a garden in your back yard without using any pesticides. All seeds were kept from last year and the only spray for bugs was a couple drops of ivory liquid soap in a galon of water sprayed on the bug infested areas. Lady bugs were always around and sometimes we inported in praying mantus.

Today being labled organic is real tough. There are so many hoops to jump through that most just lable themselves local, conventional (non synthetic pesticides), and natural (sustainable). All of these lables are basically organice with out the tons of paperwork and regulations. Their produce isn't as expensive as organic.

Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

· no human sewage sludge fertilizer used in cultivation of plants or feed of animals

· avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs not on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc.), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of biosolids;

· use of farmland that has been free from prohibited synthetic chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);

· keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);

· maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;

· undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, and commercial use of the term organic is legally restricted. Certified organic producers are also subject to the same agricultural, food safety and other government regulations that apply to non-certified producers.

Below will show you the differences:

	Organic	Sustainable
Certification	must be independently certified every year (actual certification)	practices do not require any official certification (more a philosophy or way of life)
Animal Welfare	need to give animals "access" to outdoors, but they can actually confine animals and gain organic certification with as little as an open door leading to a cement patio	animals must be permitted to carry out their natural behaviors, like rooting, pecking or grazing
Antibiotics	antibiotics can be fed to organic-certified livestock	Many farmers using sustainable practices do not administer any antibiotics at all (they are not restricted), but some may do so when their animals are sick and need to be treated. The milk and meat of animals given antibiotics on these farms are not used for human consumption until the antibiotics have fully passed out of the animals' systems
Artificial Hormones	No added or artificial hormones are allowed	nor are they used for sustainable farming
Corp Involvement	food can be produced by large corporations	food can be produced by large corporations, but most are not.