Definition of “organic”
When a fruit or vegetable is described as organic, that means that it’s been grown and processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation (sounds scary, but it’s actually a safety precaution and just means your food has been treated with ionizing radiation to help kill germs). With organic foods, everything from additives like hormones and antibiotics (big no-nos with organic foods) to the type of soil in which the product is grown is regulated. Growers and producers of organic foods are inspected and certified to ensure that the product that reaches your supermarket shelf is truly organic.
History of the organic movement Although it seems like a recent fad, organic farming has actually been around for centuries. In fact, until World War II, organic agriculture was the only method growers knew, as petroleum-based chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides – which are prohibited in organic farming – didn’t exist.
After the war, those technologies made their way to U.S. farmland, creating a way of agriculture that was different from the methods of the past. In 1990, Congress adopted the Organic Foods Production Act, which required the development of standards for organic farming, and in 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented the National Organic Program, which established those standards and put them into effect.
Since then, the market for organic foods has taken off. Once the domain of specialty grocers, organic foods now occupy significant shelf space in most supermarkets. In fact, according to the Organic Trade Association, U.S. organic food sales were estimated in 2005 to be growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent and are expected to continue to climb in the years to come.
Differences between organic and traditional produce You’re standing in the middle of the produce section of your local supermarket, planning to pick up a couple of juicy, ripe tomatoes for your signature salsa. The bin on the left is filled to the brim with great-looking tomatoes; the sign above it reads “vine-ripened tomatoes $1.49/lb.” The bin on the right is filled with tomatoes that look exactly the same as the others, except the sign above it says, “organic tomatoes $2.29/lb.”
Hmmm. You’re stumped. Isn’t a tomato a tomato?
Technically, yes, but when it comes to organic and conventionally grown tomatoes – and other types of produce – there are significant differences. Most of them, though, happen behind the scenes.
The biggest difference is how the food is grown and processed. To be organic, produce must have been grown and processed without the use of artificial ingredients, preservatives or irradiation. Some traditional produce may also meet that criteria, but to be considered organic, produce must be grown and processed only under those conditions.
For example, organic farmers don’t use antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or most pesticides or fertilizers. Instead, they use methods such as crop rotation and manure management to ensure the fertility of the soil. Cloning and genetic engineering are also prohibited in organic farming.
Farms and any other companies that process or handle organic food must undergo strict inspections before their products can be certified organic. Hefty fines are placed on anyone who intentionally sells or labels a non-organic product as organic.
