The USDA will certify a farm or ranch as organic, once it has been inspected and found to follow the regulations for organic production. The basics of the guidelines (as far as the government can translate to “real-people speak”) are posted here and here. The actual rule is 48 pages long. In a nutshell, here are the key points a farmer needs to follow to be certified organic: the land must be managed as organic for 3 years before certification can be awarded; buffer zones must be in place to avoid potential contamination from prohibited substances; no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides can be used on land; no antibiotics or growth hormones can be given to animals. Farmers must keep accurate records detailing all the practices and procedures carried out on their farm, lists and sources of each substance (feed, fertilizers, etc) that are used, and a list of their monitoring practices and procedures.
There are different requirements for different species of animals to be considered organic. Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck) and poultry products (eggs) must be under continuous organic management from day 2 of the animal’s life. Milk and milk products (yogurt, cheese, etc) must be from animals that were managed organically beginning no later than one year prior to the sale of the product. Any livestock product must be managed organically from the last third of gestation. (So a pregnant beef cow could be managed non-organically her entire life, but as long as organic management starts before the last 3 months of gestation, her calf is considered organic.)
There is a huge list of “substances” that are and are not allowed in organic production. For animals, there is a list of medications that is allowed, including some pain management medications, vaccines, sedatives, and local anesthetics, but not including any antibiotics. After any medication is given, there is a “withdrawal period.” This is the number of days that farmers must wait before any animal product (milk, meat, etc) can be used for human consumption. The withdrawal periods are different for every drug, but are the same for animals that are not raised organically. There are also requirements for animal housing, and we’ll get into those later, but the requirements for organic are not much different than what is typically done on non-organic farms.
For crop management, there is a list of things that are and are not allowed for fertilizers and pest control. Most synthetic things are not allowed, but most “non-synthetic” things are allowed. So a chemical like Roundup is not allowed for weed control, but manure can be applied as fertilizer.
I have heard people say that you don’t need to wash organic foods because there are no chemicals. That is just plain wrong. While there may be no “synthetic” substances, there are still things that can be applied to organic foods that can be harmful (think of all the bacteria in manure for fertilizer). You definitely still need to wash your organic foods before you eat them.
There are three levels of organic labeling. The first level is “100% organic.” A product can use the 100% organic label as long as it contains only organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt).
The second level is “organic.” In order for a product to use this label, it must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. The other 5% must be not available as organic.
The third level is “made with organic ingredients.” A product that uses this label or that specifies the organic ingredients (like the label above) must have at least 70% organic ingredients. It can not be processed with any of the methods that are excluded for organic processing. The USDA organic seal can not be used on the packaging for a food in this category.
Right… so…. clear as mud? It’s tough to decipher all the legal-speak in the official federal rules for organic farming. We’ll get into more of the specifics as we discuss each individual food category.
I tend to not buy organic foods. I am confident in the safety and “wholesomeness” of conventionally produced foods, and in general I do not spend the extra money for organic foods. I have many friends who buy organic foods as much as possible, and I respect their choices, as I hope they respect mine to not always buy organic. Do you buy organic foods? Why or why not?
Well said! I don’t intentionally buy organic, but it is a niche market that some people desire.
Thanks, Julie. I’m all for organic farming, and I love that it’s a choice farmers and consumers have. Personally, I don’t want to be forced to farm or eat that way.
As a vegetarian, I try to buy certain produce that falls under organic guidelines, but not all. (washing foods prior to eating takes care of FAR more than we expect!) For Livestock products for my family, (eggs, meat, etc.) I try to know the farmer or where it came from, making a concerted effort to find free-range, free-roaming, and/or cruelty free. And THIS is EXTREMELY difficult. The best thing I feel we can do overall, organic or NON-organic, is to purchase locally and in-season. Your thoughts on this?
As my husband says – if it’s Carbon-based, it’s organic. At my house we definitely don’t TRY to buy organic, but we don’t try not to either. I spend the majority of our food budget (other than staple items) on locally sourced items, by doing things like purchasing a whole hog, or beef quarter from a local farmer. I know my local farmers and they raise healthy, especially tasty animals.
For me, the only reason I buy organic products is when they are the only type of a product I can get. I use a lot of strange things in my cooking (shhh… don’t tell my husband I glazed his carrots last night with honey and fresh ginger) , so it often requires me to visit specialty shops. I go to the Fresh Market in Evansville a lot. I’ve also found that the higher quality products I want to purchase are often organic.
Stacy – I think this is a great reason to get to know your local farmers. I live next door to a chicken farmer and egg producer. And with my husband being in Farm Bureau – we always know who to call to purchase our meat (in bulk, of course). I recently found a great resource for local farms in Indiana. You can check it out at: http://www.mylocalindiana.com I think it’s the type of site you’ll love!
In general, I am a fan of purchasing local and in-season products, when we can find them. (I’ve been known to make the 30-minute drive for fresh blueberries three times a week in the summer!) As a small business owner, my family and I recognize the importance of supporting our local economy. We are lucky to live in a rural area where we can know local farmers and purchase food directly “from the source.” Not everyone (actually, most people!) don’t have this luxury. However, I think you might be surprised about where some of the food in the grocery stores does come from. I have a friend who is a hog farmer near Indianapolis, and most of the meat from their farm goes to grocery stores in Indiana. There is another family-owned farm, based in southwestern Indiana, that supplies watermelons and pumpkins to Walmart – I see many of these in the store right here in Princeton.
We’ll talk about free-range and some of those types of labels next time, so be sure to check back. I’m interested to hear your opinions once we go through what the labels are really saying.
Thanks for sharing, Andrea!
Andrea, great point – from the purely scientific point of view any carbon-containing item is organic. But that’s not what consumers have come to associate with that word. I’m with you – if I’m looking for something in particular, and my only option is organic, I’ll buy it. Otherwise I am usually looking for the less-expensive option. I am often surprised at how many organic items are available in southwestern Indiana – I expect to see a lot of variety and choice in more urban areas, but not necessarily in our rural setting. I suppose this is a sign of changes in consumer demand!
You said excluding water and salt under your 100% organic definition. Can you expand more on that? I believe water cannot be considered organic due to the definition of organic, but I want to be sure I know what I am talking about before I spout off about that…haha.
I’ll look more closely at the full organic rules and regulations document and see what I can learn and translate from government-speak. That will probably another post all on its own. Thanks for your question, it’s a good one!
I understand that the certification needed to prove “organic” is (or was, perhaps) too burdensome for some small farms, effectively making the new organic label rules more advantageous for larger commercial farms while keeping the local small farm out of the new market. Is that still true, if it ever was?
John, thanks for the question, it’s a really good one. In general, organic farming is more expensive than conventional farming because there is more labor involved in pasture and pest management in an organic system (which is why organic food costs more at the grocery store). There are often better prices available to large farms than small farms (think buying in bulk from Costco versus buying small quantities from a local store), so that is part of it, but that is not exclusive to organic farming. Many large farms can make a better business out of organic farming because they will actually have two farms – an organic farm and a conventional farm. If an animal on the organic farm gets sick and needs to be medically treated, it can get moved to the conventional farm, treated appropriately, and still used for non-organic food. Because animals on organic farms can not be treated with most medications, if an animal on a small organic farm gets sick it can not be treated and still remain in the organic herd. There are regulations about diseased animals going into the food system, so there’s not a concern about meat from sick animals getting into the grocery store, but it sometimes raises concerns for appropriate treatment of the sick animals on organic farms.