What is Organic?

What is Organic?

Each year, more products are being labeled 'organic' and both supermarkets and farmer's markets are increasing the variety of organic fruits, vegetables and animal products as well as other products including organic clothing that are available for shoppers. Sales of organic food are outperforming sales of their conventional counterparts despite some question over whether or not buying organic is worth it.

What does organic mean

Buying organic reduces exposure to chemical pesticides, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and genetically modified foods.

USDA's National Organic Program

The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) defines how the term 'organic' may be used. According to the NOP, the USDA organic seal verifies that:

* Irradiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, and genetically modified organisms are not used to growcrops (fruits, vegetables, grains) labeled organic;

* Producers of organic livestock meet animal health and welfare standards, do not use antibiotics or growth hormones, use 100% organic feed, and provide animals with access to the outdoors; and

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* A product containing multiple ingredients must contain at least 95% certified organic content. If the label claims that it was made with specified organic ingredients, you can be sure that those specific ingredients are certified organic.

Reference: National Organic Program, USDA

Photo credit: atomicity

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Andrea Donsky, RHN
Andrea Donsky, B. COMM is an international TV Health Expert, Best Selling Author, Nutritionist Podcast Host, and Founder of NaturallySavvy.com—a recipient of Healthline’s Best Healthy Living Blogs for 2019. As a pioneer and visionary in the health food industry, Andrea’s passion is to inspire people to make healthier choices. Andrea has combined her background and expertise as both a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and an entrepreneur ("She Boss!") to educate the public on living a healthy lifestyle through the creation of her businesses, books, articles, podcasts, videos, talks, and TV and radio media appearances. Andrea founded Naturally Savvy Media Inc. in 2007 in order to share her passion for healthy living, and love for natural products and companies. Among her numerous publications, Andrea co-authored Unjunk your Junk Food published by Simon and Schuster, a book that journalist, author and mother Maria Shriver endorsed: “Unjunk Your Junk Food has certainly made me more aware about the food that my children eat and the effects it has on our body and mind."</P. Andrea also co-authored two e-books entitled Label Lessons: Your Guide To A Healthy Shopping Cart, and Label Lessons: Unjunk Your Kid’s Lunch Box.