Jun
08
2009
Is organic food really organically grown?
jerry M asked:
I usually buy organic food when possible.
I usually buy organic food when possible.
But what are the guarantees that farmers don’t just put the label “Organic” and still use pesticides and herbicides?
I remember hearing the interview with one farmer on NPR. He said that organic label makes food more valuable so he just puts it and really grows organic once every 3 years when someone comes to check.
I don’t know how widespread such practice is.
By Taylorxoxo, June 9, 2009 @ 3:17 am
Organic food are checked by food inspectors, i think.
So they should be safe
By Buffy, June 12, 2009 @ 4:36 am
Read the labels!!! That’s the only thing you can do. The FDA doesn’t give two shits about if something is really organic. The only people you can trust when it comes to this is YOU. Try shopping solely at organic food stores for produce, it helps a little.
By Jenny, June 13, 2009 @ 5:32 am
Here in Georgia, to apply for organic labeling your soil has to sit two years without chemicals. Then they do soil testing. If it’s clean, you get certified to grow organic produce. And each year you have to send in a soil sample.
By ohiorganic, June 16, 2009 @ 8:16 am
The USDA via the National Organic Program has regulated the organic farming industry since 2002.
You really don’t know. Organic farms are inspected annually by a trained 3rd party organic inspector. The farmers also must complete a 30 page application that asks a lot of questions such do you irrigate, what seeds are used, is the land prone to erosion, harvest yields, etc.. All organic farms have to have an organic system plan (OSP) and and turn in records as to where seeds were purchased, what inputs were used on the farm, etc., to their certification people (which is not the USDA but one of 60 or so bonafide by the USDA organic certifying agencies) which are than reviewed before an inspector is sent to their farm.
The USDA does have an enforcement unit and they do go after farms that use the term illegally as well as farms that have been caught cheating.
So it really is fairly difficult to fake all the records, though not impossible and for an industrial farm that has an office staff (something small farms cannot afford) that is savvy with producing fictitious paperwork it would be fairly easy.
Now all that said there is a story out yesterday that says that the organic fertilizer sold to all the big farms in CA including Earthbound organics contained ingredients that are not allowed on organic farms so the salad greens coming from Earthbound Organics for the past 3 years have not been organic because Earthbound used what they thought was an approved input but it turns out it was not-oops.
The best way to know what you are buying is to buy direct from the farmer. That way you can ask the grower questions and even go out and inspect the farm yourself (this is something I invite all my customers to do and so far in 15 years about 5 have taken me up on the offer). Of course in order to keep your farmer honest you (the customer) will have to learn a lot about farming and organic management
To keep local year round learn buy in bulk in season and learn how to put up food for the off season-it is wonderful work and you will eat like royalty.