Use your words: Organic

This week, we look at the most over-used buzz word in the discussion of our food. We will look at what organic means, how it differs from conventional production, and how organic food is produced.

What is Organic?
When talking organic agriculture, this is a specific term that is owned by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government agency regulates the certification process and deems what is considered an organic practice, and conducts audits on farms to maintain growers' certification. This is important, because without a regulating agency, anyone could slap an "organic" on anything (a misuse of the logo is punishable with an $11,000 fine). There are synthetic items that are banned from organic production (unless there's an exemption). Additionally, there are organic items that are allowed in organic production (unless they have been banned for any reason).

Wait, so what kind of synthetic compounds are still allowed?
Although this is a fairly long list (the sum of which can be found here), many of which are used in negligible amounts. A few synthetic compounds include: hydrogen peroxide, some antibiotics (bacteria derived), plastic mulches, Ozone for sterilizing, bleach, gasoline.

If something is organic is it pesticide free?
NO! this is the most common misconception about organic agriculture. Organic just means that only organic pesticides can be used. These pesticides are normally plant-derived, or an organic by-product. This applies to growing the crop AND processing the crop, say, into snack foods.

Is organic automatically sustainable?
Not necessarily, organic is not automatically sustainable. Sustainability is a management goal that many growers strive for, whereas organic is a restriction on what can and can't be use on the crop. An organic grower has just as many tools as a conventional grower in many cases. In fact, many growers use a hybrid system with conventional chemistry and biological tools. Many people found that having the most tools in their belt makes sustainability more attainable.

Why does organic cost so much?
This is connected to the previous question. In many cases, management is more difficult, and organic producers are limited in what they can and can't use for specific problems (mainly insects and pathogens). This often leads to more blemishes, and more losses in marketable crops. Additionally, there's a pricetag on maintaining your USDA certification. It's a sliding scale cost, but the average is about $750 per certification. There's a value added to the produce and in many cases it's more difficult to maintain profitability without raising prices.

So the next time you see that USDA organic logo on something, remember that the product, along with going through the same rigors of growing, inspecting, packing, and marketing, the grower also has additional regulations to comply to. It's a lot of extra work (and money), and doesn't guarantee success for the grower. But, it does provide a value-added product to the market that some people enjoy just based on the principle of the matter.