More and more tiny pictures with small text appear on food products by the day, it seems. The jumble of letters, numbers, colors, and shapes can be overwhelming at times: where to start? And what does it all mean? One of these images that seems to be popping up more and more is the organic label, usually accompanied by a logo of the USDA. The organic logo seems to carry health and environmental connotations, but knowing exactly why this is true might clarify the label for you a bit.

The three most important standards organic farms must follow are the following:

1) Not use any synthetic sprays

2) Food must not be grown on land that has been sprayed with synthetics in the past three years.

3) Detailed documentation of soil inputs should be taken and reported.

Now, there are other regulations – hundreds, in fact – but these are the main ones. These three regulations in particular, though, have a wide ranging affect on how organic farms operate, and what type of food product they produce.

Not using synthetic sprays, for instance, has profound effects on the way food is grown. In conventional operations, these sprays are used in every stage of producing a crop. Fertilizers are sprayed into the soil to give the soil nutrients (which it is devoid of, as a result of spraying). Pesticides are sprayed on to kill pests. Herbicides control weeds. Fungicides keeps parasitic fungus from forming in the soil. All of these add up to a whole lot of synthetic spray. Build up of this spray’s residue on the plant has been shown to be highly toxic in some cases – simply inhaling some types of aerial sprays can cause serious illness that can result in death. The popular Round Up herbicide has been shown to kill human embryonic cells, as well as cause genetic damage in humans. These sprays are serious stuff, and pose significant health risks.

Not only that, but synthetics sprays are built on the backs of non-renewable resources. Synthetic fertilizers are made from highly concentrated ammonia (toxic when sprayed), which is derived from natural gas. Many of these sprays are made through oil intensive processes, which, as many of us know, is quickly running out and adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Organic simply does away with all synthetic sprays. If it does use spray, it’s usually in the form of an organic fertilizer, which can be anything from fish emulsion to compost tea – in other words, harmless to our health and good for the soil. Since organic farmers cannot rely on synthetic sprays to give their crops nutrition, they instead rely on health soils to grow their crops, which often results in more environmentally sound agriculture. Compost and organic fertilizers are used to keep the soil bio-dynamically active. This provides all the nutrition the plants need to thrive.

Organic regulations are enforced by the USDA and third party affiliated with them. They make sure farmers are keeping detailed documentation of everything the add to the soil, ensuring a healthy product.

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Category: Food and Drinks
Keywords: vegetarian, organic, organic vegetarian, vegetarianism