By Molly O'Neill
If you observe around you, you may see someone buying organic produce, organic skincare, or drinking organic raw Kombucha. It may appear that an organic lifestyle is more sought out than in years past. Individuals are altering their lifestyles with a health conscious approach then they have, while some are discovering food intolerances and noticing hypersensitivities to certain foods. Other reasons one might buy organic products are reasons such as; environmental protection, fear about food safety, and chemical exposure such as pesticide residue.
While some of us choose to eat organic because of dietary issues or personal choices. Those same individuals need we to be mindful of how that food is labeled, especially when it comes to the organic label. According to an article published in JSTOR, Organic: What’s in a Name, there are “no consistent requirements for organic labeling and no guarantee that foods labeled as organic are grown and processed in a purely organic fashion.”
Organic is defined as foods that are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides. The question raised is with will new technology like genetic engineering play a significant role in organic production and should that product should be considered natural or synthetic.
USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) rules and regulations for labeling a product organic is the production excludes genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge. There is also a list of “allowed substances” and it must be inspected by a USDA National Organic Program-authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations.
Biologist Martha Apple, a biology professor at Montana Tech is more inclined to buy organic products,
“I lean towards organically grown clothing fibers when affordable. For example, conventional cotton is grown with a very high pesticide load.”
When asked the pertinence of consuming organic food, Apple stated she was in favor,
“Consider the importance of soil health and the value of mycorrhizal fungi.”
As college students, our budget is tight and we can’t always afford a five dollar difference on what appears to be the same product.
Brea Walker, a junior nursing student, stated, “I’ll buy organic food if they are the same price as non-organic, but if they aren’t I won’t because I don’t think it will benefit me that much.”
Should we be choosing organic food over non-organic foods and how might these chemical-laden foods be detrimental to our health?
“The organic food industry is where soil and plant scientists can use their collective knowledge to create versatile and sustainable ways of producing food. Of course, the crop plants are autotrophs so they will grow themselves to some extent without any help from humans,” concluded Apple.
Can any product be labeled organic without it being certified? If you make a product and want to claim that it or its ingredients are organic, your final product “probably” needs to be certified, according to USDA. If you are not certified, you must not make any organic claim on the principal display panel or use the USDA organic seal anywhere on the package. Some operations are exempt if they are organic farmers who sell $5,000 or less. You may only, on the information panel, identify the certified organic ingredients as organic and the percentage of organic ingredients.
When labels state “made with organic [specified ingredients of food groups]” 30% may be any nonorganic agricultural ingredient and product produced without excluded method. Sewage sludge, or irradiation” according to USDA. What might also be included in that 30% are nonorganic agricultural products that are produced using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides not on the National List. Thus, resulting in a misconception of organic foods aren’t always 100% organic.
Read food labels and go out and be a skeptic in this world.
If you observe around you, you may see someone buying organic produce, organic skincare, or drinking organic raw Kombucha. It may appear that an organic lifestyle is more sought out than in years past. Individuals are altering their lifestyles with a health conscious approach then they have, while some are discovering food intolerances and noticing hypersensitivities to certain foods. Other reasons one might buy organic products are reasons such as; environmental protection, fear about food safety, and chemical exposure such as pesticide residue.
While some of us choose to eat organic because of dietary issues or personal choices. Those same individuals need we to be mindful of how that food is labeled, especially when it comes to the organic label. According to an article published in JSTOR, Organic: What’s in a Name, there are “no consistent requirements for organic labeling and no guarantee that foods labeled as organic are grown and processed in a purely organic fashion.”
Organic is defined as foods that are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides. The question raised is with will new technology like genetic engineering play a significant role in organic production and should that product should be considered natural or synthetic.
USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) rules and regulations for labeling a product organic is the production excludes genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge. There is also a list of “allowed substances” and it must be inspected by a USDA National Organic Program-authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations.
Biologist Martha Apple, a biology professor at Montana Tech is more inclined to buy organic products,
“I lean towards organically grown clothing fibers when affordable. For example, conventional cotton is grown with a very high pesticide load.”
When asked the pertinence of consuming organic food, Apple stated she was in favor,
“Consider the importance of soil health and the value of mycorrhizal fungi.”
As college students, our budget is tight and we can’t always afford a five dollar difference on what appears to be the same product.
Brea Walker, a junior nursing student, stated, “I’ll buy organic food if they are the same price as non-organic, but if they aren’t I won’t because I don’t think it will benefit me that much.”
Should we be choosing organic food over non-organic foods and how might these chemical-laden foods be detrimental to our health?
“The organic food industry is where soil and plant scientists can use their collective knowledge to create versatile and sustainable ways of producing food. Of course, the crop plants are autotrophs so they will grow themselves to some extent without any help from humans,” concluded Apple.
Can any product be labeled organic without it being certified? If you make a product and want to claim that it or its ingredients are organic, your final product “probably” needs to be certified, according to USDA. If you are not certified, you must not make any organic claim on the principal display panel or use the USDA organic seal anywhere on the package. Some operations are exempt if they are organic farmers who sell $5,000 or less. You may only, on the information panel, identify the certified organic ingredients as organic and the percentage of organic ingredients.
When labels state “made with organic [specified ingredients of food groups]” 30% may be any nonorganic agricultural ingredient and product produced without excluded method. Sewage sludge, or irradiation” according to USDA. What might also be included in that 30% are nonorganic agricultural products that are produced using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides not on the National List. Thus, resulting in a misconception of organic foods aren’t always 100% organic.
Read food labels and go out and be a skeptic in this world.