Are Organic Foods Really Healthier For Us?

The Real Truth behind Organic Foods

Many people are unaware of what organic food really is.  It seems that everywhere we go now someone is promoting something that is “organic”.  Are these foods worth your time and money?

It almost seems like some people are afraid of organic food. Could this be possible? Are people afraid that eating one morsel of organic food is going to somehow instantly initiate them into the organic food cult where you’re only allowed to wear sandals made from tree bark and deodorant is prohibited?

People will say things like, “Well, you can’t be that organic because you wear make-up and you don’t smell.”

What? That’s not what organic means at all!  All it means is that the food or the product has been grown the way Mother Nature intended: without the use of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. In other words, naturally!

Are some people afraid of the price? Organic does not automatically mean “break the bank”. Many times when you compare the price of the organic food versus the conventional food, they are only a few cents different.

Is there such a thing as Cheap Organic Food?

Are Organic foods really worth their sometimes high prices?  Is there any way to make organic eating affordable?

Many times people’s biggest resistance to buying organic is the higher price.  But there are ways to make organic eating cheaper and much more affordable for you and your family.

What exactly is Organic Food?

Organic food is food grown or raised without the use of synthetic (chemically formulated) pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertilizers. This method of farming allows foods to grown in nature as they were intended. Consider that conventional farmers in the United States spray 2 billion pounds of pesticides a year on crops to compensate for poor farming practices. Do you know where those pesticides end up? In our food supply!

Aside from pesticide contamination, conventional produce tends to have fewer nutrients than organic produce. On average, conventional produce has only 83 percent of the nutrients of organic produce. Studies have found significantly higher levels of nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and significantly less nitrates (a toxin) in organic crops.

Here is how to master the art of “going organic on a budget”:

Stop buying crappy “non foods” (and, yes, crappy is a scientific term). Most protein shakes, “health” bars, and processed foods are actually pretty expensive and when you completely eliminate them from your grocery list, you will save hundreds of dollars. Take a good look at the price of sugar cereals, packaged cookies and cakes, and frozen TV dinners. You will see how the prices of these foods quickly add up. That same amount of money can be better spent on a week’s worth of organic produce.
Start eating reasonable portions and you’ll find the food was not that expensive. When you really look at how much you eat and how much you are supposed to be eating, you clearly have mistaken yourself for a 200 lb sumo wrestler. You have portion distortion to say the least and eating less meant spending less!
Seek out local farmers markets. You will find prices are so much better and you’ll always get fresh food in season. And, honestly, if the price of cherries was the equivalent of diamond earrings, choose a different fruit. Go for the apples, pears, or bananas. Variety is good anyway so choose the fruits and veggies without the diamond prices.
Buy organic foods “selectively”. The following foods have been shown to have the highest levels of pesticide residue, so they should really always be purchased organic:

Fruits:

1.      Peaches

2.      Apples

3.      Strawberries

4.      Nectarines

5.      Pears

6.      Cherries

7.      Red Raspberries

8.      Imported Grapes

Vegetables:

9.      Spinach

10.  Bell Peppers

11.  Celery

12.  Potatoes

13.  Hot Peppers

Animal products

*Always look for animal products (meats, poultry, and dairy) that have no added antibiotics and growth hormones. Ingesting meats that have been injected with these harmful substances is equivalent to eating the hormones and antibiotics themselves. Very dangerous!

These foods tend to be lower in pesticide levels so can be purchased conventional if necessary:

Fruits:

14.  Pineapples

15.  Plantains

16.  Mangoes

17.  Bananas

18.  Watermelon

19.  Plums

20.  Kiwi Fruit

21.  Blueberries

22.  Papaya

23.  Grapefruit

24.  Avocado

Vegetables:

25.  Cauliflower

26.  Brussels Sprouts

27.  Asparagus

28.  Radishes

29.  Broccoli

30.  Onions

31.  Okra

32.  Cabbage

33.  Eggplant

There’s no material item that comes close to matching “feeling good” about yourself. Take a look at where you’re spending your money now and figure out how to fit organic foods into your budget (even if it’s a slow transition). It is worth your effort.   Eat Healthy!

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Video Rating: 4 / 5

by consumatron

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Lbs Weight plus topics on 10 Best Weight Loss Plans plus topics on Dietary Supplements For Athletes

A good weight loss diet isn’t a diet at all; in fact weight loss comes from a lifestyle change. This lifestyle change needs to be reflected in your eating habits exercise routine and could include the addition of a weight pill or other supplement. Before jumping on the bandwagon with some weight loss pill you need to get the rest of your weight loss plan into place and research the pills available to find the right one for you and your weight loss goals.

Loosing weight does not get any easier than this. Are you tired of all the weight loss options that just don’t work?

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Dieters today have it hard in one way and easy in another. There are so many temptations for abandoning weight loss goals and enjoying all the tasty foods out there. In another way they have it easy compared to dieters in the past: they have weight loss clinics.

Hoodia weight loss supplements are becoming increasingly popular all over the world. This article will discuss the truth about the Hoodia weight loss diet craze and if it’s really the best weight loss pill for maximum success!

Keeping a health weight loss diary will do you wonders even if it is just a simple thing to do. Here you will write down your goals and keep the simple sentiments that will help keep you going through with your weight loss plan. Here you will write down all the encouraging progress you have made so you will have something to hold on to when you are in great need of motivation.

The green tea diet is a health trend that has become popular over recent years because of how unique and easy it is. Getting healthier has never been so easy.

This article features rapid weight loss diets for everyone’s use. The ways and tips in this article is easy and safe to follow.

Who wants to see slow weight loss when a fast weight loss diet can be healthy and bring about the results you’re looking for faster? Here are the four top tips to see the changes in the mirror that can put a smile of satisfaction on your face.

by aaron.knox

Organic Health Foods and Their Value

Organic Health Foods and Their Value Scientific evidence has shown that there is a difference between organic and conventional produce. It is common sense that food grown in healthier soils using only natural fertilizers and no chemicals is definitely going to be full of more nutrition. This means that your body will not be taking in and absorbing chemicals that otherwise would be in the food. In studies done with rats that ate organically or at least a diet with minimal fertilization showed the following benefits:

Improved immune system Better sleeping habits Rats were slimmer and gained less weight Higher vitamin E content in their blood

The most compelling evidence comes from a -million study that was funded by the European-Union with organic food and so far the largest study of its kind. The researchers conducted a four-year study raising cattle on adjacent organic and non-organic sites along with growing fruits and vegetables.

The findings showed that organic food is by far more nutritious providing better health and longevity than food grown chemically. The studies confirmed that organic fruits and vegetables had higher levels of minerals containing up to 40% more antioxidants.

Now for a word of caution - READ YOUR LABELS, some organic labels have been compromised. Big business has moved in such as the ‘Wal-Mart’s’ of the world, which is now the largest organic retailer in the U.S. As an example, they are selling organic milk that comes from confined factory farm dairies, which do not follow the proper ‘organic’ protocol. Cheap organic foods and ingredients from China and Brazil are being imported. Signs are posted in its stores saying that non-organic items are actually organic, which is very misleading to customers.

Organic food is now a multi-billion dollar business with sales growing beyond annually. Unfortunately, the quality and the meaning of the organic labels is being compromised.

Don’t be deceived by ‘organic labels’ that are attached to “junk food” (i.e., ice cream, crackers and potato chips to name a few). There is no such thing as ‘organic junk foods’. You hopefully know that potato chips are one of the worst foods you can eat! Big business knows how to reach the customer, making you think you can ‘have your cake and eat it too’! Big business is simply looking at their ‘bottom line’!

The best way to know if you are getting ‘real organic’ foods, is to look for the USDA Organic seal. This seal represents organic quality and is your best assurance that you are getting the ‘real deal’! Manufacturers and growers have to meet very strict standards in order to qualify for the USDA seal. This is one thing good that the government apparently does!

The criteria for 100% organic is that the product must be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity. Crops must be grown without synthetic pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, sewage sludge-based fertilizers or bioengineered genes. When it comes to livestock, it cannot be given any antibiotics or growth hormones, in order to qualify as organic.

If the product is labeled as ‘organic’, it must contain at least 95% of organic ingredients. Organic foods are lower in residues and compounds that are hazardous to one’s health. So buying and growing organic foods is not only better for your health but better for the entire planet.

Any label that says ‘made with organic ingredients’ must contain between 70-90% of organic ingredients.

The best organic food is what’s grown closest to you. Here is a website to find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies: http://www.alternativehealthzone.com

by Steven Vance

Lose Weight Quickly Eating Organic Foods – Organic Food Benefits

Is it possible to lose weight quickly by eating organic foods?  What are the benefits of organic food?  Is it really worth the extra money?

Yes, it is true, eating organic foods can help you lose weight very quickly once you have eliminated all the toxins from your system.   There are many additional benefits to eating organic foods including the fact that they contain more nutrients.

This may surprise you. A study was conducted in which samples from the FDA’s records were analyzed. There were numerous discrepancies in the contamination figures and almost half of the contaminates were illegal pesticides which were banned due to their toxic properties. Almost half are illegal ? – this is what we are eating? Pretty scary!

The dangerous toxins in our foods have increased and it is being blamed for the rapid weight gain we have seen in the population. These chemicals can cause your body to store fat and cause many different diseases. Our systems were not designed to process these toxins and our liver is being overworked and overloaded. Changing your diet and eating organic foods can help you lose weight and detoxify your system.

If you are still in doubt that eating organics can help you lose weight and are healthier for you, consider the fact that the chemicals put in many of our foods are fairly new and have only been consumed for a short period of time. The damage that they can do to us is mostly unknown. Our bodies were not designed to process these chemicals. Pesticides, hormones and preservatives can not be processed by our liver and it causes extreme damage to it.

Ingesting these toxins also disrupts the function of our metabolism which is essential to losing weight. When you eat organic foods your system digests them quickly and efficiently. When your system doesn’t have to process the additional chemicals your metabolism will increase and you will be less tired and have more energy. You will feel more like exercising and getting out and doing more. Eating healthy organic foods can help you lose weight, feel better and have more energy. They are a little bit more expensive but the benefits of organic food are well worth it.

Dummies Guide To Organic Food

What is organic food? While we may have heard about it for over thousand times,many are still in the dark about organic food and its benefits.We hope this article would shed some light on organic food.

The Organic Revolution – The organic revolution is a global phenomenon witnessed in every part of the world. Global organic food market was about USD40 billion in 2006 and over 30 percent or USD12 billion of the global demand stems from the US. The world organic market has been growing by 20% a year since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging from 10-50% annually depending on the country.

What Is Organic Food – Organic food are foods that are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste or sewage sludge.and processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.For livestocks, they are reared without the routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.

The word organic food does not only apply to the food from your own home garden, but also to the store bought food products, in which no synthetic artificial inputs are used. In the contemporary times, the term organic food is usually used in reference to the certified organic foods. It has been claimed by health experts that organic food is more nutritious. Some of the features that can be associated with organic food are more attention to quality, good taste, proper selection of crop varieties etc.

Organic Gardening – Organic Gardening is gardening without the use of man-made chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers. It is said by some of its supporters to be more in harmony with nature. An organic gardener strives to work in harmony with natural systems and to minimize and continually replenish any resources the garden consumes. Organic produce is also known for its superior flavor.

Organic Fertilizers – Organic fertilizers can actually be cheaper, because you can make them yourself. Fish emulsion is a common organic fertilizer. It is a sort of tea made from dead fish. Seaweed fertilizer is another tea-like fertilizer that many organic gardeners swear by.

And of course there is natural compost that can help you make use of your kitchen waste! The benefits of organic gardening far outweigh the few drawbacks. It may be a bit more work, but it is so rewarding!

Organic Food Consumption – Organic food consumption has become the trend of the time, but still there are many who do not have a clear idea regarding the definition of organic food and this can be attributed to the fact that we do not possess adequate organic food information. Well, organic food in simple terms can be defined as food that is natural and does not involve the usage of any kind of preservatives or artificial pesticides. Read further to explore organic food facts

Organic Food Production – Organic food production is legally regulated. Currently, the United States, the European Union, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain organic certification in order to market food as organic.Organic products protect us from toxic and chemical induced diseases while nourishing our bodies to promote good health. Non-organic food only appears to be cheaper, but it costs us our health, our farmland, our eco-systems and taxes to pay for the disasters that chemical farming create. Chemical farming has led to dramatic erosion of the soil, killing off whole species of birds and near extinction of some of our beautiful wildlife. Sustainable Organic Agriculture is already feeding people around the world. Chemical farming can seriously damage farmer’s health.

Benefits of Organic Food – Organic foods contain phenolic compounds that protect you from developing heart disease and cancer. Organic food ensures high food quality, which other conventional foods cannot commit. Since organic food is natural and fresh, it boasts off its rich taste. So, head your way towards leading a healthy lifestyle, by eating organic foods.

Paleo Diet Snack Ideas – The 5-Minute Recipe Guide for 2 Astonishingly Tasty Paleo Snacks!

Sometimes it’s hard coming up with great tasting paleo diet snack ideas. You know, for the past few weeks I had the same paleo snack meals!

One day I would be eating sliced carrot dip in salsa sauce, the next day carrot with cumin dip…I always rotate between those two snacks and after awhile, I just felt like puking each time I see a bowl of salsa or cumin dip!

Listen, this doesn’t have to happen to you!

No way am I going to let my fellow “modern caveman” suffer as I have suffered! We modern caveman diet followers must stick together – help each other out for the greater good of the planet….

It’s us against them darn it!

Alright, sorry! Sorry! I got carried away a bit because I’ve been watching quite a lot of “us against them” type of movies lately…

Anyway, you don’t have to worry about coming up with some palatable paleo diet snack ideas. See, not only am I going to show you how to make 2 astonishingly good paleo snack meals, I’m also going to provide you a link to a site where you can obtain a collection of paleo diet cookbooks.

The cookbooks are great because they contain all kinds of paleo meal recipes with photos and step-by-step directions included. You can check out the cookbooks (downloadable) after these 2 recipes.

Alright let’s go…

Paleo Diet Snack Recipe #1

Tasty Sunflower Seed Dip with Sliced Carrots

You’ll need: 1 cup of sunflower seeds, juice from half a lemon, a bit of garlic powder, ½ cup of fresh dill, about 8 tbs of water, a bit of organic kelp granules (salt alternative) and ground black pepper to spruce up the taste.

Directions: Dump all ingredients in a food mixer. Now blend away until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.

Dip some sliced carrots into the mix. Yummy stuff! You can dip with other type of veggies of course. I dipped some broccolis in it and they tasted great too!

Paleo Diet Snack Recipe #2

Coco Walnuts Milk

You’ll need: 1 ½ cup of cacao powder, 1 cup of walnuts, a dash of organic kelp granules, ¼ cup of agave nectar, seeds from a vanilla bean, and 4 cups of fresh young Thai coconut water.

Directions:

•    Put walnuts and coconut water in a blender and blend until mixture becomes smooth. Next, grab a nut-milk bag and strain the mix through it. Throw away the pulp. Pour milk back into blender.

•    Put the remaining ingredients in the blender and blend together with the strained milk until smooth.

There! 2 absolutely delicious paleo diet snack ideas inspired from a set of digital cookbooks that I downloaded weeks ago.

As promised, here’s the link where you can get those cookbooks. You’ll be able to come up with all sorts of paleo diet snack ideas after looking at the snack recipes section in the cookbooks. Paleo chocolate, noodles, sandwich, cake, chicken, seafood etc are included but I haven’t tried them all yet…

Follow this link: http://www.paleorecipecookbooks.info/ for download details.

by sweetbeetandgreenbean

Grow Fresh Organic Vegetables –Eliminate The Confusion- Eat Healthy-Make Money

Grow fresh organic vegetables in your own backyard knowing you are doing something beneficial for your health and your pocketbook.  Improve your intake of minerals and save thousands off your grocery bill.

To grow fresh organic vegetables can be a great asset not only to your physical health and well being but could also improve your financial health as well. What is this organic thing all about anyhow?  Well I’m sure by now that a “organic produce” section has come to your favorite grocery store. You know, the place where you can buy supposedly fresh fruit and vegetables without worrying if synthetic fertilizers and harmful pesticides among other harmful practices were used in their production.

Not to worry, right? Well not exactly. Fresh?  Maybe, but for many of us this produce has to travel 2000 miles or more before landing on the grocery store shelves. Is it really organic? Well, we have what is called Organic certification and it addresses a growing worldwide demand for organic food, some 20% a year, and  is intended to assure quality, prevent fraud, and to promote commerce. Enter the bureaucracy, the  NOP, USDA, and the QAI the largest organic certifier in the world.

The United States, Japan and the European Union all have comprehensive organic legislation, and the term “organic” can be used only by certified producers. Being able to use the word “organic” on food products is a valuable marketing tool in today’s consumer market, but does not guarantee that the products are legitimately organic. Organic labeling made possible by certification itself usually requires some explanation. In countries without organic laws, government guidelines may or may not exist, here certification is handled by non-profit organizations and private companies. In addition the USDA makes no claim that commercial organically grown food is safer.

In the US, legislation defines four levels of organics:

“100% organic”- single ingredient such as a fruit, vegetable, meat, milk and cheese (excludes water and salt).
“Organic”- multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100% organic.
“Made with organic ingredients” – 70% of the ingredients are organic and can appear on the front of the package, naming the specific ingredients.
“Contains organic ingredients” – contains less than 70% organic ingredients. Cannot be advertised to the public and can only be mentioned in the ingredient statement.

Note that Small farmers with less than ,000 in organic sales, such as those selling at small farmers’ markets, are exempt from the certification process but they still must be truthful in their label claims and comply with the new government standards.  However, it is the blind faith that I find amazing that is exhibited by so many of us that frequent these markets. What keeps a farmer from growing or buying non-organic produce and selling it as organic? Let us hope it is their reputation and integrity.

Now read this; In July 2008, it was reported that organic powdered ginger that had been certified by QAI, was found when tested to be contaminated with the banned pesticide Aldicarb. The organic ginger from which the QAI certified organic powdered ginger originated had been certified organic by two other USDA accredited certifying agents in China. Under Chinese law, foreigners may not inspect Chinese farms. Also, under USDA National Organic Program rules QAI as an accredited certifying agent must accept the certification decisions of other accredited certifying agents. In this case I assume Chinese nationals .QAI was not the certifier in China.

Now does this make any sense to you? Will you sleep better at night knowing all those bureaucratic acronyms are at work for you? The only thing that you can be sure about when buying organic food in a supermarket is that it will cost you more.

So what are the solutions to these problems? Grow fresh organic vegetables in your backyard, be in control! There are new techniques and methods available today that allow you to have greater yields in smaller spaces with less work, many times all year long. Not only will you save money, eat healthier but there should be plenty left over for you and the kids to sell out front to your neighbors or at a table at your nearest outdoor market making hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars a year.

by Hari Prasad Nadig

If You Think ‘Organic’ Food is ‘Organic’, Think Again

The last decade has witnessed an increased interest in things “organic” as more and more consumers seek out products that are healthy, ethical, and environmentally friendly. Nowhere is this more evident that in the food industry.

In fact, the organic food industry has gone from a cottage industry start up to a multi-billion dollar business in less than a decade. Global sales of organic food were estimated to be billion in 2006 with the world organic market growing rapidly by about 20% annually. In the US, organic food products are the fastest growing sector of the food marketplace.

Because of the rapid growth of the organic food industry, it is no surprise that big food companies and retailers have joined the act. Because of these alliances, unlikely organic products are sprouting up everywhere including organic cheetos and organic McDonalds coffee. The new movie FOOD INC eloquently speaks to this issue. Hershey Foods owns Dagoba, Kraft owns Boca Foods and Back to Nature, and Heinz is a big investor in Hain Celestial which is connected to many small organic companies including Earth’s Best, Spectrum Organics, and Frutti di Bosco.

So who standarizes and regulates this burgeoning worldwide industry? Every country has its own regulations in labeling organic products.

In the USA, the Organic Food Production Act was passed in 1990 giving mandate to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set national standards and in 2002, the USDA set up the National Organic Program (NOP) to regulate organic food products. The USDA regulations cover issues such as genetic modification, radiation, bioengineering, pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics, and other man-made chemicals but they do not cover some environmental as well as ethical and social issues.

Certification covers all processes involved from production to processing, packaging and transport. The products that fall under NOP jurisdiction are fresh and processed agricultural food products, including dairy products, meat and livestock and food crops. It covers food products only and does not include non-food organic crops such as cotton and plants for cosmetics and personal care products.

Because the NOP is a very small understaffed subagency it cannot undertake inspection of food producers to verify organic claims and thus is dependant on no less than 54 accredited agencies within the US in addition to 44 accredited foreign agencies for products produced outside the US.

In the US, the following terminology is allowed on organic food products.

“100% organic” – single ingredient such as a fruit, vegetable, meat, milk and cheese (excludes water and salt).

“Organic” – multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100% organic.

“Made with organic ingredients” – 70% of the ingredients are organic. Can appear on the front of package, naming the specific ingredients.

“Contains organic ingredients” – contains less than 70% organic ingredients.

To say the least, organic labeling is both complicated and confusing. However, only those products that meet the ’100% organic’ and ‘organic’ criteria are allowed to carry the USDA Organic seal and the USDA emphasizes that the term ‘organic’ is not synonymous to ‘natural’ or ‘all-natural’.

In addition to the labeling conundrum and the dependancy of the NOP on other entities for certification, all is not well in the organic realm. Several well-publicized events point to the fact that current regulation by the NOP may not be effective.

(1) In 2005 The Cornucopia Institute filed a complaint against Aurora Organic Dairy for multiple violations of federal organic regulations. Aurora is the supplier to big supermarket chains like Safeway, Wal-Mart, and Costco.

(2) In January 2007 The Cornucopia Institute reported that the retailer giant Wal-Mart was mislabeling certain products organic. The product packaging says “all natural” but Wal-Mart added the word organic to its price labels.

(3) August 2008. The USDA announced that 15 of its accredited certifying agencies had been placed on probation due to various violations of the NOP organic standards, according to AlterNet. The violations included several certifying agencies from outside the US and included agencies in China, a country which has recently been implicated in toxic contaminations, including lead to melamine. One product concerned an organically certified ginger which contained a non-allowable pesticide called aldicarb. The ginger, sold under the 365 label at Whole Foods Market, contained a level of aldicarb not even permissible for conventional ginger, let alone organics. Aldicard causes nausea, headaches and blurred vision even at low concentrations.

(4) April 2009: The Cornucopia Institute urged organic food consumers to petition to the NOSB for the removal of non-organic soy lecithin from the National List. The Institute claims organic lecithin is now commercially available.

(5) June 2009: A federal judge in St. Louis dismissed class action suits filed by consumers against Aurora Dairy for organic milk fraud.

Additionally the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances has become a minefield!

To be certified “organic”, a product must contain 95% organic ingredients or materials during its production. The other 5% should be on the list of allowable synthetic substances. A National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances was prepared in 2002 but has since been amended because food producers can file a petition to include substances that are not on the original list but which they think are essential in their production. In June 2007, a final amended National List was issued with the number of allowable substances increasing from 77 to 245, according to the LA Times. Subsequently, the advocacy group Organic Consumers Association expressed objections to the inclusion of some of the new products allowed, especially the food colorings.

And even organic labeling, itself, has recently come underfire due to the abovementioned scandals and controversies involving the NOP. Advocacy groups have put forward the following objections.

(1) Lax national standards. This has created a certification procedure that is unreliable, especially those occurring abroad and to add insult to injury the original Organic Act’s mandate for pesticide testing has been declared optional.

(2) Loophole in the Act. The ability to petition for amendments to the National List are being viewed by many as a big loophole resulting in food producers using the process to their advantage. The original goal was to shrink rather than expand the list. So far, only one substance has been removed whereas more than 60 have been added.

(3) Consumers are not getting what they are paying for. For paying extra, consumers expect food that is free from pesticides and chemicals. If the national organic standards were to be lowered, consumers are actually being “ripped off.”

(4) Watered down. Many believe that with the participation of corporate giants in the organic food market, the organic principle has been seriously “watered down”. They put this down to big companies’ strong lobbying power, forcing NOP to make concessions and lower national organic standards to accommodate them.

(5) Greenwashing. Some groups even go as far as accusing the NOP of greenwashing, that the organic seal is just a marketing ploy. Some specific examples of greenwashing activities include importing organic powdered milk from New Zealand and keeping a larger number of organic cows in a smaller space.

Consumer groups and some organic pioneers say they are concerned that the ‘corporate alliance’ movement – a response to the practices of corporate food production that promotes a natural chemical-free approach to farming – will eventually create a watered down organic food industry unless firm standards are maintained by the NOP, which is unlikely, in view of its past performance.

Other groups feel that conflicts of interest may arise between conventional and organic food production. Organic production used to be a niche market for small organic farmers. As organic production goes mainstream, these small farmers would be outcompeted and driven out of business.

As people become more and more health and socially conscious, the demand for organic products is increasing. However, as economists point out, “as mainstream consumers are growing hungry for untainted food that also nourishes their social conscience, it is getting harder and harder to find organic ingredients.” For the purists, however, the philosophy also requires farmers to treat their people and livestock with respect and, ideally, to sell small batches of what they produce locally so as to avoid burning fossil fuels to transport them.

Economic principles, however, do not coincide with purist organic philosophy. The whole supply chain of organic food production is becoming more complicated as the market grows rapidly. The producers are forced to take short cuts in order to stay competitive. In the US, for example, there aren’t enough organic cows to produce organic milk. Even if there were enough cows, there aren’t enough grains to feed them. And it is no longer possible to feed cows with raw grass to obtain raw grass-fed milk unless the farmer applies fertilizers to his pasture to make the grass grow faster. Some companies are forced to look offshore for organic ingredients, thereby violating several organic principles, not necessarily in the production process, but in terms of low labor costs and high transport costs.

The organic food industry has clearly outgrown the original regulations meant to protect it and its consumers. And the increased demand for organic food may actually be its own undoing. How ‘organic is organic food’ is even more important now than in the past!