Defining Organic

I've always wondered what exactly it means for food to be organic. There is a lot of hype about buying organic foods, and I know that the premise of organic production is to produce food in a way that doesn't harm the environment, for example, by not using pesticides and other chemicals. But, what exactly falls under organic production?

The USDA Natural Agriculture Library provides this definition:
"Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.  Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.  Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation."

Additionally, it mentions organic production systems, which include using cover crops, manure and crop rotation to fertilize the soil, practicing rotational grazing, refraining from using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, or hormones and antibiotics for animals. Organic farms also should emphasize biodiversity and focus on using renewable resources.

I, unfortunately, am not involved in the production of my own food, however, and so I don't deal with the methods of organic production on a regular basis. (Though, I am being more and more inspired everyday to become more involved with food production, whether by tending a garden, of which there are several around campus, or having my own garden at home, or going to work on farm for a period). I do deal with buying food on a regular basis, though, from a grocery store, or, when available, a farmers market. So, I am also curious to know how to appropriately judge foods labeled "organic." With foods that consist of a variety of ingredients, however, must every ingredient be organically produced or just some? Within a spectrum of this sort, what are the requirements for a food to be considered organic?

In my research I learned that farms with a gross income of less than $5,000 do not need to be certified by the USDA to claim to be organic. (I imagine the USDA would be run crazy trying to certify so many small-scale operations. Also, if a farm is operating on that small of a level, they are probably intimately connected with their customers, and so the customers can judge for themselves the truthfulness of the farms' claims to being organic).

Products that are labeled 100% organic must be just that: every ingredient must be organic, except for salt and water. Merely labeling a food "organic," however, indicates that 95% of that food is organic. The 5% of the ingredients that are not organic must be on a list of approved "nonagricultural substances," and both 100% and 95% organic products cannot be produced using prohibited methods. Products that fall under this category can use the USDA seal in their advertising and on the front of their packaging.   

Another option in organic food products is products made with some organic ingredients. The phrase "made with organic ingredients" can be used if at least 70% of the ingredients are organic, and can be advertised on the front of the packaging. The USDA seal, however, cannot be used. (It is also interesting to note that other labels, like "hormone-free," "free-range" or "sustainably harvested" do not have additional restrictions for their use)

So, in this example, the cereal box to the left would be (as labeled) 100% organic, the second box from the left would be 95% organic, the third would be at least 70% organic and the last would not have USDA organic certification.
(http://webharvest.gov/peth04/20041031121516/www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/brochure.html)


The penalty for purposefully mislabeling or selling a product as organic that does not meet the National Organic Program's requirements is a fine of up to $11,000.

In talking about smaller-scale farmers that make a living off their private farms I would imagine that most of them would want to use organic methods of production. Their life is based around their farm and they develop such a relationship with the land and with the animals that using chemicals to harm them seems counterintuitive to me. Then again, financially, farming is a difficult method of sustaining yourself, so it makes sense that people turn to whatever measures they can to make ends meet. I would think, however, that no matter how you tried, local farmers cannot compete with the huge mass-producing farms. So, growing organically would be the best way to find a niche in the local community market, because it slightly distances the local products from the mass-produced ones. (Though the mass-production of organic products is increasing as well). This, though, brings up a whole other issue, of local vs. organic (though they are not necessarily at odds, so perhaps this is not the best way of phrasing the issue).