Just Because It Says Organic, Doesn’t Mean It Is
I recently made a promise to myself to start buying organic products. My uncle had just been diagnosed with cancer and his doctor asserted that it could have been caused by any number of things. But Uncle Mike is healthy—he’s a runner, he doesn’t smoke and eats a lot of fruits and veggies—but there is this possibility hanging in the air that pesticides and hormones may have played a role.
It’s amazing if you think about it—we want greener grass and plumper chickens but at the price of our own health? Awareness is half the battle. Once I started paying attention to labels, it was clear that that there is an organic alternative to almost everything. But could I afford it?
It wasn’t feasible to think that my economic situation allowed for me to buy carrots for $2 more. How are you supposed to discern what organic foods to spend your hard earned cash on? And something else that worried me standing wide-eyed in the cereal aisle—why do only some labels have the “USDA Organic” stamp?
What I learned while trying to get acquainted with the term “organic” was not to be fooled by the presence of the word on packaging.
- If a label reads 100% Organic, all ingredients used must be organically grown and processed (besides water and salt)
- If it reads Organic, the product must consist of 95% organically grown and processed ingredients
- If a label reads “Contains Organic Ingredients” it only has to include 70% organically grown and produced ingredients
For full details regarding the USDA certifications go to: USDA FACT SHEET
This means that thousands of products that have the word “organic” on the label and cost twice as much are not even 100% organic. Do your research before you spend and let’s start looking for alternative ways to avoid pesticides and hormones in our foods.