
What does “Organic” REALLY mean?
Discerning shoppers wander the grocery aisles seeking the best quality for themselves and their family.
From produce to products, the “organic” and “certified organic” labels continue to expand as consumers gravitate toward what they believe are healthier and better options.
But what does the label actually mean? What are the real qualifications, and what are the implications to the quality, to your health and to the well-being of our planet and environment?
The Birth of “Certified Organic”
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) controls the certification of all organic products, foods, and farms within the United States.1 In order for a farm to label its crops organic it must be certified through the USDA.
But what does “certified” organic actually mean?
Before 1990 there were no regulations for farms and food producers to declare their products as “organic” - anyone could slap the label on their crops and products. The term “organic” had no standardized meaning.
Simply put:
The USDA defines the goal of organic agriculture as a method of agriculture or food production that focuses on the health of both the environment and the consumer by using practices with minimal environmental impact and no synthetic inputs.5
What is “Allowed” in Organic Farming Practices?
Modern industrial farming involves the use of a lot of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers as well as genetically modified crops. These agricultural processes degrade the earth, leaving behind a lot of pollutants and draining the soil of its nutrients.
Organic farming seeks to do the opposite by removing the reliance on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and bringing farming back to its natural roots.
Organic farming has a simple mission: focusing on the health of people, animals, and local ecosystems.6
PESTICIDES
When consumers think “organic”, usually the first thought is pesticide-free. Many consumers are drawn to organic products as they are aware of how harmful pesticides can be for human and environmental health.
In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring in response to the widespread use of the pesticide DDT.8 DDT didn’t target one type of pest but instead killed a range of hundreds of insects, birds and animals with no discrimination.
Carson used a science-backed approach to her writing and in doing so brought the dangers of pesticides to the attention of the public and governing bodies. This eventually led to the banning of DDT and more stringent pesticide regulation.
While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USDA have worked to reduce the use of pesticides, the US still has over 900 approved pesticides, including 85 of which have been banned in other countries.9
Organic agriculture, however, has a much smaller list of approved, natural pesticides- some of which are harmful for healthy soil. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances is a comprehensive list of what can and cannot be used in organic agriculture and food production.10
While the mission is to remove synthetic products from agriculture, there are indeed some synthetic products on the organic approved list. These products have been extensively studied to ensure they are not harmful to humans or the environment and that there are no suitable non-synthetic alternative options.
FERTILIZERS
Fertilizers have been much less controversial than pesticides, though they can be equally as damaging to the environment. Synthetic fertilizers are usually broken down into a couple concentrated chemical components (such as phosphorus and nitrogen).11 Because there is less organic matter, plants are able to utilize these fertilizers almost immediately.
The problem with inorganic fertilizers is that they cause dangerously high nutrient loads in the environment.12 This process, called eutrophication, happens when the fertilizer runs off the farm due to watering, rains etc. and ends up in natural bodies of water.
These high nutrient loads cause harmful algae blooms, which create large-scale fish kills and dead zones in the waterways by removing available oxygen.
Organic fertilizers, on the other hand, are much less damaging. These fertilizers include a variety of natural products such as manures, bone meal and worm castings.
Organic fertilizers take longer to be available to plants as they do need to be broken down by the soil’s microorganisms first.13 However in doing so they improve soil health by improving the soil’s ability to hold water as well as improving the structure of the soil itself.
In addition to organic alternatives for pesticides and fertilizers, organic agriculture encourages other natural farming methods such as the use of cover crops.
What is Regenerative Agriculture? (and How Does it Differ From Organic?)
Regenerative agriculture is considered to be farming “in harmony with nature.”16 This approach to agriculture considers how everything (including the local environment) is interconnected.
At its core it doesn’t actually differ that much from certified organic agriculture.
Much like certified organic agriculture, regenerative agriculture seeks to reduce synthetic additives and focus on the health of the soil and surrounding ecosystem.
The biggest difference with regenerative agriculture is a heavy focus on no-till practices.
TILLING VS. NO-TILL
For centuries plowing and/or tilling soil has been a common practice with farmers to prepare the soil for new crops. It’s a means to break up hard packed soil, provide aeration, add fertilizer and organic matter back into the soil, and a method with which to kill weeds.17
However over time, tilling can be quite damaging to the soil health.
A lot of farms like Cedar Meadow Farm have begun practicing no-till farming methods.
Regenerative agriculture also differs from certified organic in that, while farmers gravitate more towards natural and organic methods, some synthetic additives may be used as needed.
So, Which is Better?
Farmer Steve Groff’s grandma started farming her produce using the organic methods of the Rodale Institute. Nowadays, the family farm at Cedar Meadow Farm practices sustainable, regenerative agricultural practices.
So, which is best - Certified organic or regenerative agriculture? The answer is: both! They both have their benefits; they are simply just different methods of holistic farming.
Both methods focus on reducing environmental impacts as well as bringing the consumer the best produce available.
It’s up to the farmer and the consumer to determine which is best for their needs... and which best aligns with their personal philosophies.
Sources
- Gold, Mary V. “Organic Production/Organic Food: Information Access Tools.” Natural Agricultural Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 2007, www.nal.usda.gov/legacy/afsic/organic-productionorganic-food-information-access-tools.
- Senate - Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. “Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990.” Congress, 28 Nov 1990, https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/senate-bill/2830.
- Environmental Protection Agency. “Organic Farming.” US EPA, 4 Feb. 2022, www.epa.gov/agriculture/organic-farming.
- Gold, Mary V. “Organic Production/Organic Food: Information Access Tools.” Natural Agricultural Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 2007, www.nal.usda.gov/legacy/afsic/organic-productionorganic-food-information-access-tools.
- YouMatter. “What Is Organic Farming? Definition, Standards and Examples.” YouMatter, 5 Feb. 2019, youmatter.world/en/definition/organic-farming-definition-standards-benefits.
- Soil Association. “What Is Organic?” Soil Association, www.soilassociation.org/take-action/organic-living/what-is-organic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.
- “Pesticides and Human Health.” Californians For Pesticide Reform, www.pesticidereform.org/pesticides-human-health. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.
- “The Story of Silent Spring.” NRDC, 13 Aug. 2015, www.nrdc.org/stories/story-silent-spring.
- Donley, Nathan. “The USA Lags Behind Other Agricultural Nations in Banning Harmful Pesticides.” Environmental Health, vol. 18, no. 1, 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-019-0488-0.
- “The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.” National Archives: Code of Federal Regulations, 23 Mar. 2022, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-205/subpart-G.
- Pokorny, Kym. “Here’s the Scoop on Chemical and Organic Fertilizers.” OSU Extension Service, Oregon State University, Mar. 2015, extension.oregonstate.edu/news/heres-scoop-chemical-organic-fertilizers.
- “What Is Eutrophication?” National Ocean Service: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of COmmerce, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.
- Pokorny, Kym. “Here’s the Scoop on Chemical and Organic Fertilizers.” OSU Extension Service, Oregon State University, Mar. 2015, extension.oregonstate.edu/news/heres-scoop-chemical-organic-fertilizers.
- “Cover Crops.” Rodale Institute, 12 Oct. 2018, rodaleinstitute.org/why-organic/organic-farming-practices/cover-crops.
- Clark, Andy. “Cover Crops for Sustainable Crop Rotations.” SARE, 2015, www.sare.org/resources/cover-crops.
- NRDC. “Regenerative Agriculture 101.” NRDC, 29 Nov. 2021, www.nrdc.org/stories/regenerative-agriculture-101.
- “Tillage and Cultivation.” Oregon State University: College of Agricultural Sciences, 13 Mar. 2019, agsci.oregonstate.edu/mes/sustainable-onion-production/tillage-and-cultivation.
- Al-Kaisi, Mahdi, et al. “Frequent Tillage and Its Impact on Soil Quality.” Iowa State University: Extension and Outreach, 28 June 2004, crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/frequent-tillage-and-its-impact-soil-quality.
- Spears, Stefanie. “What Is No-Till Farming?” Regeneration International, 15 Oct. 2018, regenerationinternational.org/2018/06/24/no-till-farming.
- Spears, Stefanie. “What Is No-Till Farming?” Regeneration International, 15 Oct. 2018, regenerationinternational.org/2018/06/24/no-till-farming.