Week of JUNE 9:   NUTRITION BITE 

          ORGANIC

You've been told it's eat organic if possible. What does that mean? And why? Organic is healthier right? Well, yes and no, depending on what you mean by healthier. If you look at vitamin levels, some organic foods may have more, same, or even less their non-organic counterparts.  So it may not necessarily be healthier in that sense. And come on, does organic candy or waffle cones equate to healthier? Like many commonly thrown around terms, the food industry has taken advantage of the word organic.

Organic in its purest sense means “carbon containing.” Organic farming was more of a philosophy of growing food that was more close-to-nature and soil and environment conscious. But now, when one uses the term organic in terms of food, he/she is most likely referring to “certified organic”. This means at least 4 things by definition: 1) It is non-GMO  2) There was no sewage/sludge in its production 3) The food was not treated with radiation.  4) It is free from most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.   Yes, I said most, not all, since there may still be some residues blown in from neighboring farms.
Note that a food bearing the above seal may not actually be 100% organic, but will be at least 95% organic. What? Confusing? I agree. See the third resource below for how organic can be used on labels. 

RESOURCE:
  1)The documentary "In Organic We Trust" - the controversial story behind the term organic 

  2) http://www.ccof.org/organic - California Certification of Organic Farmers
  3) http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-201