Conventional vs. organic foods 

Continued from our previous article organic foods truth

... such a definition does not, however, lend itself to being reduced to a label that can be put on products to show that they were produced organically.

Without specific standards that could be encapsulated in a label, consumers were often unsure what the various "organic" labels used by different associations and producers really meant and the arguments of conventional vs. organic foods.

In 1990, the U.S. Congress decided to clear up the confusion by authorizing the Department of Agriculture to establish legally enforceable "USDA Organic" standards and a certification scheme so that consumers could be confident that their food really had been produced in accordance with the standards.

That led, in 2002, to a set of standards that most people in organic farming considered a reasonable compromise among the various views of what organic farming is all about.

Crops must be grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, and most synthetic pesticides and all herbicides are also banned, although biological and botanical methods of control can be used.

Soil fertility is to be maintained by the use of animal and plant waste (but not sewage sludge, which can contain toxic heavy metals), crop rotation, and growing "cover crops" like clover between other crops.

(Cover crops are plowed into the soil to restore nitrogen and organic matter.)

Animals used for meat, eggs, or milk must eat organic grains or other organic food and must not be given growth hormones or antibiotics. (Sick or injured animals may be treated with antibiotics, but then their meat, milk, or eggs cannot be sold as organic.) Organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors, including access to pasture for ruminants.

Neither plants nor animals can be the product of genetic engineering, and organic food cannot be irradiated.

Reprinted from: The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason © 2006 Peter Singer and Jim Mason. (May 2006; $25.95US/$34.95CAN; 1-57954-889-X) Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.

Further reading

Living An Organic Lifestyle

More Organic Food Articles

About the Author

Peter Singer is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University's Center for Human Values. In 2005, Time magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Jim Mason is the coauthor of Animal Factories (with Peter Singer) and the author of An Unnatural Order: Why We Are Destroying the Planet and Each Other.

News and Conventional vs. organic foods info

 NYT > Organic Food
News about organic food, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

An Advocate for Science Diplomacy
Nina V. Fedoroff is science adviser to the secretary of state and contends that genetically modified foods help the environment.
No ?Yucks? Allowed
HealthBarn USA is a nutritional program for children and families at Abma?s Farm and Market in Wyckoff.
Niche Farming Offers Way Back to the Land
Starting a small farm can pay rich dividends, especially if the farm produces niche foods like artisanal cheeses or truffles. But don?t quit your day job.
Whole Foods Looks for a Fresh Image in Lean Times
Whole Foods Market is on a mission to revise its gold-plated image, working to convince consumers that it can be an economical place to shop.
Farmer Deals With Drop in Business and Credibility
Organizers of nine farmers? markets in New York City took the rare step of suspending a farmer for selling meat he did not raise on his farm.

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