During the nineties the fastest growing segment of United States agriculture was organic farming. In 2005 the estimated value of organic food sales was over twenty billion dollars. And the Food Marketing Institute found that more than half of Americans now buy organic food at least once a month. So why exactly is organic food gaining in popularity? First you need to consider what is organic food and along with this the history and purpose behind organic foods. Once you learn what is organic food you will like also need to learn the pros and cons of choosing organic and how to tell if you are buying organic.

What Is Organic Food?

It wasn’t until December 2000 that the National Organic Standards Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture started a national standard to define the term organic. This helped with the definition of what is organic food and the definition ended up being more about how it can be made rather than how it can’t. Organic food must be produced with fewer fertilizers, most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetic engineering, growth hormones, irradiation and antibiotics. There are several products in the agriculture business that can be grown organically including produce, grains, meat, dairy, eggs and processed food products.

However, it is important that when you consider what is organic food you don’t confuse the terms natural and organic. There currently is no legal definition for natural food. Although the term natural food can be used to mean food that is minimally processed and is preservative-free. Not all natural foods are organic and only organic labeled foods meet the official USDA organic standards.

How Do You Know It Is Organic?

The first clue would be looking for the organic label on vegetables or fruit, this can be easy in some supermarkets since they have a sign above the display saying organic produce. You may also find the term organic on a package of meat, a carton of milk or eggs, cheese and other foods that have only one ingredient. If food is labeled “100 percent organic” then it must have only organic ingredients according to the legal standards. Anything with at least 70 percent organic ingredients has to be labeled “made with organic ingredients”. A simple organic label means an item has at least 95 percent organic ingredients by weight or fluid volume without water and salt.

There is a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars for anyone who knowingly sells or labels a product organic without it matching the regulations. Those grown and processed according to federal standards will usually have the label “USDA Organic”, but it is a voluntary label that some companies may not choose to display. A “Transitional” label is rare but it means that a farmer produced it during a three-year conversion period in which they were changing from conventional to organic.

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