“USDA Organic” gets misrepresented a lot. It doesn’t mean there are no pesticides. Hell, if a pest problem is bad enough the program has provisions for using the big-gun pesticides that conventional agriculture uses. You just have to go through a process of gradual ramp-up and have an approved plan to minimize crop contact.
As for it being a “marketing term”: Yes, but that doesn’t mean what most people think. It doesn’t mean that it’s the same product with a different package. It’s a marketing term in the same way as “Certified Humane” eggs are, or “Fair Trade” coffee, or “locally-grown”. The actual product you receive has no guaranteed difference in flavor or nutrition–which is what the OP quote is about–the difference is in how it was produced. I’m not advocating one way or the other, and I understand that there are other issues that Organic can be worse for like production density, some organic pesticides potentially being more harmful in some circumstances, etc. I’m just saying that it’s a term that actually means something and isn’t just an expensive advertising label.
There are provisions for how pesticides may be applied, sources of fertilizer, fertilizer application methods and frequency, a requirement that mechanical pest control be attempted before chemical methods, land management requirements, and many many more things. Here is a link to the actual regulations governing it. I highly recommend at least skimming it. I used to roll my eyes when I heard the term “Organic”, but it does actually tell you something meaningful about how the crops were produced, if that’s important to you.
I work in an industry where certified organic can be a big aspect of a product line… when it comes to pesticides, its simply a lower acceptable limit. They are still very much present, you just standardize your product’s specs to be within that acceptable limit, and you get to write organic on the label.
Can you clarify the certifying body you’re referring to when you say “certified organic”? My comment only pertains to the USDA Organic program, as that is the subject of the original post, and I linked the regulations which govern that program. Most of those regulations are not related to pesticide use and its residual levels.
From the regs document: "Beak trimming. The removal of not more than one-quarter to one-third of the upper beak or the removal of one-quarter to one-third of both the upper and lower beaks of a bird "
Gross. Makes me feel like going vegetarian was the right call.
“USDA Organic” gets misrepresented a lot. It doesn’t mean there are no pesticides. Hell, if a pest problem is bad enough the program has provisions for using the big-gun pesticides that conventional agriculture uses. You just have to go through a process of gradual ramp-up and have an approved plan to minimize crop contact.
As for it being a “marketing term”: Yes, but that doesn’t mean what most people think. It doesn’t mean that it’s the same product with a different package. It’s a marketing term in the same way as “Certified Humane” eggs are, or “Fair Trade” coffee, or “locally-grown”. The actual product you receive has no guaranteed difference in flavor or nutrition–which is what the OP quote is about–the difference is in how it was produced. I’m not advocating one way or the other, and I understand that there are other issues that Organic can be worse for like production density, some organic pesticides potentially being more harmful in some circumstances, etc. I’m just saying that it’s a term that actually means something and isn’t just an expensive advertising label.
There are provisions for how pesticides may be applied, sources of fertilizer, fertilizer application methods and frequency, a requirement that mechanical pest control be attempted before chemical methods, land management requirements, and many many more things. Here is a link to the actual regulations governing it. I highly recommend at least skimming it. I used to roll my eyes when I heard the term “Organic”, but it does actually tell you something meaningful about how the crops were produced, if that’s important to you.
I work in an industry where certified organic can be a big aspect of a product line… when it comes to pesticides, its simply a lower acceptable limit. They are still very much present, you just standardize your product’s specs to be within that acceptable limit, and you get to write organic on the label.
Can you clarify the certifying body you’re referring to when you say “certified organic”? My comment only pertains to the USDA Organic program, as that is the subject of the original post, and I linked the regulations which govern that program. Most of those regulations are not related to pesticide use and its residual levels.
I believe they mean cannabis.
From the regs document: "Beak trimming. The removal of not more than one-quarter to one-third of the upper beak or the removal of one-quarter to one-third of both the upper and lower beaks of a bird "
Gross. Makes me feel like going vegetarian was the right call.