What does the USDA Organic seal mean?

Seeing the USDA organic symbol on food products shows that the food has passed the rigorous qualifications set by the USDA. Businesses must pass strict certification inspections in order to be approved by the USDA.

 

What does organic really mean?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), regulates all food sold in this country that claims to be Organic. Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced according to the USDA organic standards.

Organic foods start with organic farms. Instead of using synthetic pesticides and artificial hormones, farmers work with nature to allow the soil, crops, pasture, and products to flourish and reach their full potential, organically. Organic farmers focus on building healthy soil, and utilize crop rotation, cover crops, and natural resources like compost or manure to enrich the land they farm on. This approach to farming increases biodiversity and future farm health, while also decreasing the environmental impact.

The USDA National Organic Program regulates all organic crops, livestock and agricultural products certified to the USDA organic standards. USDA also conducts oversight of organic certification, compliance and enforcement activities, and product labeling. To sell, label or represent their products as organic, organic farms and businesses must follow all of the specifications set out by the USDA organic regulations.

 

How are organic farms verified? 

The USDA conducts on-site inspections to verify that farmers are following their organic system plan to minimize the risk of unintentional exposure to GMOs or prohibited substances. Additionally, certifying agents conduct residue testing to determine if these preventive practices are adequate to avoid contact with substances such as prohibited pesticides, antibiotics and GMOs. 

 When you see the USDA Organic seal, it is a guarantee that your food is not made with artificial flavors or preservatives, toxic persistent pesticides, artificial hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

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What are GMOs?

GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms. This refers to a plant, animal, or organism whose genetic makeup has been altered in a laboratory in a way that wouldn’t happen in nature. 

GMOs are leading to an increase in the use of toxic persistent pesticides. Most GMO crops grown worldwide have been engineered for herbicide tolerance (when a plant can survive a herbicide application that would kill a normal plant.)  As a result, the use of toxic herbicides, such as Roundup®, has increased since GMOs were first introduced. That means more pesticides are in the air, water, soil and therefore food. This is a huge threat to our own health and ecosystems.

The USDA requires organic farms and products to be made without GMOs. 

 

Why it matters: The health effects of pesticide exposure

The World Health Organization says Glyphosate—the most commonly-used conventional pesticide, a.k.a., RoundUp—is probably cancer-causing. The 2008-2009 President’s Cancer Panel recommends eating food grown without pesticides to help decrease the risk of contracting cancer. The adverse health effects of toxic persistent pesticides may be largely avoidable by eating an organic diet. 

 

Is Natural the same as organic? 

No, natural is not the same as organic.

While some products make claims that they are “all natural” or “natural”, there are no standards or regulations for labeling a food as “natural”.