The Good Human » Organic

What Does Organic Mean For The Goods You Buy?

david — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:30:11 +0000

Although it seems that every manufacturer and every store out there is starting to sell “organic” food, clothes, bedding, makeup, etc, what does organic mean? In 2002, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) became the agency in charge of organics in the United States with the National Organic Program, which regulates the standards for any “farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced”. And according to the NOP, for products to attain the “organic” label from the program, they must meet these conditions:

be produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations
organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones
organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation

However, there are different standards for foods and goods that have varying levels of “organic” to them. In order get the USDA Organic seal seen above, a product must be at least 95% organic. Granted, there can still be 5% non-organic materials in the goods, but 95% organic is a must. To be labeled 100% Organic, all ingredients must actually be 100% organic. Products with less than 70 % organic ingredients cannot label the entire product as organic, but rather can label individual ingredients that are organic on the side of the package.

Some things to keep in mind when buying food and products:

Natural does not mean organic and/or healthy
Free-range does not mean organic
Hormone-free does not mean organic
The word “organic” on something does not mean that everything in the product is actually organically grown
The use of the USDA seal is voluntary, so if you don’t see the seal, it does not mean a product is not organic

However, the USDA has determined that some ingredients used for growing organic foods/goods do not need to be necessarily “healthy” for any of us – chlorine, Copper sulfate, ozone gas, Peracetic acid, Plastic mulch, ammonium – the list goes on and on. If you want, you can read the whole long list right here.

So what does organic mean? It can be hard to conjure a definitive meaning, and that’s why key thing to keep in mind when shopping for organic food or products is to look for 100% or 95% organic labels, as anything less than that and you might be allowing a decent sized amount of chemicals into your food or goods. Also, be sure to look for the actual USDA labels, and if in doubt, be sure to read the entire list of ingredients on the side of the package. It can get pretty confusing, so being aware is half the battle. If in doubt, here is a helpful list of which foods you should be buying organic.

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Where To Find Organic Beer Options

david — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:00:32 +0000

Dear EarthTalk: I see more and more organic wines on store shelves these days, but what options are out there today for organic beer?

Some 80 million Americans drink beer, yet organic beer represents still only a sliver of the $7 billion U.S. craft beer market. But this sliver is quickly turning into a slice: Between 2003 and 2009, according to the Organic Trade Association, U.S. organic beer sales more than quadrupled from $9 million to $41 million.

According to Seven Bridges Cooperative, which has been selling organic brewing ingredients for a decade already, organic beers tend to feature exceptional clarity and a clean, flavorful taste. “On a more technical side, organic malts on average have a lower protein content which produces a clear mash and less haze problems in the finished beer,”reports Seven Bridges. “Organic malts and hops have no chemical residues to interfere with fermentation to give the organic brewer a clean, unadulterated beer.”

Seven Bridges mails you all the ingredients you need to brew your own organic beer at home, but most of us would rather just enjoy the finished product. Depending on where you live, you might have dozens of organic beer brands available in bottles and even on tap at your favorite watering hole.

One of the most visible is Fortuna, California-based Eel River Brewing Company, founded in 1996. Eel River has the distinction of being America’s first certified organic brewery. Their IPA, Pale Ale, Porter, Amber Ale, Blonde Ale, Old Ale and Imperial Stout are all crafted from organic hops from New Zealand and organic grains from the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

Butte Creek Brewery, established in 1998 in Chico, California, brews organic Pilsner, Porter, Pale Ale and India Pale Ale. Their award-winning beers are distributed internationally. Olympia, Washington-based Fish Tale Organic Ales has been brewing ales, porters and stouts to rave reviews since 1993, and introduced its first certified organic beer in 2000. And Otter Creek Brewery in Middlebury, Vermont produces a line of organic ales called Wolaver’s, which includes an Oatmeal Stout and a Pumpkin Ale.

The UK’s Samuel Smith Brewery turns out a full line of acclaimed organic ale, lager and fruit beers. Other popular choices include Pinkus Organic Munster Alt, Peak Organic, New Belgium’s Mothership Wit Wheat Beer, and Lakefront Organic ESB, among others. And Whole Foods Markets now produces its own private label organic beer called Lamar Street, which is known for its rich flavor and low cost.

Not surprisingly, even the big boys are beginning to jump in. Anheuser-Busch is pushing its Stone Mill, Wild Hops and Green Valley organic beers. And Miller’s Henry Weinhard’s Organic Amber, on store shelves since 2007, is brewed with local ingredients by the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, Oregon.

One way to sample dozens of organic beers at once is to attend the North American Organic Brewers Festival (NAOBF), held every June in Portland, Oregon. Whether you clue into organic beers at this event or just at your local pub you can’t go wrong by spreading your eco-consciousness to your beer drinking.

CONTACTS: Organic Trade Association, www.ota.com; Seven Bridges Cooperative, www.breworganic.com; Eel River Brewing, www.eelriverbrewing.com; Butte Creek Brewing,www.buttecreek.com; Fish Brewing, www.fishbrewing.com; NAOBF, www.naobf.org.

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What’s So Bad About Non-Organic Cotton?

david — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:30:13 +0000

Dear EarthTalk: I always thought cotton was eco-friendly, but I recently heard otherwise. What’s so bad about cotton? And where can I find organic cotton clothing?

There’s a lot “bad” about conventionally grown cotton – cotton grown with the aid of synthetic chemicals, that is. The Organic Trade Association (OTA), a nonprofit trade group representing America’s burgeoning organic cotton industry, considers cotton “the world’s dirtiest crop” due to its heavy use of insecticides. The nonprofit Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) reports that cotton uses 2.5 percent of the world’s cultivated land yet uses 16 percent of the world’s insecticides – more than any other single major crop.

Three of the most acutely hazardous insecticides, as determined by the World Health Organization, are well represented among the top 10 most commonly used in producing cotton. One of them, Aldicarb, “can kill a man with just one drop absorbed through the skin,” says OTA, “yet it is still used in 25 countries and the U.S., where 16 states have reported it in their groundwater.”

Conventionally grown cotton also uses large amounts of nitrogen-based synthetic fertilizer-almost a third of a pound, says the OTA, to grow one pound of raw cotton. To put that in perspective, it takes just under one pound of raw cotton to make one t-shirt. Researchers have found that the fertilizers used on cotton are the most detrimental to the environment, running off into freshwater habitats and groundwater and causing oxygen-free dead zones in water bodies. The nitrogen oxides formed during the production and use of these fertilizers are also a major part of the agricultural sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.

This is all true despite that the use of sprayed insecticides is quickly decreasing with the advent of genetically engineered cotton seeds that have insecticides bred right into them. A third of global cotton cropland and 45 percent of world cotton production now uses genetically engineered seeds. This poses a whole other set of issues, as some scientists fear that the proliferation of such “Frankenseeds” can lead to pest immunities and even the unleashing of so-called “super pests” that can resist virtually any pesticide.

Organic cotton farming eschews synthetic chemicals (as well as genetically engineered seed) in favor of time-tested natural alternatives that ward off pests, replenish and maintain soil fertility and generally optimize growing conditions without compromising the environment or our health. “Composted manures and cover crops replace synthetic fertilizers; innovative weeding strategies are used instead of herbicides; beneficial insects and trap crops control insect pests; and alternatives to toxic defoliants prepare plants for harvest,” says the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP), a nonprofit that helps cotton farmers in California’s Central Valley discover the economic, environmental and health benefits of avoiding synthetic chemicals.

For consumers able to pay a little more, there are now thousands of organic cotton retailers. The OTA reports that American farmers increased plantings of organic cotton by 26 percent in 2009 over 2008, while sales of organic cotton fiber grew 10.4 percent (to $521 million) during the same time. The OTA’s Organic Pages Online lists vendors (and links to their websites) by product type; many sell online as well as through retail chains. Even some big box stores now offer organic cotton items. So keep your eyes peeled and be a part of the solution by opting for organic cotton next time you stock up your drawers.

CONTACTS: OTA, www.ota.com; EJF, www.ejfoundation.org; SCP, www.sustainablecotton.org.

Photo by KopfjÃ¤ger

How To Deal With Bugs…Organically, Of Course!

david — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:30:56 +0000

Today’s post is by my friend John Hamilton Farr, who blogs at FarrFeed and shows the real New Mexico at FotoFeed

How To Deal With Bugs…

Organically, Of Course! Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading, right?

The year was 1970. I was off to help some friends in central New Hampshire build a couple of log cabins on a mountaintop they’d bought. What’s more, they planned to accomplish this without power tools or motorized equipment, using draft horses to haul the logs. Back-to-the-landers, oh yeah.

But In the context of the war in Vietnam, the bombing of Cambodia, the Kent State murders, and the cultural transformation then sweeping Western societies, this was more than “living green” — the system had it in for us in no uncertain terms, which meant that living a simple, natural life in the deep New England woods was both a logical survival strategy and a revolutionary statement. The whole adventure is worthy of a book (I’m writing one, in fact), even though it ultimately foundered in a physical sense. The spiritual wisdom gained through the chaos of the time still lives, however, tucked away though it may have been over the sterile intervening decades, and it may be time to pull it out again.

The episode that comes to mind is one involving bugs, believe it or not. Mosquitos, to be exact. The wet New Hampshire forest bred them in the billions like a holy mission, and they attacked me mercilessly at first. I tried everything in the drugstore arsenal of the day, but nothing worked, and it was impossible to get anything done while swatting constantly. Belatedly, I noticed that my host appeared unbothered and unbitten. Why, he wasn’t even wearing a hat!

Upon questioning, he told me something disarmingly simple that hardly anyone I’ve mentioned this to for almost 40 years has seconded: the mosquitos, he said, recognized emotions such as fear or hostile intent and acted accordingly. All I had to do, he assured me, was think peaceful thoughts and leave them alone! That’s it. That’s all there is to it, or was: I did as he instructed, despite the high-pitched buzzing all around my face, making sure not to pre-emptively slap the few mosquitos that actually landed on my skin. The change may not have been instantaneous, but before too long, I found myself at peace again, with no new bites. (Whoa!)

Now, on the surface, this is just a funny story. It may be something you believe, or don’t, and I have to admit that I haven’t practiced as I preach for much too long. The fact remains, though, that once I changed my inner orientation to the creatures, everything shifted… It’s kind of like another thing that often happens when I want to kill a pesky buzzing fly: pick up the swatter, and he disappears! I’ll bet you’ve noticed something similar once or twice, smirked at the ironic absurdity of it all, and gone your way without processing the broader implications. We all do, probably because the truth demands too much responsibility of us: “What, you mean I have to watch my thoughts?”

Well, yes.

Everything is connected in ways we don’t automatically accept because it can’t be measured (yet). But who wants to be the last to catch the clue train? Unfortunately, living a materially simple life in harmony with nature in America is still a revolutionary act. I haven’t managed it myself yet, but maybe we can say intention matters at least a little bit…

(Just ask the unofficial state bird of New Hampshire!)