Define the term “organic” as it pertains to food
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(Information from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255)
When you use the word “organic” as it pertains to food, you label food as being grown and processed in a specific agricultural way as to conserve water and soil while also reducing the amount of pollution emitted. Organic products are grown without the use of pesticide toxins or other chemicals that are commonly used in conventional farming methods and are harmful for the environment. Foods may be organic when they are grown to maintain an ecological balance and to conserve biodiversity. For growing organic crops, farmers use green-friendly methods of eliminating pests, weeds, and disease such as crop rotation, cover crops, beneficial insects, and compost wastes.
Crop rotation replenishes the soil with nutrients from various plants, while shifting away from a monocropping farm. Since the type of grown is changed so often, many harmful insects cannot settle because their habitats are constantly destroyed. Cover cropping occurs when organic matter is plowed under the soil, and protects the soil by preventing weed growth and by aerating soil, making it possible to support beneficial organisms in the soil that help it fertilize and grow healthily. Eco-friendly methods like these allow food to be categorized as organic.
Livestock is considered organic when it is provided with fresh air, clean water, proper housing, outdoor access, and 100% organic feed. (Principles of Organic Farming). Animals that use antibiotic treatment, growth hormones, or have animal by-products in their feed aren’t completely natural and therefore, cannot be organic.
The National Organic Standards Board categorizes food as organic when they consider the effect on human health, the effect on the farm eco-system, toxicity and mode of action, availability of gentler alternatives, the probability of environmental contamination during manufacture use and disposal, the potential for interactions with other materials used, and the overall compatibility with a system of sustainable agriculture.
Crop rotation replenishes the soil with nutrients from various plants, while shifting away from a monocropping farm. Since the type of grown is changed so often, many harmful insects cannot settle because their habitats are constantly destroyed. Cover cropping occurs when organic matter is plowed under the soil, and protects the soil by preventing weed growth and by aerating soil, making it possible to support beneficial organisms in the soil that help it fertilize and grow healthily. Eco-friendly methods like these allow food to be categorized as organic.
Livestock is considered organic when it is provided with fresh air, clean water, proper housing, outdoor access, and 100% organic feed. (Principles of Organic Farming). Animals that use antibiotic treatment, growth hormones, or have animal by-products in their feed aren’t completely natural and therefore, cannot be organic.
The National Organic Standards Board categorizes food as organic when they consider the effect on human health, the effect on the farm eco-system, toxicity and mode of action, availability of gentler alternatives, the probability of environmental contamination during manufacture use and disposal, the potential for interactions with other materials used, and the overall compatibility with a system of sustainable agriculture.