I’ve heard it just means they don’t use pesticides but is there more than that? I’ve always had a very negative opinion of “organic” foods since there are no real standards or anything. It seems more like an excuse to raise the prices while giving you less product.
We actually just discussed this in my Econ class.
Organic produce has guidelines as to what can be labeled organic. You have to pay for organic certification and have an inspection, I believe yearly. Because they aren’t allowed to use chemicals traditional farmers use their yield is less and have longer grow times and higher labor costs. Therefore higher prices.
As a nutrition and wellness major I believe if there is any difference nutritionally it’s minimal. There are no clinical studies I found when looking into all this a few weeks ago that prove one is superior over the other.
I’d also would rather a client or patient choose to eat more produce that are non organic than less produce and more processed foods because they think they need to eat organic but can’t purchase the same quantity because the cost.
There are very clear standards published by the USDA. You literally cannot get an Organic certification on a product without providing a certifying body with a stack of paperwork basically outlining every detail of your farming practices. Natural pesticides are used, synthetic pesticides are not.
Organic (as is many other certifications) is absolutely a marketing ploy & a cash grab that has negligible if any benefits (sustainability or nutritionally) on the end product. But the standards outlined by the governing body are absolutely followed to a T.