Organic Labeling Usda

Eat Organic

If you’d really like to go organic, but are not too sure you can afford it on a consistent basis, you should look around for the best deals you can get on organic farm products.  Organic food is not always a lot more expensive, you just need to look in the right places.  With the growing number of people who buy organic food, options are also becoming more and more available.

Organic products are now available at several of the major grocery chains, even warehouse operations are starting to offer more organic produce.  Look for the “USDA Organic” label for organic foods that are USDA standards compliant.  Make sure it’s the USDA Organic label, and not just the “USDA” label.  While organic foods will always be more expensive, the price difference at places like Wal-Mart and Costco is not too staggering, and your food bill may still fit your budget.

 While there are small local organic grocery stores, their prices for organic food are typically quite significantly more expensive.  In some areas though, there are Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market outlets that offer much better deals.  Because they are organic chains, these stores offer endless organic options at great prices.  At some Whole Foods Markets, you can even get bulk discounts.

Another way to save money is by buying fruits and vegetables in season.  The reason organic food is more expensive is that it is more difficult to grow.  It is particularly difficult to grow out of season.  Planning your monthly home menu around in season fruits and vegetables can save you a lot of money.  When it comes to fruits and vegetables, never get more than you can consume in a few days.  Another drawback of organic food, is that it doesn’t keep as well; this is because no preservatives are used.  When you find organic meat at a bargain price, you can stock up, just make sure you don’t get more than you can fit into your freezer.

If you don’t have a house full of finicky eaters, and you don’t have a problem with learning how to cook many different dishes, you can get a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) membership.  It’s a lot like getting a magazine subscription, for a certain amount, you will receive regular deliveries of in season fruits and vegetables.  Like a magazine where you don’t get to pick what articles you get, you won’t get to pick the produce you get either. 

Another great source of organic food is farmer’s markets.  The prices can be prohibitive, but if you wait till closing hours to do your marketing, you’ll find that many farmers drop their prices significantly.  You might also consider growing your own food, you can start with cherry tomatoes and herbs, then work your way up to more complex foods later.  When it comes to getting affordable organic food, the key to success is being resourceful and patient.  Going organic does entail certain sacrifices, and you should be prepared to make them.

are all foods labeled organic actually organic?

one of my classmates said that to be certified organic, all a farm needs is one of their crops to be organic, and once a farm is certified then they can put a USDA organic label on all of their produce regardless of whether or not that particular produce is actually organic.

Your friend is incorrect. The organic food must be grown on certified organic land. I know of several farmers who have some land certified organic, some land in transition to organic and some land conventionally farmed. Only the food grown on the certified organic land can be sold as organic.

it is against federal law to put the sticker on product grown on your land but grown on the conventional or transitional land and the USDA and state Dept of Agriculture do check on such things and will decertify a farm if they find this is happening.

And how do they know? For one on your application for organic certification you have to write down all the crops that are to be planted on that certified organic land. So if Farmer A says they will be growing green beans on the certified land and corn on the rest and than starts selling certified organic corn, the authorities will know because the wrong crop from that is being sold as organic.

They keep a pretty tight ship with certified organic, though it is not perfect but this crap with putting USDA stickers on non organic food does not happen very often and mainly happens at the point of sale by ignorant stock people, so is out of the farmer’s hands if it does happen. Most farmers realize to pull that kind of thing is really risky to their farm business0they would not just lose certification but would also lose contracts and markets.

USDA Organic Certification Guidelines

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