Filed under: Gardening, News & Trends
Is it just a coincidence that organic foods seem to have the best-looking packaging? Photo: Massa Organics.
Today's word: Organic
Definition: You probably already know that organic food is all natural -- no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers for produce and no antibiotics or growth hormones for animal products. So single-ingredient foods like eggs or veggies are either organic or not, no middle ground there. But it's worth noting that for multi-ingredient foods, there are three USDA-approved levels of organic labels:
100% Organic: Just what it seems -- no secrets here, anything with this label is guaranteed to be completely organic.
Organic: If you don't see that trusty 100% before the word, that means your food is made of at least 95% organic ingredients.
Made With Organic Ingredients: Aha! This one seems like it'd be the one to fool you, right? But it's actually not bad at all. It just means that the food is made of 70% or more organic ingredients. Plus, even the non-organic 30% isn't allowed to include any genetically modified foods.
Not sure if you should make the commitment? Organic.org has a helpful list of reasons to go organic, but also the facts about why some organic food costs more and if it's actually more nutritious than non-organic food.
Verdict: Who are we to argue with a USDA seal? This one's the real deal.