Be Careful While
Choosing Organic Food
April 19, 2005
Organic food has many advantages.
To recount just a few: Organic food tastes great, it
reduces health risks, and organic products meet stringent
standards. Organic farming respects our water sources
and organic farmers work in harmony with nature.
As more and more consumers are demanding foods that
are farmed without synthetic chemicals, the organic
food industry is growing from strength to strength.
Australia leads the way in organic farming, with 12.5
million hectares of certified farming area, which equals
about 45 percent of the world's organically farmed land.
The industry is currently valued at $300 million dollars
and is expected to grow by up to 25 percent this year
alone.
Do you know what organic farming is?
Organic farming means farming without relying on synthetic
chemicals. The farmer uses only natural fertilisers
and rather than using synthetic pesticides to kill pests,
farmers prevent pests by planting a biodiverse range
of crops, by rotations, and using natural biological
and environment friendly sprays. This means no artificial
pesticides, no herbicides, no hormones and no growth
promotants or food irradiation. Organics also prohibits
the use of GMOs - or genetically modified foods.
Learn to identify Organic Products
You can identify Organic products by reading the label.
The label should certify that the product is organic,
also Look for the logo and name of one of the accredited
organic certifiers. If it is not certified you cannot
be sure that the product is organic.
There are are two levels or categories of organic
foods: Certified Organic and Certified in conversion.
Certified organic or Level A, means a farm has fully
converted to organic farming, usually for a minimum
of three years - inspected and regulated by the certifier.
Certified in conversion means a farm which practises
to the same standard as level A, but has perhaps only
been doing that for a year or two.
Organic food costs more than conventional
food Extra costs are incurred because organic
farming can be more labour intensive, weeding by hand,
using crop rotation, tillage, cover crops and mulches
to control weeds. For a product to be fully organic
the supply chain has to be certified organic, this could
mean storage, transportation, abators, wholesalers,
processors, factories even some retailers.
Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au
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