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It's one thing to use organic products, but it's another to know exactly what the designation of "certified organic" actually means. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Organic Program "regulates the standards for any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced." When a product bears this "certified organic" label, it ensures that a consumer knows the products purchased are grown and processed according to these regulations.
For any farmer to run an organic operation, whether it's raising livestock, dairy cows or growing fruits and vegetables, this isn't something they can do overnight. In 2000, the USDA published final organic standards and began to implement those rules in late 2002. Catherine Greene, senior agricultural economist with the USDA's Economic Research Service, explained: "All growers and processors who wanted to label their products organic had to become third-party certified by a USDA-accredited certifier by October 2002. Those USDA-accredited certifiers must be accredited by the department that they were capable of certifying growers to the new, extremely extensive USDA organic standards."
The largest category of organic food sales is still fresh fruits and vegetables, and in 2006, it accounted for a little more than 40% of total organic food sales, stated Greene. The Nutrition Business Journal estimated that, based on the Organic Trade Association's 2006 Manufacturer Survey, the $13.8 billion in consumer sales of organic foods in 2005 represented 2.5% of total U.S. food sales, a "penetration rate" that has grown from 0.8% in 1997. Organic foods have shown fairly consistent annual growth rates of 15% to 21% since 1997.
"The industry feeling as a whole is that the USDA standards have definitely had a positive impact on the market," Greene added. Part of the rule states that products comprising virtually all organic ingredients could be labeled USDA organic, meaning that to qualify, products must have at least 95% organic ingredients, and the 5% exception is held for certain ingredients like salt.
For animal products, such as meat, poultry, milk, cheese, etc., to be considered organic, the animals must be given 100% organic feed, which costs anywhere between two and four times more than regular feed, Greene explained. It's mandatory that animals have access to the outdoors and pastures that are 100% organic as well, which is defined as providing for the natural and nutritional behavioral needs of the animal.
For a farm to be considered organic, pesticides or prohibitive substances cannot be used for three years, a period chosen by the USDA. According to their standards, "When testing indicates that an agricultural product to be sold or labeled as organically produced contains residues of prohibited substances, certifying agents will compare the level of detected residues with 5% of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tolerance for the specific residue detected on the agricultural product intended to be sold as organically produced. This compliance measure - 5% of EPA tolerance for the detected prohibited residue - will serve as a standard for the administrator, NOP's governing state officials and certifying agents to assist in monitoring for illegal use violations." However, if a farm sprays pesticides on a certain crop, such as corn, the corn wouldn't be certified organic, but buffers can be set up between the conventionally produced corn and other crops or operations, and have a certified organic operation on another part of the farm.
Greene explained that there's quite a bit of entry and exit into the organic market, especially with small startup farms where a farmer may find that it's too hard to find markets for their organic food, prices weren't what was expected or the production system was more difficult.
There's no doubt that organic farming requires a lot of work. But for those producers that succeed, they're relying less and less on nonrenewable resources and using biological pest management, eliminating hormones and antibiotics in crops and livestock, and cashing in on a growing market, not to mention creating a better product.
Consumers Confuse Natural and Organic
Consumers appear confused. When asked to identify characteristics of natural and organic foods, many consumers inaccurately attributed the characteristics of organic foods to natural foods. Furthermore, not all consumers are aware of the regulations required for foods to be labeled organic. An American Express and Technomic, Inc. survey revealed the following results:
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| Pesticide Free |
69% |
| No preservatives or artificial coloring |
64% |
| Hormone free |
62% |
| Unprocessed |
50% |
| Minimally processed |
35% |
| USDA Certified |
25% |
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| No preservatives or artificial coloring |
65% |
| Pesticide free* |
51% |
| Unprocessed* |
49% |
| Hormone free* |
48% |
| Minimally processed |
41% |
| USDA Certified |
30% |
| *Not always a characteristic of natural foods. |
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Going Green 
