What Does Organic Mean?
Products that are labelled with the Canada Organic logo is certified by a CFIA-accredited certification body. The logo certifies that the product contains at least 95% organic content. For products that aren’t entirely organic (less than 95%), they can’t sport the organic logo or claim to be organic. Multi-ingredient products with 70-95% organic content may state: “contains x% organic ingredients.” For products with less than 70% organic content, manufacturers can only list the organic contents in the product’s ingredient list. As for products that are certified organic by the USDA, most of these products are also approved to be organic by the CFIA.
For fruits and vegetables to be considered as organic, the crops must be grown in a safe soil without any modifications and synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes or fertilizers. Organic crop must also remain separate from conventional crops. There are also organic labelled meats which are regulated by a CFIA certification body. The animals must be fed with 100% organic feed that contains no animal by-products, antibiotics, supplements, growth hormones or GMOs. In addition, the animals are to have access to the outdoors.
Why Eat Organic?
Although organic foods can be more expensive than conventional food there are many benefits to eating organic. Organic fruits and vegetables contain an estimated 20 to 40 percent more antioxidants than non-organic fruits and vegetables. This higher antioxidant level may decrease the risk of diseases such as cancer, stroke and other heart diseases. Furthermore, organic produce have less traces of pesticide residue. Pesticides are composed of many harmful chemicals, with organophosphorus being one of them. Organophosphorus has been connected to developmental problems, including autism and ADHD. So, by eating organic foods, you can reduce the level of pesticides in your body!
There are also environmental benefits that come with choosing organic. By reducing the use of harmful chemicals, the production of organic crops promotes long-term soil fertility and maintains our ecosystem! The toxic residues used for conventional farming are passed on to insects and animals down the food chain, building the level of toxins in these animals and harming them.
It’s hard to pay the premium and buy organic for everything we eat but there are some foods that are more worth buying organic than others – also known as the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen are fruits and vegetables that have the most traces of pesticide and therefore it is encouraged that you purchase these produce as organic. On the other hand, the Clean Fifteen are fruits and vegetables that have the least traces of pesticide and you can get away with not buying these produce as organic.
A quick trick to identify if produce is conventional or organic, is to take a look at the PLU (price look up) sticker. Most PLU stickers are composed of 4 digits but any 5-digit number that starts with a 9 marks the produce as organic.
Organic foods have more health benefits than most conventional foods and they also have a positive effect on the environment. Although you will not immediately see detrimental effects on your health and the environment, in the long term purchasing organic products will promote a better future for humans and for the earth. Remember, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”