Organic, yeah right!

So, I did a little research last week on my driscol ORGANIC raspberries. I called and asked the difference between non organic and organic.

"with organic we use a blower to get bugs off, if there are bugs (depending on the season) that wont come off with the blower we use the 'approved' organic pesticides.

SO, you're telling me that IM STILL EATING PESTICIDES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"When people are buying organic food, they often make the incorrect assumption that there are no pesticides. It's true that organic production often uses fewer dangerous chemicals, but certain pesticides are allowed" Jeff Gillman

Thankfully there is an official list of approved pesticides.

This makes me wonder why I even buy organic.

Here is a great blog article: Organic Pesticides: Not An Oxymoron

Verified

"consumers in North America should have access to clearly-labeled non-GMO food and products, now and in the future."

Whole Foods has joined with the Non-GMO project verified seal. They have started labeling foods that are GMO free. This is a third party who tests and validates the product at GMO free. There are GMO free labels but they have not been tested by a third party which gives them more credibility.

'What does “Non-GMO Project Verified seal” mean?
The verification seal indicates that the product bearing the seal has gone through our verification process. Our verification is an assurance that a product has been produced according to consensus-based best practices for GMO avoidance:

• We require ongoing testing of all at-risk ingredients—any ingredient being grown commercially in GMO form must be tested prior to use in a verified product.
• We use an Action Threshold of 0.9%. This is in alignment with laws in the European Union, where any product containing more than 0.9% GMO must be labeled. Absence of all GMOs is the target for all Non-GMO Project Standard compliant products. Continuous improvement practices toward achieving this goal must be part of the Participant’s quality management systems.
• After the test, we require rigorous traceability and segregation practices to be followed in order to ensure ingredient integrity through to the finished product.
• For low-risk ingredients, we conduct a thorough review of ingredient specification sheets to determine absence of GMO risk.
• Verification is maintained through an annual audit, along with onsite inspections for high-risk product.'

I have started using a app on my phone that gives me a list of the foods that have been NonGMO verified

sticker shock

Take Action, NOW!!

Monsanto could get everything it wants for Christmas, unless we convince legislators this week to strip both the 2013 Agriculture Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5973) and the Farm Bill of dangerous riders that would give the biotech industry unprecedented power and immunity from not only an already-weakened review process, but also from federal law.

Cick below and sign. Please pass along. If Monsanto is immune from laws our food system will get worse, not better. Monsanto already has a huge monopoly and the list of 'okay' process and ingredients is going to sky rocket if they are not held accountable.

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8644

Great Site to Follow

GMO Awareness

What It Means And The List Of Artificial Ingredients Allowed

"To be certified 'organic' a producer needs to prepare documentation (fill out forms) testifying they obey the guidelines below and pay a fee. There is no 'on the spot' checking of farms to insure compliance.

Organic regulations restrict and in some cases ban additives like preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colorings and flavorings, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). 

95% of the food must obey those guidelines. Not 100%, 95%. And in the 95% there are exemptions provided by the National Organic Program. Why only 95% and why are there exemptions? Because the farmers trying to be organic would be out of business if there were actual purity requirements, so the National Organic Program lists the 5% as 'essential' and have amended those over time so the list is substantial."

Click the link above to see the LOOONG list of approved ingredients allowed in organic food.

Happy Eating.

Boybott

I just called two companies that I know are 'organic' or claim 'natural' ingredients. I love Mom's Best cereal there are only a few ingredients in their honey O's and no HFCS or BHT for freshness. I was so hopeful that they would say joyfully, "We are 100% GMO free!!!". Sadly, that customer service gal stated at this time they cannot guarantee 100% GMO in anything except their oatmeal. The lady stated there are hopes to be GMO free but that requires a whole new factory system so that no products are contaminated.


I also called Organic Valley. They sells eggs and I think a few other dairy products. They stated they are GMO FREE!!



Sadly, the above chart shows that even organic tostito's and Safeway O brand doesnt mean GMO free.

So how can a product be organic yet not GMO free? Look for signs that say 100% organic, certified organic and USDA Organic

"100% Organic: Must contain 100 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). This is the only label that certifies a completely organic product AND completely GMO-free ingredients.

Certified Organic / USDA Organic / Organic: At least 95 percent of content is organic by weight (excluding water and salt). The <5% remaining ingredients must consist of substances approved on the USDA’s National List. GMOs are NOT on this list, so these products are also usually GMO-free.

Made with Organic: Up to 70% of the ingredients are organic. These products can NOT carry a “USDA organic” label and are NOT typically GMO-free.

Read this next party carefully:
 
According to USDA rules, if 95 percent of a product is made up of organic ingredients, it can be called organic. If it's 70 percent organic, the label can read "made with organic ingredients."
 The USDA keeps a "national list" of inorganic products that can legally go into foods labeled as organic. The casings for those tasty USDA Organic sausages can come from conventionally raised animals that have been fed antibiotics. The hops in your favorite organic beer can be sprayed with all manner of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Strawberries can be labeled as organic even if they had their start in a conventional nursery.

Despite rigid organic certification procedures, organic certification is about the *process* of growing food, not about the actual resulting food. There is no testing process for organic ingredients, so there is a chance that GMO contamination could occur."

Ill link the next post to a great article on What It Means And The List Of Artificial Ingredients Allowed