What is Organic Food?
Organic food crops are grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Genetically modified organisms do not qualify as organic nor do irradiated foods or crops fertilized with sewage sludge.
Organic farmers build healthy soil—fertilizing and building the soil’s organic matter through the use of cover crops, compost, and biologically based soil amendments.
Organic meat, dairy products, and eggs are produced from animals which are fed organic feed and are usually allowed free range and outdoor access. Organic livestock and poultry are not given antibiotics, hormones, or medication (other than vaccinations) in the absence of illness.
Why buy organic?
When you purchase the food you eat, you are making choices—about your health, the health of your family, and the health of our environment. As you are concerned with the quality of your health, you should also be concerned with the quality of the food you eat. Organically grown crops are produced without some of the problems to health and the environment inherent in chemical farming.
Resources:
- Human Health
- The Power of the Plate Factsheet
- New study shows levels of glyphosate (aka Roundup) in families drop dramatically after one week of eating organic
- Review finds organic food consumption has measurable benefits on human health
- Eating organic produce can significantly reduce pesticide exposure during pregnancy
- Choose Organic for the Cleanest Milk
- New study finds significant differences between organic and non-organic food
- Human gut microbiome is altered by occupational exposure to conventional, confined swine operations–more antibiotic resistant genes discovered
Why does organic food cost more?
Organic farming is more labour intensive and requires more space – there is a limit to how many organic animals can be raised in a barn and natural fertility building and pest management strategies like green manures and crop rotations mean organic farmland is not always planted with a crop destined for market. Organic prices are also higher because organic demand exceeds supply.
For more information on the benefits of buying organic food produced in Saskatchewan please visit our Food Miles Campaign website.
What is a certified organic product?
A product can be certified organic if it has been certified by an accredited certification body that it meets the Canadian Organic Standards. Any product label that displays the Canada organic logo or claims the product has 70 per cent or more organic ingredients must include the name of the certification body that certified it.
What products can display the Canada organic logo on the label?
Use of the Canada organic logo is voluntary and only permitted on products with 95 per cent or more organic content that have been certified according to the requirements of the Canada Organic Regime.
