Is It Really Organic? Part 1
Nowadays, becoming a USDA Certified Organic Farm is not only a daunting paperwork task, but involves large expenses for small, independent farms. Becoming USDA Organic Certified is a gigantic, ongoing commitment. It’s easy for REAL organic farms and producers to become super frustrated with the process, especially when they see so many others misusing the term organic and essentially lying to the public.
FACT: If a farm or individual using the term organic for their products have sales that exceed $5,000 a year, and do not follow the exact guidelines set forth by the USDA/National Organic Program, then it is illegal for them to use the term organic when marketing their products. PERIOD. There are multiple farms and farmers market vendors in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties who flagrantly break this law on a regular basis.
If you’re shopping and you see a product that is labeled or claims to be organic, but you don’t see the USDA Organic seal, then there’s a huge chance that it’s not a REAL organic product, or even grown using true organic practices. If a local farm or farmer’s market vendor verbally claims to have a locally grown organic product, and you want to verify that claim, here’s is a suggested checklist:
1) Educate yourself about what types of produce are grown in your area and what local foods are typically harvested each month.
2) Ask for the exact location of the farm where the food is grown. If the farm is not open to the public, that shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Small scale, owner operated farmers never have enough hours in any given day, so scheduling visits from retail customers can be challenging without a budget for staff. Additionally, most insurance companies discourage farms from allowing people on the property, by making rates more favorable if the public is not allowed. If the vendor in question doesn’t have any upcoming farm tours, ask if they have verifiable photos showing them growing food or caring for the animals on their farm.
3) At a Farmer’s Market, always look around the entire booth. Are there commercial branded cardboard boxes in the background of the display area? If so, are they from a local, USDA Certified Farm, or an out of state farm? Urge that vendor to be honest about their food sources. Also, consider having a chat with the market manager and declare your desire to have only locally grown food at your market. If the farmer or their direct representative isn’t there selling food grown locally, then it really isn’t a “farmer’s market”!
4) Is the item available during the appropriate growing season for your region? The prime growing season for most annual vegetables that consumers favor in this area of Florida are fall, winter and spring.
5) Are the items offered even grown in your geographic region? As an example, if someone is selling Red Delicious Apples in our 3 county area and they claim to have grown them here, they’re not being truthful.
6) Ask the farmer to see their USDA Organic Certificate. Certified Organic farmers are more than happy to share their documentation.
7) If they claim to be certified but can’t provide you with proof, visit the USDA Organic Integrity Database Once there you can search the name of the farm claiming to be organic. The page will ask for more info than you might have but worry not. Entering the name of the farm, the city, state and county, should get you the detailed information about the status of the farm. The only time a farm won’t show up there is if they’re newly certified and haven’t yet been entered into the database.
8) If the “farmer” claims that they grow using organic practices, tell them to prove it. Ask to see their OSP (Organic Systems Plan) for the current year. As a consumer, you don’t need to fully understand what an OSP is, but if a supposed organic farmer can’t articulate what it is to you, then you know instantly that they’re full of manure (and not the good, useful kind)!
9) Ask if they keep detailed production records. This would include all of their inputs, meaning seeds, soils, compost, fertilizers, pest and fungal products, and how often they use them. Again, if a farmer isn’t certified but claims to grow using organic methods, then they are supposed to be keeping the exact same records that REAL organic farms do.
As we previously shared, USDA Certified Organic farms must follow their plant history from seed through sale. Did you know that even hand washing and cleaning products must be approved for use by a USDA Certified farm??? During the annual inspection process, good inspectors will go through farm records, storage sheds, etc. to determine if the farm is following the stated guidelines to maintain their certification.
Is the USDA National Organic Program perfect? Heck, no! In recent years it has literally been “watered down” by lobbyists in Washington, but that’s another part of the overall organic story... In a few weeks we’ll, share another article outlining Soil Grown vs Water Grown and the ongoing feud to maintain the integrity of organics.
For now, let’s go with the only logical premise, that the NOP is the best, basic, jumping off point that the United States has for general organic food/farm regulation. If you want REALLY REAL organic food, that goes the extra mile to protect animals, people and the environment, we strongly urge you to explore and support ONLY soil based farms and organic soil based farm organizations such as: the Real Organic Project, The Regenerative Organic Alliance, and the Rodale Institute. Loads of great information regarding Regenerative Farming can also be found by visiting the Regenerative Farmers of America website.
For information regarding the legitimacy of other organic types of products, the Cornucopia Institute is a valuable resource. The Organic Insider also presents to some great information for consumers.
Our next article will be an in depth look at what it takes for a farm to become USDA Organic Certified.