Organic Food

Organic Food

Organic foods can be either fresh or processed, based on production methods, availability and consumer perception.

Fresh food is seasonal and perishable. Fresh produce — vegetables and fruits — is the most available type of organic food, and is closely associated with organic farming. It is often purchased directly from growers, at farmers' markets, from on-farm stands, through speciality food stores, and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) projects. Unprocessed animal products — organic meat, eggs, dairy — are less common. Prices are significantly higher than for conventional food, and availability is lower.

For fresh food, "organic" usually means produced without extensive use of synthetic chemicals (eg: fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones), substantially free of genetically modified organisms, and often, but not necessarily, locally grown.

Processed food accounts for most of the items in a supermarket. Little of it is organic, and organic prices are often high. Despite this, organic processed products are now mainly purchased from supermarkets. Most processed organics comes from large food conglomerates, as producing and marketing products like canned goods, frozen vegetables, prepared dishes and other convenience foods is beyond the scope of small organic producers.

Processed organic food usually contains only (or at least a certain specified percentage of) organic ingredients and no artificial food additives, and is often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions (eg: no chemical ripening, no food irradiation). However, a recent amendment to the US organic legislation has allowed some synthetic processing agents to be classified as "organic", so the exact composition of certified organic processed food may vary according to regional regulations.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Organic Food"