The food fight and craze over "natural" or "organic" foods leaves most of us in a pretzel twist trying to decide what is legitimately natural and what is simply pulling the grocery wool over our eyes. I find myself often lost in a sea of food labeling that causes more stress than good, so I thought it more pertinent to go straight to the source to start ferreting out the good from the bad, the truth from falsehoods, and get to the bottom of the organic food market in America; the source of course being the USDA's National Organic Program.
The task at hand is quite massive, so I'm going piecemeal to try and sift through the basics initially. First, let's examine what exactly the purpose of the National Organic Program is:
- Administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products.
- Regulate the production and handling of organic food products.
- Regulates domestic and foreign accreditation for certifying agents (inspect handling operations and products to ensure they meet USDA standards).
- Established and now maintains the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances in conjunction with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990; synthetic and non-synthetic substances that are banned from organic food production and handling.
- Regulation on the export and import of organic goods.
The core of the National Organic Program is of course the USDA, but the constant movement and growth in the organic agricultural sector makes this a beast of a job to regulate and improve the ongoing quality of organic foods in the U.S. Obviously the overarching purpose of the National Organic Program is to oversee the organic market, but probably mot pertinent is the organic certification process.
Next blog I will dig a bit deeper into the labeling of organic foods, as it more directly relates to our pocket books when it comes to shopping healthier and more sustainable foods.
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