When you think of eating organic food do you understand the terminology? What does it really mean to be organic?
USDA Organic Seal
One of the ways you can tell if a food is truly organic is to look for the USDA Organic Seal. According to the standards food is grown, harvested. This means that pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones are restricted.Sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation cannot be used in the growth, harvesting or production of organic food.
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100% organic means that there are no synthetic ingredients and can use the seal -
Organic 95% organic can use the seal -
Made with organic ingredients 70% organic ingredients but cannot use seal -
Eggs, poultry, meat and dairy that are labeled organic must not have received growth hormones or antibiotics -
Seafood standards have not been set
In Vermont logos for organic foods include:
Vermont Organic Certified means that 95% of the ingredients must be grown or raised in Vermont.
Vermont Organic Certified Processors means95% of the ingredients must be organic but not necessarily grown and produced in Vermont.
USDA Organic is an optional logo to show that the product meets the standards of the USDA National Organic Program.
According to the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, The State of Vermont defines farm fresh as raised or grown on a farm and sold in a reasonably amount of time and local as fresh produce raised within 30 miles of the place where it is sold. You may see a label that reads Local to Vermont or Local to New England that means the product came from within those borders.
Community Supported Agriculture is one way of buying organic food. You can find local Farmer's Markets are by going to LocalHarvest.org.
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