Tasty Recipes When you purchase a tomato from your local store, have you ever thought to ask for the list of ingredients? Probably not, as you would assume something grown from the earth onto your kitchen table would be in the purest form possible. Unfortunately, thats not always the case – unless that tomato is certified organic. But why would that be the case, you might ask.
You’ve definitely seen the organic stamp on produce, meat, dairy and other pantry items at your local grocery store. You’ve probably also noticed the high price tag that often goes along with that label. More and more frequently, we are seeing larger amounts of organic products available. Accessibility of these items continues to flourish. Explanations on the origin of your beef and how it was raised. Or the farming practices sustained at your local apple orchard. But why do these products cost more and what does organic really mean?
USDA organic and the Canadian Organic certification outline a set of standards that must be withheld over a period of time. The farm will be inspected on a frequent basis in order to ensure these standards are maintained. There are many factors that are taken into account when a farmer creates a product – produce or otherwise – and gets the “certified Organic” stamp of approval. With advanced farming practices available to farmers who are open to other methods, organic farmers go the extra mile to ensure they are putting real food on the tables of more and more consumers each year. There is also no government subsidy for taking the traditional or organic route for these farmers, so its all up to us, the consumers to understand the benefits and continue to support real food.
Read on to find out what’s in the other stuff and what organic really means.
[Via Visual.ly]
