03-14-2015, 02:36 PM
According to USDA rules any operation can use the "organic" label without certification so long as their annual sales are under a specific threshold. I used to know what the exact amount is but I have forgotten. Since most island sales are un-reported income anyway, you can pretty much assume that (with few exceptions) anybody local selling "organic" produce is not "certified" organic. Just like the coffee buyers in Kona don't ask and don't want to know where your coffee was grown. If you sell your cherries in Kona, it's called Kona Coffee on the label.
Other misleading labels: "free range" and "cage free" chickens are neither. They are only referring to cage size and whether or not the chicken ever got outside (even once) in their lifetime. Organic chickens can be fed the same antibiotics and other chemicals as non-organic. The only difference is that the non-organic chickens are probably fed them whether the need them or not. "Organic" chickens are supposedly only fed them if they need them. But when chickens are raised in unnaturally confined populations, they almost always need them.
What do we learn from this? Labeling isn't going to help you. The only way to really know what you are eating is to visit the farm where your food comes from.
Here's a brief introduction on why the government labeling is not helping you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture
Other misleading labels: "free range" and "cage free" chickens are neither. They are only referring to cage size and whether or not the chicken ever got outside (even once) in their lifetime. Organic chickens can be fed the same antibiotics and other chemicals as non-organic. The only difference is that the non-organic chickens are probably fed them whether the need them or not. "Organic" chickens are supposedly only fed them if they need them. But when chickens are raised in unnaturally confined populations, they almost always need them.
What do we learn from this? Labeling isn't going to help you. The only way to really know what you are eating is to visit the farm where your food comes from.
Here's a brief introduction on why the government labeling is not helping you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture