Posted July 25, 2014
Peter Laufer, a writer and professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, doesn’t just wonder, researched the food label “organic,” according to a NPR blog post available here. TakePart also published an article on organic food labels here, Oregon Live here, and Washington Post here.
After Laufer experienced difficulties finding out if the organic labeled black beans from Bolivia were actually “organic,” he began to conduct his own investigation.
“It seems to me if everything is clean as a whistle, then you’d be proud to say where the food came from.”
Laufer flew to Bolivia and spoke with the farmer who probably grew them, and determined that those beans were actually organic.
However, Laufer found a discrepancy with “organic” walnuts from Kazakhstan at Trader Joe’s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigated and found no evidence of organic walnut production in Kazakhstan, but production is in Uzbekistan, which sells to Trader Joe’s.
“Organic” is more trustworthy than most labels you see on foods like “natural,” which has not yet been defined by the USDA.
Organic farmers not only have rules to follow, but also have third-party certifiers inspect their operations ensuring the rules are followed. Those certifiers also test a percentage of the product each year for illicit use of pesticides, and those certifiers are paid by the companies that they certify, but their work is audited by the USDA.
According to Consumer Reports,consumers are not fully aware of what “organic” means, but they also have a high bar when it comes to the organic foods they purchase, which is partially due to the universal symbol that accompanies it, according to TakePart.
More than a decade ago, a nearly 20-year veteran of the USDA’s Office of Communications, George Avalos, designed the  “USDA Organic” seal. Organic product sales are projected to approach an estimated $35 billion in 2014.
In the beginning, Avalos was unaware the popularity that would ensue.
“I don’t think I really made a big deal about it until I started walking into stores and saw it appearing on different things,” said Avalos.

USDA investigators have found cases of organic fraud in the U.S. and abroad. There is little evidence that fraud is widespread, but USDA is allocating more resources into preventing fraud, according to NPR.

In recent years, the USDA has received about 200 complaints each year concerning suspicious organic products. Last year, 19 farmers or food companies were fined a total of $87 million for misusing the organic label.

For more information on organic food labels, please view the Consumer Reports’ list of benefits provided by organic products here.
For more information on the National Organic Program, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.  
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