Truth is if you want 100% organic foods grow your own.

Given that we are all living longer, as a population, it is fallacious thinking to decide that there are X chemicals and only Y have been tested and only Z have been banned.

It is probably one of the most overused, misused temrs in food today.

If you look closely, you’ll find that a lot of foods marked as organic are really no different at all from their non-organic counterparts–except the price!

re: green and organic – I, too, can say that I’ve been to grocery stores where apparently everything is organic, down to the paper towels and paper grocery bags, which always made me snicker. However, only food can be labelled USDA organic (even meat, I think, but the producers still have to meet government standards). “Green”, however, is as meaningless as “natural” – there is no standard that products must meet when claiming this on their labels. And that became VERY apparent to me when Lysol and Clorox all of a sudden became “green”.

from the USDA website on Organic Labeling: “USDA certified organic” label is for 95% – 100% organic ingredients, “made with organic ingredients” marketing term allowed for above 70%, and anything below that can still list individual organic ingredients only on the ingredients label. There is also a list of synthetic substances allowed in food processing that still qualify for the organic label.

There are over 82,000 chemicals in use in the U.S., with some 700+ new ones added each year. Of those 82,000, only 650 are monitored through TRI, and only 200 have ever been tested for toxicity, and only FIVE have been banned under the Toxic Substances Control Act (not even asbestos is banned). You CANNOT assume that the chemicals in the products you use are tested, or that the test results, even if they had a bad outcome, stopped the company from releasing their product to the market. There are several known toxins in everyday products that cause severe biological issues, but they’re still on the market, and they may not even be listed in your products due to trade laws. Even if a product says it’s toxin free, that’s just because the chemicals in it haven’t been put on the known toxins list. The rule is innocent until proven guilty, even in the realm of chemicals put out into the mass market. And it’s REALLY hard to prove a chemical guilty.

I’m not trying to be an alarmist, I just think more people should know, learn, and pay attention to understand the difference between marketing hype and good wholesome products, even in the “green” marketplace.

Please do some research before rushing to post comments that are so negative.

And I’d like to second Almost There’s comment on reading the Omnivore’s Dilemma. A great book that will teach you a lot about the meaning of various labels and ingredients.

I totally agree that it’s still important to learn about individual conditions. But the other emphasis on ‘better for the environment’ on locally grown is that if it’s local, it doesn’t need to be transported long distances – which theoretically means less pollution/energy waste from the transport vehicles.

I also some people do it because it’s better for the local economy, keeping your dollars in your area and getting at least some positive impact via taxes if nothing else.