What makes a Food Organic - Article Example

If a product is labeled “organic”, it means that a government-approved certifier has approved the food. This certifier has inspected where the food came from to ensure that the food is in fact organic. Organic foods are foods that are produced without pesticides, bacteria, fertilizers containing synthetic ingredients or chemicals, herbicides, antibiotics, bioengineering, hormones, and ionizing radiation. This paper intends to discuss how food is made organic. The most important thing is to convert the agricultural land to organic status.

This is done on a much larger scale. Land conversion may take two to three years to convert the status of the land from infertile to fertile. “They will also look to ensure that the entire surrounding areas and systems maintain its biodiversity and sustainability” (BiofuelsWatch.com, 2012, para.3). The crop or produce that shows up in the first year is not organic, and that produced in the second year is still in the conversion phase (Foerstel Design, 2012). Fully organic food is produced in the third year, when the land has fully turned into its organic status.

So, the nature completes its course while producing organic food. Organic farming not only reduced the production costs but also helps sustain the environment. The produce, which includes vegetables, fruits, and livestock, is very much closer to the natural organic state. Hence, the most important step in making the food organic is organic farming, whose important factors are soil and natural fertility of the land. At small level, pots can also be used with potting soil, to produce a wide variety of vegetables and fruits (BiofuelsWatch.com, 2012).

Potting soil is free of fertilizers and is handled very simply. Personal compost heaps can be used in the potting soil for the plants, which may include banana peels, which act as a very good fertilizer due to high content of potassium. Crushed mint leaves and camphor can be used as insect repellents for home grown plants, because these things expel pungent vapors that repel the insects, thus saving the plants. In order to save water, rain water can be conserved and saved in specially designed devices.

Farmers can repot the plants with nutrient rich organic soil. Repotting is beneficial because it helps the plants to develop useful soil microorganisms and sustaining roots. Hence, home grown food is organic in nature since it is grown in soil which is free of fertilizers, and is grown in the most natural environment and by the most natural means ever possible. After production, there are manifold steps that producers go through to make sure that the organic food meets the standards of the consumers and is of high quality.

Organic farmers make sure that the production is never sprayed with chemicals, insect repellents, synthetic hormones, and other synthetic sprays, so that the quality remains at its highest level. The livestock food chain is saved from synthetic hormones and antibiotic injections. Organic farmers use renewable sources to conserve soil and water, thus maintaining the organic state of the land and environment. This helps ensure that the quality of the organic food remains high year after year. Cover crops keep insects away, saving the organic produce from harmful effects of the environment.

Animal manure and compost are used to feed the soil and the produce, which ensures the renewability of resources. However, according to Insel, Turner, and Ross (2009, p.609), it is important for the organic farmers to properly manage the animal manure while feeding the soil, so that it does not contaminate the water, soil and crops to affect the overall quality. Hence, organic farming needs proper management