These days grocery shopping can feel like an ethical dilemma. nprlifekit explains how to read labels from free range to organic
These days, shopping for eggs or coffee can feel like an ethical dilemma. Organic? Cage-free? Fair trade?
Instead, organic farmers fertilize their fields with composted manure. They try to control insect pests and harmful fungi with natural predators, by rotating their crops or by using chemicals that exist in nature, such as copper. Growing grains, fruits and vegetables organically typically takes more work, and the fields typically produce a little less food, which is one reason that it's more expensive.
"These practices and standards are actually backed and enforced by a law that has teeth, that actually requires people to follow the rules or face consequences that ... can include jail time," says Matthew Dillon, the head of agricultural policy forSo are organic products healthier? Maybe not. Organic produce has lower levels of pesticide residue, but there's not solid evidence that it's a big enough difference to affect your health.
Both Thistlethwaite and Dillon say that food companies are using this label in misleading ways. For one thing, they are putting it on foods, like mangoes or cashews, that are never genetically modified."They're doing it to differentiate themselves, even though their product is exactly the same as everything else on the shelf. It's primarily a market-driven label that big industry really loves," says Thistlethwaite.
The many different labels on animal products, such as eggs, can be especially confusing. So we asked Thistlethwaite to explain."I used to raise 5,000 laying hens on pasture, and it was also certified organic. So I know quite a bit about this," she says, laughing.
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