<[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:Well, if anyone knows what organic really means, please enlighten all
of us.
It has three meanings that are related.
1) Living material or once living material. So wood, leather, meat, grass,
manure and hair are organic.
(2) A subset of chemistry, that is the chemistry of carbon compounds.
(3) Edble produce grown with "natural" as opposed to synthetic inputs.
These "natural" inputs are (1) above plus naturally occuring minerals (which
by definition cannot themselves be organic) such as ground rocks of various
types.
Organic food is made from (3) but the problem is that there are many
organisations that define what is permitted somewhat differently. These
definitions often contain apparent anomalies.
For example using pyrethrums as insecticides may be OK if derived from
daisies but not if produced synthetically, despite the two being chemically
identical. Or an organic standard may allow the use of synthetic potassium
sulphate as a fertiliser but not ammonium nitrate.
Of course the matter is confused even more by the advertising industry who
are capable of taking any word that seems to attract customers (what does
"natural" mean in the context of foods?) and making it mean nothing or
anything they want.
My advice is if what you put into your body is important to you and you
think that organic food may be better than anything-goes food, to find an
organic certifying body whose standards you like and buy food with their
label - or grow it yourself. Otherwise forget it as just having the word
"organic" on the label means almost nothing.
David
