Organic baby food must meet certain standards set by the USDA.
Eating "clean" became a food revolution of sorts during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This means eating organic foods, which must adhere to certain growth and production standards. These standards are regulated by the USDA and certified by certain organizations such as the Oregon Tilth. Organic foods are not only healthier for humans, but the production standards they must adhere to make them healthier for the environment, too.
Organic Standards
There are certain growing and production standards that a food manufacturer must meet if it wants to claim that a product is organic. It must use natural fertilizers instead of chemical ones. It must remove pests and weeds using crop rotation, hand weeding, traps and mating disruption instead of chemical pesticides and herbicides. It must control disease and encourage growth by keeping animals in a clean and open environment, supplying a balanced organic diet and using rotational grazing methods instead of growth hormones, antibiotics and other medications. Organic baby food manufacturers must source their ingredients from producers who meet these standards.
Effects of Non-Organic Food
Along with human overuse, overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is also a likely cause of recent strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Hormones used to spur growth in farm animals have been blamed for the early onset of puberty in children. Pesticides may leave chemicals in food that are harmful to infants and toddlers, since their immune systems are not fully developed.
Higher Cost
Since it costs more to grow and produce certified organic food, this food is sold at a higher cost. Organic baby food is no exception. This is the biggest, and perhaps only, disadvantage to eating organic food. This leaves many people who are on a food budget at a disadvantage because they can't afford organic food. An alternative is to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables and then puree them for baby food.
Claiming Organic
To use the USDA organic label, baby food must be 95 percent organic. Baby foods that are 100 percent organic may say so on the packaging. If a baby food is between 94 and 70 percent organic, the label can state it has organic ingredients, but it can not display the USDA organic label. Baby foods that are less than 70 percent organic can designate the organic ingredients in the ingredients list.
Tags: baby food, percent organic, organic food, organic label, production standards