In such an industrial economy, the word organic has come to be overused by organic farmers. Due to the need to keep up financially with other organic and conventional produce and animal farmers, the utilization of pesticides remains a key component in how organic farmers grow their produce and animals. Organic foods which almost always tend to be priced higher than conventionally-grown produce are looked at as skeptical due to the use of pesticides in the growing of these organic foods. The organic food label controversy has gone on for many years in the United States and has brought up to question, are organic labeled foods authentically organic?

The use of additives and synthetic substances by organic farmers can be viewed as understandable. Most produce grown on their farms cannot survive or efficiently grow without the use of herbicides, fungicides, and other additives. Additionally, these man-made substances which are used on these organic labeled products have been proven to be not as harmful as those additives used by conventionally growing farms.

On the other hand, most Americans purchase organic labeled food assuring themselves that they are living a healthy lifestyle and are getting the protection from additives with extra money spent. The USDA’s official organic seal however is misleading. However, people have different meanings and ideals on the organic food label, moreover most are buying these products believing that they are getting the satisfaction of eating a product without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, or eating food that doesn’t obtain genetically modified organisms.

The United States population has very misleading information on items that are claimed organic. The organic label food certification has become easier to get as there are many exemptions as to what the standards are on to get certification, such as small farms who sell hardly any produce, compared to that of massive ranch farms, are exempt from the need to get certified. Under government rules, organic products grown on organic farms are allowed to be grown with the help of synthetic substances, as long as it is proven to be essential. Additionally, the USDA has in general made it easier to receive this certification. To be considered organic, a third-party certifier certifies that the company creating the product is following the standards of the USDA and of the U.S. government. Another aspect of the USDA certification is that the certification is a business. The outfit of being certified is paying for that certification in a competitive market, therefore the standards for obtaining the organic food label have become more loose and has led to a certified farmer being worried about keeping his own job.

Should we trust organic food labels? It is up to you to decide. Different certifications such as certification from the National Organic Program which only certifies products that are made 100 percent organically, which is different from USDA certification which is allowing for 5 percent of the product to come from a list of about 200 approved substances that are not organic. Additionally, different parts of the country have different restrictions, some places being more strict and on top of their organic food labeling giving fines to companies more heavily.

Organic food labeled products still rise to the use of man-made substances which can be harmful, but additionally have been proven to be less harmful than conventionally-grown produce. We also have to keep in mind that all products are not grown the same, some being more organic than others.