# Do you know what "Organic" means?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [February 27, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606 "2020-02-27T16:56:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/1 "2020-02-27T16:56:22Z")
I was wondering how many people actually know what that USDA certification actually means. Not having the resources to conduct a nation-wide poll, I’ll have to settle for a poll here.
Of course if anyone has a link to a (recent) nation-wide poll, I wouldn’t mind seeing it.
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### Author:  [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/2 "2020-02-27T17:41:03Z")
Sure, a licence to charge consumers double for product which otherwise falls under the category of normally produced and grown product.
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/3 "2020-02-27T17:42:14Z")
I answered “yes” because I know generally what’s required, although I don’t know the exact number of years the field has to be chemical-free, etc.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/4 "2020-02-27T17:45:51Z")
There are probably a bunch like me who _think_ they know what it means but are wrong.
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/5 "2020-02-27T18:26:39Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> There are probably a bunch like me who _think_ they know what it means but are wrong.
Exactly my thought. A yes/no poll is just going to produce a bunch of “yes” responses from people who _think_ they know what it means, but are actually wrong. The proper way to determine whether or not people know what “organic” means would be to quiz people on which foods would be considered organic or not.
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/6 "2020-02-27T18:33:27Z")
Which definition is the OP using?
Definition of organic (Entry 1 of 2)
1a(1): of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides
organic farming
organic produce
(2): of, relating to, or derived from living organisms
organic evolution
b(1): relating to, being, or dealt with by a branch of chemistry concerned with the carbon compounds of living beings and most other carbon compounds
studied organic chemistry in college
(2): of, relating to, or containing carbon compounds
organic solvents
2a: having systematic coordination of parts : ORGANIZED
an organic whole
b: forming an integral element of a whole : FUNDAMENTAL
incidental music rather than organic parts of the action
— Francis Fergusson
c: having the characteristics of an organism : developing in the manner of a living plant or animal
society is organic
many new coinages … stem from the normal organic structure of the language
— William Chomsky
3a: of, relating to, or arising in a bodily organ
b: affecting the structure of the organism
an organic disease
4: of, relating to, or constituting the law by which a government or organization exists
their nation has written the separation of church and state into its organic law
— Paul Blanshard
5archaic : INSTRUMENTAL
organic noun
Definition of organic (Entry 2 of 2)
: an organic substance: such as
a: a fertilizer of plant or animal origin
b: a pesticide whose active component is an organic compound or a mixture of organic compounds
c: a food produced by organic farming
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/7 "2020-02-27T18:45:20Z")
> [@zoid](#):
>
> Which definition is the OP using?
I’m not OP but I think it’s clear that the definition in play is whatever is defined as organic in the relevant USDA certification requirements.
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/8 "2020-02-27T18:55:54Z")
I didn’t know, but then I fell asleep on a bus and had a dream about snakes with their tails in their mouths and figured it out.
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/9 "2020-02-27T19:15:14Z")
Yes, I know that it’s a set of rules intended to allow a class of farmers and manufacturers to market their products as allegedly safer and more ‘‘natural’’ than those of their competitors, while mostly lacking the scientific justification to do so.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/10 "2020-02-27T19:28:20Z")
Hydro carbons. Not rocks.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/11 "2020-02-27T19:56:20Z")
Unfortunately, I’ve been working with a client to source a better organic yeast for their vodka and it’s been a pain in the ass because most of the yest labs don’t want to bother with the certification even if they would otherwise be considered organic.
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### Author:  [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/12 "2020-02-27T19:58:43Z")
Made of organs.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/13 "2020-02-27T20:20:01Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#):
>
> Unfortunately, I’ve been working with a client to source a better organic yeast for their vodka and it’s been a pain in the ass because most of the yest labs don’t want to bother with the certification even if they would otherwise be considered organic.
Our friends/neighbors have a farm and their produce could easily be certified organic but they do not bother because of philosophical concerns mostly.
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### Author:  [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/14 "2020-02-27T20:21:06Z")
> [@Kron](#):
>
> Made of organs.
Like in a church.
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### Author:  [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/15 "2020-02-27T22:41:52Z")
Arsenic, copper, and lyophilized bacillus thuringienesis, here we come!
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### Author:  [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/16 "2020-02-27T22:51:44Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Our friends/neighbors have a farm and their produce could easily be certified organic but they do not bother because of philosophical concerns mostly.
Just wait until you understand that the “Non-GMO” label addition is just a business that you pay several thousand dollars annually to, submit a short document to, and then you can put it on your product’s label. No testing or validation. There is no standard to its certification, just a fee to be paid!
The USDA Organic label is amusing as hell. The industry which is the most opposed to state labeling, and increased labels is the dairy industry. The reason being that due to how cheese is produced (i.e. no beef rennet anymore), originally cheese had to be labeled as “99% organic” or 98%, etc. as 100% organic was not possible. However, “to simplify labeling” dairies shortened to just “organic”. So any new labeling laws or regulations will likely jeopardize the dairy industry’s current “don’t rock the boat” shortened label.
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### Author:  [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/17 "2020-02-27T22:56:31Z")
I know that putting the ‘organic’ label on something will make it cost more than I am willing to pay. Beyond that it doesn’t matter.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/18 "2020-02-28T01:23:01Z")
I worked with farmers in the 1970’s who developed the California certification process, later copied by Oregon Tilth and others. I am well aware of what goes into it, its intent, its ethics, and how it is slowly making headway toward sustainable forms of agriculture. People who scoff at it are deeply misinformed about what the point of it is. Which is not, by the way, primarily to grow produce that is healthier to eat. It is about developing agricultural systems that do not lay waste to the planet, destroy small farmers, and poison farm workers.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/19 "2020-02-28T01:43:18Z")
The most relevant definition for me is: Of, relating to, or containing carbon compounds.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-organic-means/848606/20 "2020-02-28T01:46:20Z")
> [@Shodan](#):
>
> I didn’t know, but then I fell asleep on a bus and had a dream about snakes with their tails in their mouths and figured it out.
You mean hoop snakes? Them round critters is everywhere!
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