ORGANIC FOOD FACTS & TRIVIA
About 10% of U.S. grapes are grown organically.
Only about 4% of vegetables and 2% of fruit in the U.S. is produced organically. (2007)
Organic fruits and vegetables in 2009 were 11.4% of total U.S. fruit and vegetable sales.
Total U.S. organic food sales were $24.8 billion in 2009, which represents 3.7% of total U.S. food sales.
About 11% of Americans use organic products daily, and 34 % of American say they never eat organic foods. (2003)
Organic food sales in 2006 were about 3% of all food sales in the U.S.
Organic worms for fishermen are now available, both red wigglers and night crawlers. And gardeners can buy organic worm castings for composting.
In 2005 organic food sales were $13.8 billion or 2 1/2 percent of all supermarket sales.
The USDA estimates that in 1999, genetically engineered crops occupied 25% of U.S. cropland: 35% of corn and 55% of soybeans.
The Organic Consumers Union lists 36 altered veggies and fruits.
The following definition of "organic" was passed by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) at its April 1995 meeting in Orlando, FL.
"Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.
‘Organic’ is a labeling term that denotes products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. The principal guidelines for organic production are to use materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole.
Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water.
Organic food handlers, processors and retailers adhere to standards that maintain the integrity of organic agricultural products. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people."
|
