/r/organic

Photograph via snooOG

A community for topics centered on Organic agriculture to keep GMO, pesticides, and other synthetic (artificial) additives out of our foods, and drinks; this perspective is particularly focused on Organic as both regulated industry and the issues and interests that make it essential for a sustainable food-chain and environment.

r/Farmers

r/OrganicFarming

r/OrganicGardening

r/OrganicSeed

USDA Organic regulations:

https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-standards

OMRI List of approved substances:

http://www.omri.org/

Organic Seed Finder:

http://organicseedfinder.com/

Sustainable Agriculture Reasearch and Education:

http://www.sare.org/

Sustainable Agriculture

https://attra.ncat.org/

Organic Seed Alliance:

http://www.seedalliance.org/

Managing Cover Crops Profitably: (Organic and Conventional information)

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition/Text-Version

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation:

http://www.xerces.org/

:::

Seed Companies By Region: (please message a mod to add more must have at least some organic offerings)

NE

High Mowing Organic:

http://www.highmowingseeds.com/

Johnny's Select seeds: (Not 100% Organic)

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

NW

Uprising Seeds:

http://uprisingorganics.com/

Sisikyou Seeds:

http://www.siskiyouseeds.com/pilot.asp

S

Baker creek Heirloom:

http://www.rareseeds.com/

/r/organic

16,577 Subscribers

1

What Grocery Store Chicken Is ACTUALLY Good?

Eating clean, non-steroid and chemical pumped chicken is something I strongly value. I shop at Publix, Target, and Walmart. There are so many different chicken options that SAY organic but some of them are pretty suspicious looking.

I currently buy Publix greenwise chicken breasts. I’ve also bought Perdue organic.

What chicken is ACTUALLY good quality and good to buy? Is Perdue good?

5 Comments
2023/09/17
21:58 UTC

7

Is anyone mostly an organic guy/gal not because you think or 'know' GMOs are bad but just because you think food should be as nature intended, preferably wild?

You think wild food is the best but organic is what is closest to wild that's why you choose some organic or are pro organic....

Get what I mean?

8 Comments
2023/08/27
22:37 UTC

12

USDA ORGANIC Certification Must Be Amended To Ensure Materials Like "APEEL" Are Not Used with Organic Produce.

Has there been any organizing with amending the certification to exclude such materials? If not, lets do it! We got to go!

And even then we should try to legally remove apeel off the face of the earth. Produce workers/handlers will sometimes handle organic and non organic meaning in your life time you will probaby ingest the apeel coating.

I am not suggesting war.... but does this not sound like war to you?

2 Comments
2023/08/27
21:35 UTC

2

Organic labeling: what you need to know.

Organic labeling: what you need to know.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides everything you need to know about organic labeling. While there are several different organic labels, all product labels using the term require approval by a USDA-accredited certifying agent. Here are the most common areas of interest.

To be labeled organic:

Products are overseen by a USDA NOP-authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations, and produced without excluded or prohibited methods such as genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge. All products use only allowed substances listed on the website below.

What about using the term “organic” or the “organic seal” on packaging?

A product probably needs to be certified organic to use the name, and it will need to be certified to put it on a retail display. The principal exemption applies to selling less than $5,000 annually.

The four categories of organic:

“100% Organic”

Raw, unprocessed, or minimally processed farm crops or all ingredients confirmed organic. Can use the organic label and the USDA-certified organic seal on the packaging.

“Organic”

It must contain a minimum of 95% organic ingredients. Up to 5% non-agricultural ingredients should be on the list AMS provides. Most likely, these ingredients are not produced organically. Can use the organic label and the USDA-certified organic seal on the packaging.

“Made with organic _______”

The product contains at least 70% organic ingredients and should detail constraints that prevented the other 30% from meeting organic requirements. Cannot use the organic label and the USDA-certified organic seal on the packaging.

“Specific Organic Ingredient Listings”

Specific organic ingredients can be listed for on labels of products containing less than 70% organic. Cannot use the organic label and the USDA-certified organic seal on the packaging.

For any other questions and further explanations, please visit the USDA AMS link below.

0 Comments
2023/08/09
20:20 UTC

7

Seeking advice to revive a century-old family farm

My wife and I found out today, August 8, 2023, that we will inherit an eight-plus acre property in November. The land has been in her family for 95 years and has operated as a vegetable and flower farm with a roadside stand the entire time. We’d like to continue the tradition, but we need some guidance, as we also found out that it barely breaks even.

We run the flower operation on 1/4 of an acre, while relatives grow produce on six acres. The operations are separate in terms of space and accounting, which is how we were blindsided by the lack of profits on the produce side. Our flowers are profitable.

The farm has never grown fruit, had animals, or even compost. For having only six farmable acres, the farm has been run conventionally without a thought given to long-term sustainability. For example, the soil is literally sand, tilled to the fine texture of a beach. Flowers and weeds grow well, but produce gets blossom end rot or does not reach full potential.

Additional info, features, and concerns:

  • We are in Wisconsin, zone 5b
  • We are both 41 and have three kids under 8
  • The property is a long rectangle, 300 feet east to west, 1300 feet north to south
  • Suburban-type houses are on all sides, comprising 22 adjacent neighbors
  • No irrigation
  • On a well, no city water or sewage
  • No fences, so deer and rabbits are constant problems
  • Thrips, aphids, Japanese beetles, horn worms, and cabbage moth worms are constant problems
  • There’s a uninhabited single-story frame house with two beds/one bath built in 1890 that has a mold problem that can be smelled from outside
  • There’s a two car garage built in the 1950s that raccoons made their home in for many years
  • There’s a pole barn built in 1960s that has a dirt floor, a caved in roof, and a sliding door that won’t shut
  • There are five 48-foot long hoop houses (currently used to store tools and tractors)
  • 2 acres of forest
  • A section of a several mile long ravine runs west to east on the back side of property through the forested area
  • There’s a 1986 John Deere 900HC tractor

This seems to be golden opportunity to create a proper farmstead—as in living there, putting things right, and making money; however, we don’t have much to spend and it can’t take decades.

So, I am looking for detailed guides that specify low-cost, straightforward steps that will allow us to turn this worn-out land into something green, profitable, and beautiful. I want to get started the day we get the keys and never look back. Please, please help…and thank you!

10 Comments
2023/08/09
01:40 UTC

4

Do you trust large corporations organic food brands? Such as marketside(walmart), good and gather(target), 365(whole foods) etc.

As with anything, there is unfortunalty room for corruption with organic food production. Do you personally trust these billion dollar corporations to produce honest genuine organic food?

15 Comments
2023/08/06
22:49 UTC

3

Organic Plantain

Does anyone know some stores that sell these.. I’ve never seen or eaten an organic plantain before and I want to

2 Comments
2023/08/06
12:18 UTC

4

USDA organic

My brother bought some apples that claim they are organic since it has the USDA organic label but they look almost perfect after a month. Is the USDA organic label legit?

6 Comments
2023/07/30
02:17 UTC

7

Difference between USDA organic and OCIA organic.

I’m buying a product now that organic and certified by the OCIA. And it makes me wonder why they don’t get USDA approved?

I’m a bit skeptical and wary of marketing schemes, so I want to make sure this is not it.

Example, companies using one company (in this example, OCIA) as a shell organization to be able to say something and market that something is organic when there’s a ton of small print.

7 Comments
2023/07/23
10:14 UTC

5

When buying pasta is it worth it to get organic?

Ive heard when it comes to some foods its more important, and for other foods sometimes its less important. When buying pasta is it important that I get organic?

28 Comments
2023/07/12
20:55 UTC

6

finding organic food in USA?

hey guys, soon I’m going on a holiday to USA, I think mainly around Florida and other states near there.

How do I know which foods are certified organic, and is there a tier system? How do I know the food I buy is going to be 100% organic, not 70 or 80%?

I’m not sure how it works so anything will help.

13 Comments
2023/07/06
03:10 UTC

8

This chicken says “certified organic” but I don’t see the organic seal

10 Comments
2023/07/04
21:16 UTC

1

Toothpaste for cats?!! Urgent!

Anyone know of ANYTHING I can use to brush my cats teeth? I was using Vet’s Best with 3 ingredients, but she got some yeast buildup on her mouth so we had to discontinue.

I was looking into textured dental wipes for pets, and again I can’t trust the quality of any fabric.

Haven’t found a toothpaste apart from Vet’s Best without the carcinogenic ingredients?

I’ve posted in r/cats, just thought maybe someone here would know?

4 Comments
2023/07/03
12:24 UTC

3

Nourishing Change: Food, Health, and Empowered Communities

0 Comments
2023/06/15
12:32 UTC

1

No organic USDA label?

Says it’s certified organic by why wouldn’t there be a label? Not sure if I trust it

4 Comments
2023/06/13
22:30 UTC

16

The USDA’s organic assistance programs. Here is what you need to know.

The USDA’s Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance Program, or TOGA, is now available for organic producers and farmers transitioning to organic. TOGA is offered through the Risk Management Agency and is only one part of the USDA’s organic initiative to build a better, healthier supply chain.

There is no enrollment paperwork. Growers are eligible for automatic assistance if they grow the following crops and maintain the below insurance programs. All insurance policies that close by June 30, 2023, are eligible.

Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO)

Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO)

Hurricane Insurance Protection - Wind Index (HIP-WI)

Post-Application Coverage Endorsement (PACE)

Margin Protection (MP) and Stacked Income Protection (STAX) (unless it is a stand-alone policy)

All eligible crops under the TOGA program.

alfalfa seed, barley, buckwheat, canola, corn, cultivated wild rice, dry beans, dry peas, flax, forage production, forage seeding, fresh market sweet corn, grain sorghum, hybrid corn seed, hybrid popcorn seed, hybrid sorghum seed, hybrid sweet corn seed, millet, oats, crops insured under the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage policy, peanuts, popcorn, rice, rye, safflower, sesame, silage sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, sweet corn, triticale, and wheat.

1 Comment
2023/06/08
11:14 UTC

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