…not all organic after all?
Have you ever wondered what “Bio” or “Organic” actually means?
What is the famous “green leaf” seal anyway? And who actually decides on the quality of a product? We’ll explain it to you a little.
The whole organic food boom started when food was no longer produced naturally, but as a mass product. There are not many spots of untouched nature left where cows can grow up on pasture without worrying and without stress, and enjoy the green grass.
Nowadays, only the end product counts: how much milk the cow gives and how much meat the producer can sell. Yes, producer – entrepreneur. People who are responsible for our food production are no longer farmers. The majority of food produced is manufactured by machines. And the machines today are the cattle. The same applies to plants. Why should I grow a ton of beet on an area of 1 hectare when I can grow five times as much on the same area? Almost… Because this is where the downward spiral begins.
We pay attention to what we offer our customers and what they will get their food and herbs from in the future. Let’s bring some order into the matter:
Do you know what you’re really buying?
For years, producers have been outdoing each other when it comes to creating organic and natural logo designs, as well as organic and natural sounding names. Has anyone even taken a look inside? And are the labels stuck on the back of the packaging correct?
The truth is that any manufacturer of any product can write anything they want on the packaging. There are practically no supervisory or control bodies that check the declaration of ingredients before they are made available to the public. This most often concerns food and garden products. Where is the problem with writing “ORGANIC” or similar on the packaging? Theoretically, there is no problem. The only obstacle is the manufacturer’s conscience as to whether they are dealing with us honestly or not.
So how are we supposed to know what the product is really like?
Certificates – Don’t always rely ONLY on the manufacturer’s claims.
Immediately after discovering the word organic, eco, bio, look on the packaging to see which institution has tested this product and has the manufacturer been issued a certificate or a serial number that allows the manufacturer to market the product as organic, or at least for organic use. Some such institutions are e.g:
- DEMETER
- BIO
- AGRICULTURE BILOGIQUE
- SHC
- USDA ORGANIC
- AGRICULTURE BILOGIQUE
If you opt for products labeled and certified by the above-mentioned test centers, make sure that the logo is not simply printed on the packaging, as an imitation without any numbers.
A responsible manufacturer always indicates the number of the certificate, e.g. here
But where is the famous green leaf?
Products labeled with the green leaf are ready-to-eat, so you won’t find this label on products intended for agriculture, but on food grown according to organic principles.
What does this label mean?
It means that the product we buy comes from sustainable agriculture or industry, which is subject to certain controls. Only when the requirements are met will the manufacturer put a certificate or the ID on the packaging,
Blood and bone meal that once lived…
Now you’re probably wondering what significance this has, as you’re unlikely to be spraying Round Up in your grow room. It plays a big role. Take blood meal, for example. Blood that once flowed through a living being.
But how did the animal live? What did it eat? Was it treated with growth hormones?
If you buy certified products, you can largely avoid such contamination.
Even your organic fertilizer only releases the rudimentary elements instead of pharmaceutical waste. The same goes for fish meal or different types of bat guano, and any animal-derived additives.
It is worth paying attention to the authenticity of the Bio-Organic products you use to grow your plants if you want to get organic quality.
Every customer decides with their purchase what more or less of is produced. In this way, everyone contributes to what our environment will look like in the near future.