Seal: USDA Organic

Using nonchemical methods to prevent insects, weeds, and plant diseases from harming crops is one of the basic tenets of organic farming. Pesticides can be used only after prevention methods have failed, and even then, federal law bars organic farmers from using any synthetic chemical pesticides that could be harmful to human health or the environment. (While there are nearly 900 pesticides approved for use in conventional, or non-organic, food production, only 30 synthetic pesticides are deemed safe and approved for organic production.) Natural pesticides are permitted, but those that pose risks to human health and the environment, such as arsenic-based or nicotine-based pesticides, are prohibited. Organic fruits and vegetables are less likely to have pesticide residues.

Read Why Reducing Pesticides Matters.

On organic farms, antibiotics can’t be used for growth promotion or disease prevention. The only exception is for chicks in hatcheries; they can receive antibiotics prior to their second day of life and their meat or eggs can still be labeled organic. If the animals become sick and need antibiotics, organic regulations require that they be treated, but their meat, milk, or eggs can’t be sold as organic. Any drugs used to make animals grow faster, such as steroid hormones and ractopamine, or hormones that are injected in dairy cows to increase their milk production, are also prohibited.

Read Why Reducing the Use of Drugs in Farm Animals Matters.

Organic farmers have to give their animals certified organic feed, meaning it was produced without prohibited pesticides or genetically modified (or engineered) seed. Animal byproducts, such as slaughterhouse waste and processed animal manure, which may be part of conventional feed, can’t be used as an ingredient in organic feed. For ruminants, such as beef cattle and dairy cows, whose natural diet consists of grass, the organic standards require that they get at least 30 percent of their feed from grazing on pasture during the months of the year when vegetation grows. However, beef cattle are exempt from this requirement for up to 120 days before slaughter, and the organic seal doesn't mean that beef and dairy products came from cows that were 100 percent grass fed.

Read Why What Animals Eat Matters.

Organic standards cover animal welfare, but in limited ways. Poultry and livestock must be raised in living conditions that accommodate their health and natural behaviors. These include year-round access to the outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, clean water, and direct sunlight. Continual confinement in small cages is prohibited. 

However, the standards permit farmers to make physical alterations as needed, such as trimming chickens’ beaks, docking pigs’ tails, branding cattle with hot irons, and castrating pigs and cattle, as long as the methods used minimize the animals’ pain and stress. And the Department of Agriculture has not enforced the requirement for outdoor access for chickens. Moreover, organic standards don’t cover animal welfare during transportation to the slaughterhouse and at the slaughterhouse. 

Read Why Animal Welfare Matters.

Genetically modified (or engineered) organisms, or GMOs, are prohibited on organic farms. Organic farmers can’t plant GMO seeds, and animals raised for organic meat, dairy, or eggs must not be given GMO feed. Food companies can’t use GMO ingredients in their organic products. However, the organic standards don’t require testing to ensure that levels of GMOs are below a certain threshold. 

Read Why Non-GMO Matters.

Farms that grow organic crops or raise organic animals, along with facilities that process organic foods, are inspected at least annually by Department of Agriculture-approved certifying agencies. Imported foods can carry the USDA Organic seal or be labeled organic if they meet USDA standards or if the USDA has determined that that country’s organic standards are equivalent.

Read Why Verification Matters.