With all the questionable practices involved in bringing food and other products to market, people are tending to gravitate to items that have the organic label. Although organic products often come at a higher cost to the consumer, the term organic has become synonymous with health, humane treatment, and sustainability. It is a label that carries with it the integrity of those who stand behind the organic philosophy. While many items are termed organic products these days, the greatest focus the general public places on organic labeling tends to surround the issue of what people eat. It is no surprise why kosher, organic food companies like Glatt Organics establish business models around the idea of making organic food products available to consumers. Although organic food products have been available for a long time, many consumers are still uncertain as to what is implied by the organic label.
What Is Organic
The term organic, in its strictest definition, is anything related to or composed of living matter. However, the modern organic movement is born out of a far more expanded notion. According to an article at wsoctv.com, the organic philosophy embraces ideas that center around food production practices that promote biodiversity and sustainability. Organic farmers who put this philosophy into practice generally avoid the use of products like synthetic hormones and antibiotics. They make an effort to keep the food they raise for consumers as close to the way nature intended it. This means that organic farmers are not into genetically engineered foods. In fact, it is largely because major commercial interests have turned to genetic engineering of crops and animal feeds that the organic movement has experienced such incredible economic support and growth.
Large Commercial Interests Taking Notice
When the organic movement was relatively small, large commercial food-based businesses did not take much notice. Today, as more of these larger companies are losing market share to smaller organic farming operations, they are starting to see the profit potential of joining the organic bandwagon. One of the problems this has caused is that those running these larger commercial entities do not embrace the organic philosophy and lifestyle. According to an article at civileats.com, larger food manufacturers have taken the initiative to purchase many of the popular organic brands.
As the smaller organic companies are being bought out, the fear is that this will have a detrimental impact on the organic label. For this reason, consumers are encouraged to beware and to take a more proactive involvement in identifying which companies using the organic label truly uphold the organic philosophy. This helps to ensure that they are receiving the best quality products. If consumers do not help to audit what is happening to the organic community at the hands of big business, a lot of important advancements in establishing the organic label, made over the last few decades, may be lost. In the end, it is not just the organic farmers that are being hurt by these rapid developments in this sector of the food industry. Consumers will also be impacted by these changes as well.