The “certified organic” seal is synonymous with healthy living and clean eating. But what does it in fact mean? And who decides what is certified organic or not?
In the United States, the food is certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture. The seal verifies that a product has been made with 95 percent “certified organic” ingredients and is minimally processed. The remaining 5 percent allows the use of ingredients that aren’t organic, but have been approved by the USDA as safe and environmentally friendly, and don’t have any organic alternatives.
These approved additives are reviewed regularly by the USDA, which is currently deciding whether to continue to allow one of them in an organic ingredient: a very important natural ingredient called carrageenan.
Carrageenan is produced from red seaweed that’s sustainably grown and harvested by family farmers in oceans all over the world. It’s an ingredient in everything from yogurt to baby formula to baked goods, and has been used by home cooks for hundreds of years. The USDA has approved the use of carrageenan in organic foods since 1990.
So why are they considering removing it now? Because the dangerous trend in which the loudest voices, no matter how irrational or bluffing, overwhelms common sense and science.
That’s one reason keeping carrageenan in organic foods should be important for everybody who enjoys healthy, safe food that tastes good too.
Here are a few more:
Because you love the taste of your favourite ice cream, yogurt, almond milk, protein shake…
If carrageenan weren’t allowed in organic foods, many of our favourite products would change. Food companies must use other ingredients to replace carrageenan – ingredients that aren’t as natural or safe as red seaweed, and won’t produce the same products we know and love.
Because you care what’s in your food.
Carrageenan cannot get replaced by just one food ingredient, and multiple additives mean longer labels. Carrageenan is GMO free and produced from sustainably harvested seaweed; substitutes grown from bacteria in vats or man-made.
Because babies should also have the ability to eat organic!
Carrageenan is the only stabilizer used in organic liquid newborn formula. Removing it means new moms and dads may lose this option for their babies.
Organic food should be affordable and accessible to everybody.
For many people, eating organic is a luxury they cannot all the time afford. Adding multiple ingredients to replace carrageenan means the price of a product can increase even more. It’s not only bad for you and your wallet; anything that makes organic products less competitive is harmful to the whole industry.
Because carrageenan is extremely important for vegetarian, kosher and kosher food.
Carrageenan is a vegetable ingredient that is usually used to replace animal fats and gelatin. Without carrageenan, some organic products will no longer have the ability to meet certain dietary requirements, or the taste of the food may be reduced.
Because the livelihoods of seaweed farmers (and our world) are threatened.
Seaweed is probably the most sustainable crops on the planet, and is harvested by farming families in coastal communities all over the world. Growing and harvesting the red seaweed used to make carrageenan doesn’t require the fertilizers, pesticides or other chemicals used in land-based agriculture.
This fall, the USDA will make a final decision on the future of carrageenan and its use in organic products. For these reasons and more, it is important for the USDA to approve carrageenan for use in organic ingredients, guaranteeing organic, nutritious food options are available to everybody.
Article provided by BPT
