Defining our Food Labels By Jessica Palmer hen talking about our food, we constantly hear terms like “organic,” “local,” “free-range,” and “grass-fed.” These labels are meant to guide consumers’ food purchasing decisions by offering information on the farming methods used to grow or raise food and the reassurance that food safety risks have been minimized. More often than not, I personally find it difficult to distinguish the plethora of labels. For example, a term like local can mean different things to different people. Where I might say local signifies something grown or raised in my county, someone else might say it was grown in their state, or in a collection of nearby states. Piedmont Environmental Council’s (PEC) Buy Fresh Buy Local label signifies agricultural products grown or raised in a defined county-region in Virginia. The state label, Virginia Grown, indicates the product was grown in Virginia. Virginia’s Finest is another state label that requires only that the product company be based in Virginia and have control of the recipe; the product itself does not have to be grown or processed in Virginia. Another category of labels are ones overseen by a national governmental or nonprofit certifying organization that offers information about the way farm products were grown, raised, or processed. These labels include terms such as “certified organic,” “certified W naturally grown,” and ”USDAinspected.” Farming Methods The most commonly-known term is certified organic. In general, organic production restricts the use of chemicals, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and other synthetic inputs. Farms utilizing this label are not permitted to use genetically modified organisms, and they are expected to promote ecological balance and natural resource cycling and conserve biodiversity. Products must go through the USDA’s National Organic Program in order to receive this certified organic label. We also see products that are labeled certified naturally grown. This label is issued by a non-profit organization that uses a peer-review process to certify small scale, directmarket farmers and beekeepers who use natural and beyond organic (meeting or exceeding certified organic standards) methods. Similar to certified organic criteria, farmers are not allowed to use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or GMO seeds. Farmers frequently use the label low or no spray. Products with this label are grown with little or no spraying of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc., but do not go through any certification process. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a technique used to control pests and reduce pesticide use. Farmers must maintain constant connection with their crops in order to know if pest infestations are getting out of hand. Prevention can involve planting pest-free rootstock or using crop rotation to deter insect infestation. If a pest population is observed to be growing rapidly, the next step is intervention. Biological control is a well-known control method of IPM—for example, using ladybug beetles to control an aphid infestation—but IPM also allows for chemical sprays if the situation is sufficiently dire. Many of our local farmers use organic, or even beyond organic, farming methods even if they are not certified through a program. Certifications can be an expensive and paperwork-heavy process. Still, some farmers believe that being certified gives them legitimacy, assures the customer that a third party has inspected Food Labels continued on page 16 2013 • Issue 4 Piedmont Family Magazine 15