Quote:
Originally Posted by YoderChiropractic
You might already know this; but for those who don't:
If the number on the sticker starts with a 9, it is organic; beginning with a 3 or 4 means it is probably conventionally grown and if it begins with an 8 it is gmo.
Barbara
Yoder Chiropractic
|
Again - this is misleading.
If it is a 5-digit code that starts with a 9, it is CERTIFIED Organic. A 4-digit code starting with 3 or 4 MIGHT be organic, but it's not certified. It's officially "conventionally grown." If it's a 5-digit label beginning with an 8 then it is CERTIFIED GMO.
What this actually means:
There are some places where the 8 in front is not required by law. In that case, you won't know if it's GMO unless they have reason to specify. Organic doesn't mean pesticide-free. It means free of UNAPPROVED pesticides. There are pesticides that are approved.
In addition - as I said in my previous post - organic means the farmer at the farm where the piece of fruit came from, didn't use any unapproved pesticides. However, that does not mean that the farmer a mile away upwind didn't spray HIS stuff with unapproved pesticides. It doesn't mean the bees that pollinate the flora on the organic farm, have only pollinated using exclusively organic plants. It doesn't mean a squirrel didn't scurry around the non-organic neighbor's garden, grab some nuts, and plant them in the organic nut farm garden (ask me why I have lemon balm and a maple tree growing in my herb garden).
And conventionally farmed produce absolutely can be organic. It just means they never got the certification and therefore are not allowed to use that designation.
Summary: just because the label says something, doesn't mean the product is what you think it is. With the singular exception of GMO. If the sticker says it's GMO, then it is, with no special qualifications.