The subject of Organic and GMO food is taking the consumer circles by storm all over the world. Nobody wants to eat genetically modified food. Everybody is trying to find out what is safe and what is not when it comes to organic and GMO food. We too, at BrightMags have been on our hunt to find out which is the healthiest option which we have when it comes to food. We have been asked plenty of questions about organic food and GMO food. With that being said, there is one question which is puzzled even us and which led us to do our research regarding organic and GMO food. The question was does organic mean non GMO? Without proper knowledge it is very difficult to answer this question and this is what led us to the research. We would be detailing our explanation below.
Does Organic mean Non GMO?
The best way to research the answer to this question was to look at the US FDA approvals to various food products and the labels which they had given to the various food products. We found out that there are quite a few food labels and each means a different thing and by studying these we were able to figure out the answer to the above question.
Food Label: 100% Organic
This is the only label, which states that it is completely organic. So, if you’re seeing this label on the food product which you are about to buy then yes, in that case on organic does mean NON GMO. In all other cases, it is not true that organic means NON GMO. In the above label, 100% of the ingredients including salt and everything else used for making that food product is organic.
Food Label: Certified USFDA Organic
This is one of the most common label which confuses a lot of consumers to believe that organic means NON GMO. However, this label means that not all the ingredients of the food which you are about to buy are organic. This label is given when 95% of the ingredients are organic. The remaining 5% ingredients can be GMO. So, this label does not mean that the food is organic. In most of the cases, when this label is provided it means that the salt and the preservatives which are used are GMO. There is quite a big list of ingredients which fall into this 5% category.
Food Label: Contains Organic Ingredients/Made with Organic Ingredients
This is the category where the ingredients are up to 70% organic and the rest can be GMO. These production would be strictly avoided if you’re going for organic diet. 30% GMO products in any kind of food is a very significant quantity.
So, only if the food package has the label 100% organic can you be sure that organic means NON GMO. In all other type of food labels, there is at least some part of GMO ingredients.
GMO contamination:
The problem is that even when the farmers are growing the products organically, there can still be GMO contamination which may result in the end products containing GMO ingredients. While growing the food, if the organic processes are maintained it means that you cannot use the insecticides or pesticides or any other kind of chemicals.
The reason that organic food is getting contaminated by GMO ingredients is because of cross-pollination in most of the cases. This is mostly done due to the transportation of seeds as well as other parts of the crops either by the winds or by the insects or by the birds.
Contamination of the organic food can also be caused due to the water table under the earth. It has been seen that in some of the areas there is such widespread use of insecticides and pesticides that they have entered the water table inside the earth. Even when the organic food is grown, the water is used from the water table of the earth and if there are insecticides and pesticides due to prolonged and excessive usage of them in that particular area, then they would be carried to the organic plants through the water which is used from the water table. This is another source of contamination of organic food with GMO ingredients.
There have been plenty of instances of contamination of organic food by GMO ingredients due to which those food stocks were rejected. The most famous example being Europe banning the import of US wheat due to traces of GMO ingredients being found in what was supposed to be organic wheat.
What does the NATURAL label mean?
You might have seen that products are also labelled natural and it might fool you into thinking that that means organic but this is not true. This label by the food manufacturers does not necessarily mean that it does not contain any GMO ingredients. It is better to avoid such food if you’re looking for organic alternatives.
There have been a number of studies which have been conducted on organic food and which state that they help you in building your immunisation system so that you are able to fight off the risk of plenty of diseases without any external help. On the contrary, GMO food is thought to be a risk to your health due to the various modifications which are done in that type of food which result in reduced and nutritional value.
So, if you are seriously thinking of going on a organic diet then instead of thinking that each and every type of organic food is NON GMO, you should be looking to only consume the food which has the label 100% Organic because only that would surely mean that you are not consuming any kind of GMO ingredients. All other type of labels would have GMO ingredients and at least some quantity. If you want to ensure that you remain healthy then it is time that you deviate towards 100% organic food instead of the one with GMO ingredients.
Written by Christine Hornhiot