Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon (such as CO and CO2), and cyanides, as well as the allotropes of carbon such as diamond and graphite, are considered inorganic.

The distinction between "organic" and "inorganic" carbon compounds, while "useful in organizing the vast subject of chemistry... is somewhat arbitrary". Organic chemistry is the science concerned with all aspects of organic compounds. Organic synthesis is the methodology of their preparation.

Organic food

Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic foods are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

The weight of the available scientific evidence has not shown a consistent and significant difference between organic and more conventionally grown food in terms of safety, nutritional value, or taste.

For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture known as the Green Revolution.

Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, organic food is food produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organizations. In the United States, organic production is a system that is managed in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.

If livestock are involved, the livestock must be reared with regular access to pasture and without the routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones. In the United States, a food can be labelled as "organic" if it contains a minimum of 95% organic ingredients.In most countries, organic produce also do not contain genetically modified organisms. It has been suggested that the application of nanotechnology to food and agriculture is a further technology that needs to be excluded from certified organic food. The Soil Association (UK) has been the first organic certifier to implement a nano-exclusion.

Whole Foods arrives in the UK

As I mentioned in an earlier blog the future of retailing seems to be seen by some to be involved with organic foods. This interesting profile in the Observer Food section about the US chain Whole Foods and the plans they have for UK food retailing is interesting.

It seems to be part of a wider push by retailers to place their own brand alongside that of organic, in part to see if good things rub off onto theirs but also in part to subsume it would seem the identity of organic into their own, or is that overly cynical? Is there any evidence, if there is I'll try to find and a post it.