Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.

Organic is a label that indicates that a food or agricultural product has been produced according to the USDA organic standards, which require operations to use practices that cycle resources, conserve biodiversity, and preserve ecological balance.

Organic foods are items grown under specific conditions or products made with those foods. The organic food label says more about how an item was farmed than about the food itself. Organic farming is a type of agriculture that avoids the use of some typical farming practices. Organic farmers can't use some types of soil additives and fertilizers, genetic engineering, or radiation on their ...

Learn what "organic" really means, how USDA labels work, and when paying more for organic foods may or may not benefit your health....

Organic farming, agricultural system that uses ecologically based pest controls and biological fertilizers derived largely from animal wastes and nitrogen-fixing cover crops. The ecological benefits of organic farming are counterbalanced by higher food costs and generally lower yields. Learn more about organic farming.

What is organic food? Organic is a system of farming and food production. Organic farmers aim to produce high-quality food, using methods that benefit our whole food system, from people to planet, plant health to animal welfare. In the face of climate change, diet related ill-health and widespread decline in wildlife, the need to change our food systems has never been greater. A transition ...