Organic Foods are foods that meet a standard established under the Organic Food Production Act of 1990. Foods that bear the USDA Organics label have been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.
Consumers increasingly turn to organic foods for a number of reasons. These include a philosophical alignment with ecological balance and sustainable farming methods; food sensitivities and allergies or the recommendation of a health professional to choose organic foods; a desire to avoid food derived antibiotics and to avoid genetically modified organisms also known as bioengineered or genetically engineered.