The food we eat can be our body's enemy or its best friend. If we want to live a healthful life, full of vitality, it is important to understand at least a little about the fuel we put into our bodies. One thing to know is that if we want a healthful, energetic life, then we need to fuel ourselves with healthy, energetic food. Food is our energy source for life. If we eat well, our food becomes a vehicle to health and is the surest way to increase our longevity. The cells in our body are built and nurtured by what we ingest. The food we consume provides the building blocks to strengthen our immune system. A good diet plays an integral role in determining our long-term health.

One of the best ways to ensure that we eat really healthy food is to make sure that we only eat certified organic food. However, there are some misconceptions about organic food and doubts about whether it is really as beneficial as advocates claim. How do we know where to buy organic food, and how can we be certain that the food we are buying is truly organic? In this article, I hope to answer these questions. Let's begin by looking at the various terms used to describe organic foods and continue with an examination of some of the common myths about certified organic products.

What is conventional food?

Foods that are not certified as organic or biodynamic are typically called conventional foods. Conventional foods can be contaminated with chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers, which are often used during the growing stages of various crops. Throughout this article, I will refer to chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers as agro-toxins. I will let you decide whether the use of agro-toxins is detrimental after you have a better understanding of what they are and what they do.

What is organic food?

Traditionally, "organic" refers to foods that are grown without the use of agro-toxins chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Unfortunately, due to the growing popularity of organic foods, sometimes food is claimed to be organic when it is not. As a consumer, be certain to ask the question “Is this product certified organic. If the answer is yes, then the product you are buying should be organic. Request to see the certification certificate.

What is certified organic food?

To be certified, organic food must have been raised or grown on a certified organic farm. These farms must adhere to specific farming practices. The farm conditions and all its records are inspected regularly before the farm is verified as being organic. In British Columbia, Canada, there are more than ten certifying bodies for certified organic farmers. All certifying boards adhere to the guidelines of the Certified Organic Association of British Columbia (COABC). Canada is currently working on a nationwide certifying body that all boards across Canada will adhere to. The US has implemented a national standard for certified organic farmers, USDA Organic.

Certified organic farmers adhere to strict guidelines and stipulations. No chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers may be used on certified organic farms. Usually there must be a buffer zone between a farm that practises conventional farming and one that practises certified organic farming. Certified organic farmers keep detailed records of what they grow, how they farm, and what they use on their fields. Farm inspectors visit each certified organic farm to ensure that it is adhering to the guidelines of organic farming. Typically, manure must be composted before it is used on vegetable fields, and even the packaging for certified organic produce must be free of certain chemical agents. Thus, if food is labeled "certified organic", you can be fairly certain that it meets strict, specific guidelines in its growing, packaging, and marketing.

What is transition to certified organic food?

Produce that is labeled transition to certified organic has been grown on a farm that is in the transition period to becoming certified organic. Typically, the transition period is two to three years. During this period the farm has to practise farming according to certified organic standards. Each year the farm is inspected and the appropriate paperwork must be completed. Transition to certified organic food usually costs a little bit more than conventional food, but less than certified organic. If cost is a factor for you in purchasing certified organic food, transition food is an excellent option.

What is certified biodynamic food?

Certified biodynamic farming takes organic farming to a higher level. Biodynamic farming focuses on creating a sustainable ecosystem within the farm itself. No blood, bone, or fish meal is applied directly to the soil in biodynamic farming. The premise is to build healthy soil, which will, in turn, produce healthy food. Biodynamic farming is holistic and goes to the very roots of what creates healthy plants and healthy environments. Such farming puts its energy into the source of the food where the food gets its nutrients. Some people insist that biodynamic food is even more nutritious and delicious than certified organic foods.