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Who Says So Useof an seal or agency mark by government bodies or independentcertifiers is a key form of consumer protection. Since such marks areregistered trademarks, illegal use of such a mark without thetrademark holders permission is a federal crime. Although it is truethat making false advertising claims is also a crime, the definitionof what the company means by the claim is a big issue. Having a thirdparty establish and enforce the claim is a key factor. For guidelinesas to what constitutes a well-defined mark see Eco-Labels.
OrganicThebasic tenets of organic agriculture involve avoiding the use ofsynthetic pesticides and fertilizers so as to produce food that istastier, more nutritious, and free of contamination by poisonousresidues. To be labeled organic a product cannot be produced usinggenetically modified plants or animals, hormones, antibiotics,irradiation, synthetic dyes or preservatives. A certified organicproduct is your best guarantee of quality for a broad range ofconcerns. Remember, you vote with your dollars. If you want to livein a world where health and well-being matter, it costs a littleextra.
State Programs 
Overa dozen states have a certification process that allows farmers touse a official labeling if the farm is approved. There are alsoorganizations that as independent certifiers. Some companies justhave their art department whip up warm fuzzy phrase and put it on thepackage, so if no agency is named, caveat emptor. Vaguestatements such as "all natural," "environmentally friendly," "ozonefriendly," or "green" are meaningless statements that implyenvironmental benefits which are not based on fact.
Independent Certification 
Thereare a number of non-governmental agencies which offer certification,some are widely known, many others are so obscure you may never seethe logo in use even at a large market. These may be resorted to ifthere is no certification available in the home state of the grower.Some packagers get their crops from such diverse sources that forlabeling simplicity they need a single agency that will assureproduct quality. Demeter-Internationalwas founded by 19 Demeter organizations from Europe, America, Africaand Australasia representing around 3.000 Demeter producers in 35countries. Quality Assurance International is also widelyseen.
USDAOrganic 
Originallythe federal standard was a marketing ploy by agribusiness to wrestcertification out of the hands of the states and dilute the rigor ofapproval so that substandard food would flood the supermarketsnationwide and be accepted by non-discriminating shoppers. This sealshould be regarded with suspicion and companies that use it should bescrutinized for the role they played to try to muscle out the smalldedicated farmer. The key to sustainable agriculture is local foodproduction. To be labeled as "organic," 95% of the ingredients mustbe organically grown. Products labeled as "made with organicingredients" must be made with at least 70% organic ingredients,three of which must be listed on the back of the package. Onlyproducts labeled "100% organic" or "organic" can display the USDAorganic logo.
Integrated Pest Management 
IPMallows a looser standard than that needed for organic certification.A farmer has to have followed strict guidelines for many years beforethe organic seal is given. In the meantime IPM claims are used bysome farmers to show they are at least trying. There may be novalidation available for the claim unless an independent service ishired.
RainforestAllianceTheRainforest Alliance (RA) follows standards set by the SustainableAgriculture Network (SAN)(also formally known as the ConservationAgriculture Network) that are designed to promote conservation in thetropics. RA verifes that certified bananas, cocoa, coffee, andoranges have been grown using environmentally responsible managementpractices including integrated pest and disease management practices, soil and water conservation, fair labor treatment practices andgood community relations.
USDAINSPECTED VS. GRADED 
TheUSDA Inspection stamp certifies that the turkey and turkey productshave been properly processed and are wholesome for humanconsumption.The USDA Grade shield, usually Grade A, indicatesquality. Grade A turkeys are meaty and plump, have smooth skin thatis free of bruises or any missing flesh and no broken bones. Note:"It is perfectly legal to sell ground beef that is thoroughlycontaminated with salmonella and sell it with the USDA seal ofapproval." The Nation 9/16/2002
Kosher/ Parve 
Itis amazing how many Jewish people, even rabbis, do not know thedifference between these marks. Actually there are a number ofadditional hecksher marks described hereas well. The certifying agencies involved are Orthodox Union andKehilla, thus the U and the K in the various logos. The Hebrew wordkosher means "fit", as in fit to use for food. The agencies certifythat the marked foods suitably follow dietary guidelines for those ofthe Jewish faith. Some foods contain dairy and are marked with asmall "D" or the word Dairy and others are suitable for grain-freePassover diets and are marked with a small "P".
Coffee 
Theseseals are rarely used and fall in the categories of conservation andsocial activism. The Bird Friendly seal on the left is administeredby the Smithsonian Institution for the protection of bird habitat onplantations. The one on the right by TransFair implies the coffeefarmers received fair market value for the coffee beans theygrew.
ProductClaimsSomefarmers and marketers opt not to meet all the standards and justcater to what they think will sway the buyer the most and still keepcosts down. Thus you will see various "home grown" labels that arenot based on any formal approval process. They are making advertisingclaims based on their own in-house policy. What one company does willnot necessarily equate to the the next. In this category we find agreat deal of diversity: no additives, raised without antibiotics,yeast-free, allergy tested, enriched, alcohol-free, no pesticides,earth smart, no preservatives, lactose-free, raw, flourless, low-fat,herbal, ozone-friendly, chemical-free, no artificial sweeteners, etc.Only the most popular logo claims are shown. No certifying agenciesare involved.
IrradiatedFood 
Marketershave cooked up a new symbol, the flower-like Radura, to be placed onfood zapped with radiation from nuclear waste. Some companies thinkthey need to brag about about this because the food won't rot on theshelf so soon. Unfortunately there is no labeling requirement! Thusyour only protection is to buy organic or look for the Radura symbolwith a diagonal line thru it. There is no certificationavailable.
Frankenfood 
Conservativeindustry estimates reveal that at least 60% of all fresh supermarketproduce is genetically modified. As a matter of social policy andethical conduct alone, this is a shocking situation given that nowarning label is required. Again your only real protection is to buyorganic.
Fat-Free/ No Sugar 
Thelegal definition of what Fat-Free means is set out in theFDAFood Labeling Guide appendix A:Less than 0.5 gram per reference amount and per labeled serving (orfor meals and main dishes, less than 0.5 gram per labeled serving).Zero calories is 5 or less calories per serving, zero cholesterol is2 milligrams or less per serving, zero sodium is 5 milligrams orless. Zero sugar is 500 milligrams (.5 gram) or less. No sugar addedmeans just that, so it is a stronger guarantee. The unwary may notknow that corn syrup, and juice concentrates are extremely high insugar. Refined white sugar (sucrose) is particularly dangerous toyour teeth, since it clings to them much more tightly than fruitsugar (fructose). High fructose corn syrup, by contrast, cannot bewell digested, actually inhibits digestion, causes a great number ofbiochemical errors. HFCS is artificial; a non-food. These daysmarketers have adopted new euphemisms for white sugar like "canecrystals" or "dehydrated cane syrup." If you want to avoid the riskof getting diabetes from your sugar consumption, you should be awareof the glycemicindexof the foods you eat. You won't find it on the label!
Hormone-Free 
Itis truly amazing the number of feed additives like antibiotics andhormones that are used in factory farming. Hormones are particularlytroublesome because of the mastitis that can result. Some hormonesare outlawed for some animals, but others are legal. Again your bestprotection is to buy organic.
NoPesticidesThereis an important subtlety to note here. Just because a farmer did notapply pesticides to the crop in question, does not mean that thereare not residues from the last crop grown or the previous owner ofthe property. This is one of many criteria that distinguishes organicproduce from IPM produce.
Wheat-or Gluten-Free 
Thereis a very big difference between these designations. Some people havea food sensitivity to wheat, but if you are gluten intolerant (celiacsprue), you will find you have to avoid a wide range of grains, evensome that have no gluten because they might commonly be grown infields next to grains that contain gluten, or that are rotated withsuch grains.
Potentiallymore dangerous than any of the pollutants described above, thedisruptors are present in the plastic packaging and the invisiblethin plastic liners that separate food from the metal wall in cannedfoods. They are active at the parts per billion level and can leachinto the food as it sits on the shelf. The FDAhas a legal mandateto study the disruptors. No food companies, pacifier manufacturers,or toy companies currently certify that their products are free ofthem. They were first described in StolenFuture.
Anumber of efforts have been made to prevent suffering to animalsraised for food, used for testing or otherwise directly affected.This noble cause has been slow and with great resistance fromproducers whose main concern is the bottom line.
Free Farmed 
TheAmerican Humane Association recently launched a campaign to reduce inincredible cruelty inherent in the factory farming system currentlyin use. A "Free Farmed" label will assure consumers that the dairy,beef, and poultry products they purchase come from animals that weretreated according to animal welfare standards developed byAHA
Free RangeBirdsraised in the United States for meat - mainly chickens and turkeys -may be sold as "range" if they have U.S. Department of Agriculturecertified access to the outdoors. No other criteria, such asenvironmental quality, size of area, number of birds, or space perbird, are included in this term.
"FreeRange" kept for eggs are debeaked at the hatchery the same asbattery-caged hens. Debeaking is a painful mutilation that impairsthe hens' ability to eat normally and to preen (practice bodilyhygiene). Typically, 2,000 or more hens - each hen having only 1 to 2square feet of floor space - are confined in a shed without access tothe outdoors during their lives. If the hens can go outside, the exitusually is very small allowing only the closest hens to get out. Theyard may be nothing but a mud yard saturated with droppings andintestinal coccidia and other parasites. (from the UPCsite)
Tuna/SalmonConcerns 
DolphinSafe is a loose claim made by companies to encourage shoppers to buytheir to the exclusion of others who do not make the claim, littleeffort is actually made to verify the claim. Earth Island Institutedoes make surprise visits to try to check the use of nets that alsotrap dolphins, but no one has to let them in. Salmon Safe certifiesthe use of agricultural practices that promote healthy streams andwetlands, including water use, erosion control, chemical management,and proper animal farming.
Cruelty-Free 
Theselabels are not found on food, but are on many cosmetics, shampoo andtoiletry items. They vary widely in design, but typically picture arabbit. The goal here is to stop the torture of rabbits by the Draizetest.
GreenSeal and TCO 
GreenSeal and Nemkoare organizations whose purpose is to set standards for and certify awide variety of environmentally sound products. The standards aredesigned to address the environmental impacts of a product frommanufacturing to use to disposal.
BiodegradableScientificCertification Systems(SCS) is a third-party testing and certification service thatevaluates a wide variety of food safety and environmental claims.Their certified seal can be found on household cleansers and otherproducts made by companies that sell products for the environmentallyconcerned.
RecyclableTheuse of the Mobius Loop recycling symbol is the most abusedenvironmental claim. A package or packaging material is considered tobe "recyclable" if there is a widely available and economicallyviable collection, processing and marketing system for the product /material. Industry codes 1 and 2 are widely recylable, the rest fallinto the limited recylable category.
Recyled 
Thisuse of the Mobius Loop indicates recycled content which may originatefrom industrial, commercial, institutional and residential sources.This symbol without a designated specific percentage indicates "100%recycled" content. The symbol on the right indicates "30% recycled"content.
