While most people have heard the expression “organic food,” there are surprisingly many who cannot exactly define what organic food or organic farming is, what it implies, and how it is different from other, conventional farming methods. Simply put, organic food usually refers to fruits and vegetables that were grown without the use of biotechnology, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or other chemicals, but rather with more traditional and more biological methods, such as crop rotation (invented in the Middle Ages), the use of green manure crops for fertilizer, and other environmentally-friendly ways.

Animal husbandry, another key part of any agriculture, is another issue for the organic food movement as it also has economic, environmental, ethical, social, and health-related consequences for consumers, producers, and the environment alike. Thus, related to organic vegetables and organic farming is the practice of free range farming, that is, raising animals that are not confined in close spaces or even large buildings. Rather, free range farmers let their animals roam free on pastures, as the name suggests. Advocates argue that free range animals that are also naturally fed (e.g., cattle fed with grass rather than corn, as is the practice on factory farms) are healthier, happier, experience less pain and suffering, and are therefore generally treated much more humanely. They will also have better quality meat, dairy, and other animal products. It makes sense, especially if you witness some of the cruelty and the abysmal conditions present for animals on factory farms.

Organic foods, including organic vegetables and free range animal products, are hard to certify, especially since the physical distance between producers and consumers has widened dramatically over the last few decades. Nevertheless, there are a wide array of government regulations as well as private sector initiatives that have been instituted in response to the growing demand for quality organic food and the desire of consumers to know where their food comes from and how it was produced and processed.