The Future of Organic Foods
The Future of Organic Foods
Video by Andrew Weil, M.D.
About Dr Andrew Weil
Dr. Weil speaks about the future of organic foods and how there needs to be a change in the way we choose what we eat. If more people become involved and make their voices heard with organic foods, there can be great change in the way food is grown and consumed. We eat what is cheap and available, but by making changes we can live a healthier life and eat healthier foods.Learn more about organic foods and find out which foods you should always buy organic: http://www.drweil.com
Organic Foods
In its legal definition, Organic food production is a self-regulated industry with government oversight in some countries, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification based on government-defined standards in order to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, foods marketed as organic are produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organic industry trade organizations.
Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food’s total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States, Canada, and Australia). Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients.
Demand for organic foods is primarily driven by concerns for personal health and for the environment. Global sales for organic foods climbed by more than 170 percent since 2002 reaching more than $63 billion in 2011 while certified organic farmland remained relatively small at less than 2 percent of total farmland under production, increasing in OECD and EU countries (which account for the majority of organic production) by 35 percent for the same time period.
