Natural, Organic, Sustainable. What is the difference?

Many questions have been raised about natural, organic, and sustainable agriculture. What is the difference? I thought all meat products are natural? If I buy goats and put them on pasture is that classified organic? These are typical questions I receive on a daily basis regarding the agriculture industry. Let's examine the difference between natural, organic, and sustainable agriculture.

Natural

The definition of natural depends on who is defining the word. U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture do not have an official definition for the word. When it comes time to use the term, natural, both regulatory units evaluate the products on a case by case basis. Natural according to the USDA is definied as not adding any artificial flavoring, color ingredients, chemical preservatives or artificial or synthetic ingredients to the raw product. This definition only applies to meat and poultry. A natural product is minimally processed and does not alter the raw version.

Organic

Organic farming relies on practices such as using cultural and biological pest management, elimination of all hormones, antibiotics, and synthetic chemicals in crop and livestock production. Products, producers, and their farms must meet United States Department of Agriculture specific standards to be labeled as organic. Farmers must go through a certification program to have their farm classify as organic. Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products can be classified organic if no antibiotics or growth hormones have been given to the animal during its entire life. Feed for these animals must also be grown organically. USDA organic certifier will inspect the farm and ensure the farmer is following all organic standards.

There are three different types of organic labels for products. Labeling requirements are based on the percentage of organic ingredients in the product. '100 percent Organic' labeled products must contain only organic ingredients approved by the USDA. Products labeled 'Organic' contain at least 95 percent ingredients produced organically. The 'Made with Organic' label is used for processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients.

Sustainable

Finally, sustainable has no hard and fast definition. Sustainable foods are usually raised by farmers that promote the health of animals, land, environment, and community. Sustainable farming is more of a way of life and does not have any sort of certification. Animals must be able to carry out natural behaviors such as rooting and grazing. Sustainable farms produce and sell products that are sold as close to the farm as possible. Consumers can partake in sustainable practices by buying local and eating seasonally.

So remember, next time you hear someone talk about these three types of farming practices, make sure to educate them on the proper definition.

May is the Perfect Time to Shear Sheep and Learn About the Industry!

During the month of May, shepherds are preparing for the warmer weather. For many, this means shearing the flock of sheep. In New Zealand, a mother daughter team set a new world record by shearing over 900 lambs in one day! These two sheared 903 lambs in eight hours with the mother at age 54, shearing 433 lambs and the daughter, age 22, shearing 470. The mother daughter team took only three breaks, 30 minutes in the morning, one hour for lunch, and 30 minutes in the afternoon. What a team!

Recently I stumbled upon an interesting type of sheep shearer, a robot. James Trevelyan, a Professor at the University of Western Australia, School of Mechanical Engineering, was responsible for creating this robot called Shear Magic. The robot was tested over 1000 times and has clipped over 400 fleeces at the university. It turns out that the robot could shear the sheep and have fewer skin cuts than human shearers. Watch the video of Shear Magic http://tinyurl.com/cujwtk.

Coming up this weekend is a chance to learn more about sheep production, how to shear sheep and spin and weave wool at the Waynesburg Sheep and Wool Festival in Waynesburg, PA on May 16- 17, 2009. Four city blocks of Waynesburg will be closed to allow for the public to learn about the sheep and fiber industry. The weekend will be filled with crafts, contests, and plenty of free lamb sampling. Enjoy the festivities, fun, and learning experience this weekend! Visit www.sheepandfiber.com for more information.

Yes to Lamb Check-Off!

By an astounding margin of 85.1 percent, the members of the U.S. sheep industry voted to continue the deduction on sheep sales to support the marketing of American lamb. These are the certified results of the nationwide vote that was conducted at U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency offices during February 2009 and announced today by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

"This is the second referendum since the inception of the program in 2002 and both have recorded overwhelming approval for an industry-funded lamb promotion," remarks Peter Orwick, executive director for the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI). "Sheep producer volunteers encouraged a yes vote in the referendum to keep this valuable tool alive in the fight for a piece of the meat market in the United States.

"This promotion effort is designed for American lamb only and is the key to providing additional visibility for domestically grown lamb in the meat cases of the nation's retailers as well as in the restaurant trade," Orwick adds.

ASI President Glen Fisher, a Texas sheep producer, comments that the lamb program is the only livestock checkoff program that has producers, feeders and meat packers all contributing funds to the promotion effort. He relays that the vote had to be approved on both the individual votes as well as the volume of sheep represented. In the volume vote, a record setting 93 percent supported the referendum.

A 13-member volunteer board, known as the American Lamb Board, representing these segments of the industry collects the funds and administers all the programs.

"The promotion board and its programs deliver benefits to the lamb market and it has also been extremely successful in avoiding conflict among industry segments, so much so that the principal concern around the referendum was motivating folks to vote when there was little to no controversy over the issue," Fisher concludes.

- ASI Weekly