Sponsored: Do some organic farmers use pesticides?

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Sponsored: Do some organic farmers use pesticides?

Though some organic marketers would like you to believe that organic means “pesticide-free”; organic farmers can use pesticides as long as they meet the specifications for the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP primarily allows natural pesticides but some synthetic pesticides are permitted.

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/01/25/organic-101-allowed-and-prohibited-substances

Farmers who are part of the National Organic Program and wish to use the USDA organic label to market their productare also supposed to use other methods first like Integrative Pest Management (IPM) which involves proactive methods of handling insects that might be harmful to crops/orchards.

https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/integrated-pest-management-ipm-principles

Use of IPM is not exclusive to organic farmers. Farmers and growers of all types and sizes typically use pest management techniques first and pesticides as a last resort due to the expense and time involved with spraying.

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Related Items

Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

twitter.com/InglesDietitian

facebook.com/LeahMcgrathDietitian

800-334-4936

Tags:

SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM

Contribute >

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Partner content: Avoiding ingredients

Question: If there is a long list of ingredients that sound like chemicals on a food package, should I avoid buying it?

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Partner content: What Can I Do With Tofu?

Tofu is the curd (like a cheese) of soybeans and comes in different textures from soft or silken to firm and extra-firm. Tofu is a good source of plant-based protein. Soft and silken have the consistency of a Greek yogurt, while firm and extra-firm tofu are more similar to a harder cheese or chicken breast.

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Partner content: Ingredient Intelligence

Did you know that ingredients are listed from most to least? What that means is that when you see the list of ingredients on a food package, the ingredients appear in the order in which the product has the most to which ingredients are in the smallest amount in the package.

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Partner content: Smart Snacks

When you’re busy it’s easy to grab something like a candy bar or soda to give you a quick hit of energy, but the reality is that those types of snacks are high in sugar which won’t keep you full, satisfied or fueled for long. Some better snack ideas: