Organic?

As I've prepared over the past couple months for this adventure, I've done a lot of reading and shopping and (imagine this) talking about it. On trips to visit my parents, I've shopped at their little farmers' market and chatted (lectured?) incessantly with my dad about things. Bless his heart, he mentioned buying an organic melon at the big store and said, "I know you're really trying hard to get into this organic thing." Well, yes - that's true. But I tried to explain to him that my journey here is to eat food grown locally, when a particular food is in season. Those aren't exactly the same thing, although most local growers certainly follow organic processes.

So what exactly IS organic? I did some reading today since the topic was featured at Web MD. By the way, I'll always try to quote credible sources - if I get something wrong and you can explain why, PLEASE tell me! I'm paraphrasing below...

Experts say that if you can't afford to go all-out organic (it IS pricey at times), that you should consider spending the you're able to allot on organic produce since it is most likely to contain pesticides. The Environmental Working Group recommends going organic on the "dirty dozen" - that produce most susceptible to pesticide residue.

• apples
• cherries
• grapes
• nectarines
• peaches
• pears
• raspberries
• strawberries
• bell peppers
• celery
• potatoes
• spinach/lettuce

Organic milk, beef, and poultry contain no hormones or antibiotics, which have been linked to increased antibacterial resistance in humans.

So, "100% Organic" means the food has no synthetic ingredients and can use the organic seal. Just plain "Organic" means the food has a minimum of 95% organic ingredient and can use the seal, as well.