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Chemically, a compound or molecule containing carbon bound to hydrogen. Organic compounds make up all living matter. The term organic frequently is used to distinguish "natural" products or processes from man-made "synthetic" ones. Thus natural fertilizers include manures or rock phosphate, as opposed to fertilizers synthesized from chemical feedstocks. Likewise, organic farming and organic foods refer to the growing of food crops without the use of synthetic chemical pesticides or fertilizers; pests are controlled by cultivation techniques and the use of pesticides derived from natural sources (e.g., rotenone and pyrethrins, both from plants) and the use of natural fertilizers (e.g., manure and compost). Some consumers, alleging risks from synthetic chemicals, prefer organic food products. The FACT Act of 1990 required USDA to define organic foods for marketing purposes and implement a National Organic Program.
Industry:Agriculture
There is no universally accepted definition, but in general organic farming is a production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manure, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral bearing rocks, and aspects or biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients and to control weeds, insects and other pests.
Industry:Agriculture
Food products produced by organic farming practices and handled or processed under organic handling and manufacturing processes as defined by several private and state organic certifying agencies. Once the National Organic Program is operational, there will a national standard for what constitutes organic foods based on uniform standards for organic production, processing, and handling.
Industry:Agriculture
An international governmental organization established in 1961 (1) to formulate, coordinate and promote policies encouraging economic growth; (2) to stimulate and harmonize its members' efforts regarding the provision of financial and technical aid for developing countries; and (3) to contribute to the expansion of multilateral trade conducted on a nondiscriminatory basis. The OECD studies and discusses trade and related matters. Its current 29 members include the United States, Canada, the 15 countries of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Turkey. More recently, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and South Korea have become OECD members.
Industry:Agriculture
Insecticides that contain phosphorus, carbon, and hydrogen. They are cholinesterase inhibitors; some are highly acutely toxic, but they usually are not persistent in the environment. Parathion is an example of an organophosphate.
Industry:Agriculture
Relating to the senses (taste, color, odor, feel). Traditional USDA meat and poultry inspection techniques are considered organoleptic because inspectors perform a variety of such procedures - involving visually examining, feeling, and smelling animal parts - to detect signs of disease or contamination. These inspection techniques are not adequate to detect food borne pathogens that are of growing concern.
Industry:Agriculture
A highly reactive molecule composed of three oxygen atoms. Environmentally, ozone is important in two completely separate contexts梠ne, as a naturally occurring screen of harmful radiation in the outer atmosphere (i.e., stratospheric ozone), and two, as a component of polluting smog formed from emissions resulting from human activities (i.e., urban smog). In the stratosphere 7 to 10 miles above the Earth, naturally occurring ozone acts to shield the Earth from harmful radiation. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was discovered that emissions of certain chemicals catalyze destruction of stratospheric ozone, allowing more radiation to reach the Earth’s surface. The U.S. is a signatory to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances, which bans or limits uses of chemicals whose emissions deplete stratospheric ozone. Among the chemicals being phased out as ozone depleters are chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigeration and air conditioning and methyl bromide, a pesticide. In the lower atmosphere (troposphere), ozone is a major air pollutant that contributes to smog, adversely affects human health, and is toxic to some plants, damaging forests and crops. Tropospheric ozone forms from reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. The precursor pollutants are emitted by combustion sources such as motor vehicles and utilities, use of solvents, and petrochemical facilities. Tropospheric ozone is regulated under a National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
Industry:Agriculture
P.L. 83-480 (July 10, 1954), also called Food for Peace, is the common name for food aid programs established by the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, which seeks to expand foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products, combat hunger, and encourage economic development in developing countries. Title I makes export credit available on concessional terms, for example, at low interest rates for up to 30 years. Donations for emergency food relief and non-emergency humanitarian assistance are provided under Title II. Title III authorizes a Food for Development program that provides government-to-government grant food assistance to least developed countries. The FAIR Act of 1996 extends the authority to enter into new P.L. 480 agreements through 2002.
Industry:Agriculture
The Environmental Protection Agency has set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulates. One, in effect since 1987, regulates particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM10); the other, promulgated in 1997, would regulate particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) — but court challenges are delaying its implementation. These are of interest to agriculture because dust from tillage and smoke from burning field residues may contribute to pollutant levels. Whether controls might be imposed on agricultural activities depends largely on how each state chooses to meet the standards, however.
Industry:Agriculture
