Safeway brand organics - are they organic enough?

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At Safeway lately they have been expanding their offering of organic products and have their own organic private label. I can't help but feel that a brand that has always been organic is likely "more organic" than Safeway's products, but I just don't know enough about it. Is anyone else out there wondering this? Am I just ignorant about what "organic" means?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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I'm not sure about Safeway, but I went and spoke to a Nutritionist for the county that I live in and "organic" is only as good as it is handled. Organic means not having preservatives and pesticides, etc while growing this vegetable or fruit. There are many farmers that grow "organic" items, yet their neghboring farmer might not handle this the same way and sprays their crops with everything and anything. When it rains or the wind blows, you still may have these items wash upon the "organic" crops. Everytime I see organic, I will get something from the store, but not at a huge price difference.

I think Safeway and other grocery stores that carry items under their store's name get the items from the name brand suppliers. This would include the organic items.
They probably make a deal with the grower or producer, to buy food items at a lower price, then use their own packaging to make it their own.

My sister, as a project for one of her classes, is joining a group called Locavores (I may be spelling this wrong). To be a Locavore, everything you eat has to be made withing a 100 mile radius of where you live. This includes the grain that bread is made with, which she was lamenting would be a tough one to figure out.
But she went to the Farmer's Market on Sunday and bough locally made butter, which has to be delicious!

It's always best to support your local farmers anyway.
Thanks for the book suggestions!

Organic varies a lot depending on the organization certifying that the food is organic and also depending on the state. Some states, like California, have much stronger labeling rules about Organic. Always check out the organization certifying that something is Organic. In general CA organic is somewhat trustworthy as is the European Organic seal.

Michael Pollan's statement that local is better is generally true. But it helps to understand what goes into organic growing and what Organic can and can not mean. He also does a good job of explaining this in his books.

On the most basic level organic means no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. But where does one draw the line between what is chemical and what is not? Is a naturally occurring Oil that is also toxic for people OK to spread on plants as a pesticide? You can see how things can get complicated. In an ideal world organic fertilizer is composted biomass from a local source. If a farmer teams up with a pig farm and imports the manure from pigs that are being raised in pens and in a factory type setting and uses that to spread on his crops, is that organic? So because farming involves many different life cycles true organic can be difficult to define and to regulate.

If you are really interested in learning about organic foods I recommend joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area. This way you can see what is involved in getting our food from seed to table.

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