What is Organic?

We read about the word “organic” as a label applied to food all the time?  But what does it reallymean?  According to US Dept. of Agriculture, organic means “meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products which  come from animals that are not given antibiotics or growth hormones”.  Organic food or produce is produced “without using pesticides or fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation”.  Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it?  Just the thought of eating vegetables grown in sewage sludge makes us pretty queezy…let alone radiation of plants?  So where to buy organic in Austin?  Most of our local supermarkets carry an organic produce section and we have a plethora of specialty markets for our Austin area like  Central Market Westgate, Sun Harvest, Newflower Farmers Market , and of course, the wonderful flagship store of Whole Foods (located downtown on 6th and Lamar) where you can eat in one of their incredible cafes, have a cooking lesson, listen to live music, and shop organic til you drop!  And if you are downtown on a Saturday, don’t miss the Austin Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 9am to 1pm on 4th and Guadalupe….yummy treats!  And so good for you, too!