In the US, 'organic food' is defined by the USDA

The USDA does not claim that organic food is healthier than the alternatives

Although many believe organic food to be healthier, the USDA's organic label refers to methods used to grow the food rather than any potential health benefits. Still, a 2016 Pew Research Center study found that 76% of people purchased organic food for its health value.

A quarter of Gen Z eats organic food

A 2025 YouGov poll found that 25% of Gen Z US adults eat organic food, while 10% say they follow a whole-foods diet, meaning they seek out foods that are minimally processed.

Proof of 'natural' food claims are voluntary for most food products

Unlike the enforcement done by the USDA for meat, dairy and eggs, the FDA offers loose guidelines for using a "natural" food label on most foods, and following the guidelines is voluntary. As a result, many products labeled as "natural" can contain processed ingredients and synthetic additives.

This 'Science Vs' episode checks the taste, health, and environmental claims about organic food against the actual research.

J.I. Rodale helped pioneer organic farming in the US

Rodale began using the term “organic” in the 1940s to describe farming practices that avoided the use of pesticides and chemicals, which he believed were dangerous. Rodale used a 63-acre farm in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, to cultivate organic food and established a magazine, Organic Farming and Gardening, as well as a foundation based on a simple motto: “Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People.”

Washington, DC's Restaurant Nora was the first certified organic restaurant in the US

The owner, Nora Pouillon, opened the restaurant in 1979, branding its menu as "additive-free food" to avoid the negative associations people had with "health food." In 1999, it was certified as an organic restaurant, a standard achieved by using at least 95% organic ingredients.

Over the years, the USDA has changed its definitions of healthy eating

The US Department of Agriculture began offering eating advice in 1894 and has updated its guidance as both science and politics have evolved. In the early 20th century, its guidance emphasized recommended minimum servings of important foods; in later decades, its visual guides became more nuanced, illustrating the composition of a healthy diet and encouraging exercise.

Where to buy organic on a budget

In the past year, prices for organic fruits and vegetables rose 13.1%, significantly higher than the price increase of non-organic foods. While buying organic can be costly, certain stores can help organic shoppers save. This list highlights produce stores you may have been overlooking, like Trader Joe's and Walmart. Peruse the list and keep you grocery costs down.

Organic food might be greener, but it’s not better for you

Weighing in on the ongoing debate surrounding organic versus “regular” foods, health experts explain whether organic foods offer significant health benefits. Studies suggest that organic foods have little additional nutritional value compared to...

Ultraprocessed foods include preservatives, dyes, sweeteners, and more

Processed foods are those that have been altered from their original state, which includes numerous processes that we consider natural, such as cooking or salting. Ultraprocessed foods contain at least one item that wouldn’t be found in a kitchen, like hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup. It’s estimated that nearly 75% of all foods consumed in the US are ultraprocessed, though that doesn’t mean that all of them are unhealthy. In fact, some, such as prepackaged whole wheat bread and soy milk, are recognized for their health benefits.

The term 'food deserts' originated in Scotland in the 1990s to describe areas with limited access to nutritious food, but its legal definition in the US was established as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.

Commodities have to meet specific specifications to be classified as commodities

In the financial sense of the term, commodities must be uniform, interchangeable, and deliverable to meet the classification. That's partly why a crop grown in your backyard might not qualify as a commodity crop.

Unlike fruits, the category of 'vegetables' is a culinary term, not a scientific one

Within botany, fruits are defined as the ripened ovaries of flowering plants, and include apples, grapes, tomatoes, avocados, green beans, peppers, and almonds. In the kitchen, "vegetables" is an umbrella term that encompasses many fruits and other parts of plants, such as leaves (lettuce, kale) and roots (carrots, beets).

A Missouri farmer sold $140M worth of fake organic feed

Randy Constant sold nonorganic feed to other farmers, who fed it to their animals, which were then sold as organic meat. The scheme began sometime in the mid-2000s and ended after a tip, likely from one of Constant’s competitors, to the US Department of Agriculture. Constant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but died by suicide before serving time.

Microplastics are entering human food chains through carrots, wheat, and other foodstuffs grown in farmlands fertilized by sewage sludge.

The ABCs and FAQs on GMOs from the WHO.

GMOs (or genetically modified organisms) are a subject of great debate in the food world…but how come? GMOs are organisms whose genetic materials have been altered in a way that does not occur naturally in order to create a product that has a...

USP-verified label on supplements means a nonprofit confirmed what's in the bottle

The black-and-yellow USP-verified program seal on a dietary supplement bottle means that the nonprofit US Pharmacopeia tested a sample of the product and verified that it was made in a facility with good manufacturing practices and that it will dissolve in the body. Their certification also means they tested to confirm that the product contains the ingredients listed on the bottle at the specified levels, and that it doesn't contain harmful levels of certain dangerous contaminants.

Hippies explored the possibilities of organic food

The 1960s counterculture sought to buck traditions, including culinary ones. Hippies believed that healthier food was integral to dismantling the status quo and, in turn, started health food stores, espoused vegetarian diets, and cultivated organic food, which they found to be a welcome alternative to the over-commercialized farming industry. In the decades since the movement’s decline, many of its practices have been absorbed by the mainstream.

The term 'superfood' is a marketing construct with no scientific or medical definition

Encompassing at least 136 plants and animals, the concept has been criticized by nutritionists for its scientific value, which has been exploited by the wellness industry for profit. Although the label has encouraged the consumption of fruits and vegetables, food variety and minimal processing remain key to a healthy diet.

Sri Lanka shows that organic farming success isn’t as simple as banning fertilizer and pesticides

A shift to better farming practices is possible, but Sri Lanka’s abrupt switch to organics offers a bitter lesson in how to change food systems in a sustainable way.

Food companies usually issue recalls voluntarily and you can be automatically notified about them

Protecting yourself from food poisoning means staying on top of food recall announcements. Notices about these from the US government, which you can automatically receive after signing up at this link, note what products have been recalled by food companies. Companies alert the US Food and Drug Administration or the US Department of Agriculture when they issue recalls so the public can stay informed.

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by fungi—some show up in food

About a quarter of the world’s agricultural products are contaminated with mycotoxins. Some of these compounds can cause serious health problems, including cancer, so the US government has set up monitoring programs to detect them in our food and in animal feed. Humans can become ill if they eat contaminated food, but also if they ingest products from animals that had previously consumed these toxic compounds, such as milk from a cow that ate contaminated corn.

Organic architecture marries man-made buildings with the natural context around them

Frank Lloyd Wright’s nebulous concept of organic architecture is one that even he struggled to define. Its basic premise is to make a building look as though it grew from the land it stands on by emphasizing natural materials and incorporating the surrounding environment into the design.

The world's top agriculture-producing countries

Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the global economy, and while every country produces some of its own food, some countries dominate the markets. The US, Brazil, and the Netherlands are the world's top three agriculture exporters. See more charts and statistics on the topic with this Investopedia article.

The US FDA defines peptides as being 40 amino acids or less.

The FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they go to market

The US Food and Drug Administration does not regulate products including vitamins, probiotics, and herbal mixes as drugs due to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Because dietary supplements are regulated as a subcategory of foods, inspectors do not assess whether dietary supplements work as advertised before sale.

What exactly is a GMO?

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is an organism whose DNA has been altered for specific improvement such as longer shelf life, disease resistance, or enhanced nutrition—which can benefit both farmers and consumers. While humans have used...

US federal law dictates that all ads must not be deceptive

It also dictates that all ads must be “not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.” However, enforcing these laws can be difficult given the massive number of ads that run all over America each day. This explainer on the subject from the FTC provides more information.

Rachel Carson didn't argue for wholly organic farming

Her 1962 book, “Silent Spring,” inspired many people to consider the chemicals used to grow their food, but Carson didn’t think that manufactured fertilizers needed to be banned from farming, writing that “The ultimate answer is to use less toxic chemicals so that the public hazard from their misuse is greatly reduced.” When she testified to Congress in 1963, she said, “I think chemicals do have a place.”

Natural food stores began sprouting up in the US in the 1960s and 1970s

Health food stores began opening in the ‘50s, though they were primarily focused on vitamins and holistic supplements. Natural food stores, however, provided pesticide-free produce and often relied on local farmers for their products. One of the first was New Age Natural Foods, in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which opened in 1965.

Roughly 80% of US antibiotics sold each year go to agricultural use

Antibiotics have long been used in agriculture to treat diseases in animals and plants. However, antibiotics are also often misused, to treat non-bacterial diseases, to encourage growth in animals, and more. This expansive use of antibiotics has become one of the primary sources of the emergence of new superbugs.

In the US, you must actively sign up to donate your organs

The US has an opt-in donation system for organ donation—meaning people must provide consent to proceed with any donation. Locations including Spain, the United Kingdom, and Argentina have an opt-out donation system, which means individuals are presumed to be donors unless they actively refuse consent.

GMOs sound scary, but you eat them every day

Why are GMOs bad? They aren't. We've been eating them for decades with no ill effects, which makes sense, because a genetically modified organism is simply an organism, like every other organism, produces hundreds of thousands of proteins, but one or two of them are proteins that were chosen specifically by humans. Watch this 11-minute video for more.

Dietary supplements are regulated like foods

This hour-long 2016 documentary from Frontline, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and The New York Times examined the safety of dietary supplements. It noted that this then-$30B industry (it's at least doubled since then) suffers from irregularities and impurities. It warned that many Americans are unaware of the lack of regulatory oversight over these products.

The dietary market is worth more than $60B

Listen to this question and answer session with the US Food and Drug Administration about dietary supplements—vitamins, minerals, probiotics and similar products people may buy in liquid, pill, or powder form. They are categorized legally as a category of food and can be legally brought to market without the FDA even knowing about it, though consumers can tell FDA about issues with the products and FDA can take action to remove dangerous or unlawful items after they're available.

UNOS oversees the entire US organ donation system

The United Network for Organ Sharing is a private, nonprofit organization that manages much of the US organ donation and transplantation system under a federal contract. Medical urgency, blood type, organ size, and geography of the donor and recipient are all factors determining how someone who needs an organ is matched with someone who donated an organ.

'Human composting' is an eco-friendly burial method legal in only a few states

Formally known as natural human organ reduction, this process relies on the same principles as standard composting and breaks down the body over many weeks, turning it into a type of soil. It's currently only legal in a handful of states.

Why the US can’t end poverty

Despite being among the wealthiest nations in the world in terms of GDP, the US has a major poverty issue, with more than 37 million Americans living in poverty as of 2023. Part of the issue is that the standards by which the US measures poverty are outdated: The official poverty measure in the US today is based on calculations from the 1960s. Find out more in this video.

Selecting an embryo based on polygenic score is illegal in the UK, Israel, and swaths of Europe

Though their use for embryo selection is illegal in many locations, private clinics in the US may offer polygenic scores to inform embryo selection. The US Food and Drug Administration has not banned their use—instead the tests are regulated like supplements, meaning they are not regulated before they come to market but consumers can file complaints and then the agency may take action.

The food industry's hard-to-solve pollution

One-quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions result from food and agriculture. That whopping number includes production and post-farm processes like distribution. See a visualization of the data along with a breakdown explaining how each process contributes to emissions, and why it’s so difficult to improve the agriculture industry.

Stevia is a plant-derived sweetener but the plant isn't approved for eating

Steviol glycosides, the sweet-tasting stuff in the plant leaves, are purified and highly processed before they end up in the food or drinks sold in stores. The US Food and Drug Administration does not allow the use of stevia leaf or crude stevia extracts in food, and the agency also bars them from being imported into the US for use as sweeteners.

Ultra-processed foods are made to maximize cravings and encourage overeating

Often disguised as healthy options like granola bars and low-fat yogurt, these foods silently fuel chronic diseases, despite dominating diets. Reviewing labels for ingredients like stabilizers and emulsifiers can serve as indicators to help identify these products.

See how food access varies across America with these interactive maps that show grocery store proximity.

Humans need vitamins, but research is mixed on taking supplements

When an organism needs an organic molecule to survive, but cannot synthesize enough of it itself, that molecule is called a vitamin. Typically, we consume vitamins through food, but many resort to supplements—a common and mostly unregulated practice.

Imagining the farms of the future

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to farm. This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history and enabled the existence of civilization. Today, nearly 40 percent of our planet is farmland. Spread all over the world, these lands are the pieces to a global puzzle we're all facing: in the future, how can we feed every member of a growing population a healthy diet? Brent Loken investigates in this seven-minute video.

The US FDA recently tried to regulate the expanded prenatal genetic tests

The agency proposed a new rule in 2023 to make it explicit that these types of tests are devices under existing law and clarify that that the agency could move to regulate them. They finalized a regulatory change in 2024 that added the words "including when the manufacturer of these products is a laboratory" to an existing law, but a federal district court vacated that edit in March 2025—returning the law to as it was before.

What constitutes a 'healthy' diet?

A natural diet, typically high in plant-based foods and low in processed foods, appears to be the main contributor to a healthy, diverse gut microbiome.

Most of the 86,000 consumer chemicals registered with the US EPA have never received rigorous toxicity testing, though not all those are still in current use.

Natural toxins produced on plants or consumed by animals may cause food poisoning

When humans eat plants with certain natural toxins on them—including a family of toxins called aflatoxins that fungi produce on crops like peanuts and corn— they can become ill with food poisoning. Toxins can still harm humans even if animals or plants appear fine to the human eye. The World Health Organization advises that we should throw away moldy or discolored foods, refrain from eating wild plants or mushrooms that aren’t definitively nonpoisonous, and remember that just because something is “natural” it’s not always safe to eat.

How the world produces food, in drone photos

Drone photographer George Steinmetz spent a decade documenting the vast scope of humanity's agriculture using drone photography. Roughly 40% of the Earth's surface is dedicated to growing food, and experts suggest we must produce 60% more food than we do now to feed the projected population in 2050. Browse the absolutely stunning photos here.