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Comment by untothebreach | Hacker News Reader

I was under the impression that typically, "organic" does not necessarily mean "pesticide-free." I often see foods that are billed as "organic and pesticide-free," but I always thought "organic" just meant non-GMO.

Feel free to correct me, as I am just going purely off my own experiences here, but that was my impression.

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Organic, in the US, is regulated by the USDA and includes no genetically modified seeds and no use of chemical pesticides. If something has the green label it was tested and certified. Sometimes food manufacturers call out things like pesticide-free because there is confusion among consumers.

In the US, certified organic means without the use of synthetic pesticides including Round Up.

That said, the USDA has only had these rules since 2000 so unless you lived in California which had an older organic program or access to a farm, you probably haven't been eating organic all your life.

"Organic" can mean different things in different jurisdictions and different certification regimes. When I worked at a Whole Foods predecessor years ago I understood it to mean that produce was raised without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. This entailed being free from genetic modification (beyond breeding and cross-breeding), too. I would guess that the "and pesticide-free" bit is for marketing purposes, or the term "organic" was being inappropriately used.

And as applied to non-produce foods the term can mean something else entirely.

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