On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This article is about food that complies with the standards of organic farming. For organic apple cider vinegar advertised as “natural”, see Natural food.

Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. In the 21st century, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification to market their food as organic. Demand for organic foods is primarily driven by consumer concerns for personal health and the environment, such as the detrimental environmental impacts of pesticides. 20th century was a large supply of new products, generally deemed not organic, introduced into food production.

The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture. In the industrial era, organic gardening reached a modest level of popularity in the United States in the 1950s. In the 1960s, environmentalists and the counterculture championed organic food, but it was only in the 1970s that a national marketplace for organic foods developed. Early consumers interested in organic food would look for non-chemically treated, non-use of unapproved pesticides, fresh or minimally processed food.

They mostly had to buy directly from growers. Later, “Know your farmer, know your food” became the motto of a new initiative instituted by the USDA in September 2009. In the 1970s, interest in organic food grew with the rise of the environmental movement and was also spurred by food-related health scares like the concerns about Alar that arose in the mid-1980s. Organic food production is distinct from private gardening. In the EU, organic farming and organic food are more commonly known as ecological or biological, or in short ‘eco’ and ‘bio’. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification based on government-defined standards to market food as organic within their borders.