Confusing Terminology

Confusing Terminology. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. These days consumers are paying more attention to their food – where it's from, how it's grown, what it's made of. But sometimes it's hard to keep all the information straight, especially when sometimes the information you hear from the media confuses the issue even further. MILLER: a lot of the farmers that grow our food and raise the animals get frustrated with the amount of terminology that gets thrown around by people. I think they're not doing the food supply or people who buy food any favors by misusing the terminology or using it loosely. And I know our producers would rather have an informed consumer that could make a good choice rather than a confused consumer. Curtis Miller is director of education for the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. He says one term that confuses a lot of people is "organic." MILLER: in a general sense, to grow organically, producers do not use man-made pesticides and fertilizers. That does not mean that they do not use any pesticides or fertilizers, it just means that they do not use synthetic means. Organic farmers also do not use biotechnology. But what about those experts who say locally grown food is better for you? MILLER: I think the locally grown food movement has some benefits and some drawbacks. One of the concerns that consumers have is how far is my food traveling that I purchased? And I think that's a valid concern when you think about the carbon footprint for producing a tomato and consuming it. It's something to consider. The only problem with that is that if I want to have a tomato in Wisconsin in January, I'm not going to be able to buy locally grown. The nice thing about the United States is that we have diverse climates and we have the ability to grow food year round in some states. So locally grown has its advantages and has its benefits, but isn't always the right answer. And while it supports local farmers, it doesn't say anything about how that food was grown. MILLER: Reading your labels and understanding what that terminology means makes you an informed consumer and helps you make good choices. When you're going to the farmers' market ask them "what does this term mean that's on your sign?" and support the local producers. We are obviously for that. But there can be local producers found in your own grocery stores and your larger retail outlets as well He talks about terminology used to describe food. Miller: Organic is one of those terms that has a definition and has some definable, measurable characteristics by the USDA and has a brand that people can look for. I think where we get into a little bit of trouble is with some of the other terms that are out there. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.