Choosing organic wisely

What does organic mean?

Do you need to buy everything organic? No. Here are the fruit and vegetables where organic really makes a difference, how to pay less for it, and the labels to recognise in the shop.

An organic fruit or vegetable has grown without chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. You can spot it by the green AB logo or the little European leaf made of stars.

Organic or not? Where it matters most

No need to buy everything organic. Thin-skinned fruit eaten with the skin on are the most treated; those protected by a thick skin or grown with few treatments are much less so.

Organic first

Best bought organic

Thin skin, eaten whole, often treated several times a season.

Lower priority

Conventional is often fine

A thick skin you remove, or crops with few treatments: residues are rarely found.

Buying organic on a budget

Five simple habits for eating organic on a small budget.

  1. Seasonal In peak season, organic produce is plentiful and its price gets close to conventional. See the calendar →
  2. At the market Organic growers sell there with no middleman. At the end of the market, you can often haggle over unsold produce. Find a market →
  3. Loose, unpackaged Dried fruit, pulses, grains: with no packaging, you pay less and buy just the right amount.
  4. With a veg box scheme (AMAP) A subscription with a local grower: an organic box every week, at a fixed price all year round.
  5. At the farm Buying direct cuts out the margins: farm shops and producers near you are often the cheapest way to buy organic.

Organic, local, seasonal: what’s the difference?

Three different promises that complement each other. Ideally: all three at once.

BioA way of farming What it guaranteesNo synthetic chemical pesticides or fertilisers, no GMOs, inspected every year. What it doesn’t tell youWhere it comes from: an organic fruit can cross the planet.
LocalA distance What it guaranteesGrown near you: little transport, freshness, a producer you can meet. What it doesn’t tell youHow it’s grown: local doesn’t mean organic.
SeasonalA moment in time What it guaranteesHarvested ripe, at the right time of year: more flavour, fewer heated greenhouses. What it doesn’t tell youNeither the origin nor the farming method.

Organic certifications

In French shops, several logos sit side by side. They all guarantee farming without synthetic chemical pesticides or fertilisers, but some go further on origin, fairness or farming practices.

  • AB logo — Agriculture BiologiqueAB — Agriculture Biologique (organic farming) French logo The best-known organic label in France. It guarantees at least 95 % organic ingredients, with no synthetic chemical pesticides or GMOs. It follows the same rules as the EU logo.
  • EU organic Euro-leaf logoEuro-leaf EU organic logo Mandatory on all packaged organic products sold in the European Union. It shows the certification body’s code and the origin of the raw materials (EU, non-EU).
  • Bio Cohérence logoBio Cohérence French association label Goes further than EU rules: 100 % organic ingredients, fully organic farms, preference for French origin and social requirements.
  • Nature & Progrès logoNature & Progrès Association label Founded in 1964, an organic pioneer. Stricter standards than AB, checked by producers and consumers themselves (a participatory system).
  • Demeter logoDemeter Biodynamic label Biodynamic farming: the farm seen as a living organism, natural preparations, following lunar rhythms. Organic certification is required first.
  • Bio Équitable en France logoBio Équitable en France Organic and fair-trade label French organic supply chains with a fair price guaranteed to producers, multi-year contracts and shared governance.
  • Biopartenaire logoBiopartenaire Organic and fair-trade label Combines organic and fair trade, in France and internationally: fair pay for producers and long-term trading relationships.

The organic farmer’s tricks

Without chemicals, how do you protect your fruit and vegetables? With nature!

  • Ladybirds Instead of chemicals, the organic farmer invites ladybirds: just one can eat dozens of aphids a day!
  • Compost Peelings and manure become a natural fertiliser. Earthworms love it and bring the soil to life.
  • Moving around Every year, the vegetables move to a different corner of the field. That way, the little bugs that love them can’t find them.
  • Straw at the base To stop weeds growing, straw is put around the plants, or the weeds are pulled out by hand.

While shopping, look for these two logos on the labels. How many organic products will you find?

AB logo The AB logoGreen and white, it’s the French logo.
EU organic Euro-leaf logo The starry leafA leaf made of stars: the European logo.

True or false?

Five common ideas about organic. Click to reveal the answer.

Guess the answer, then click to check!

“Organic means zero pesticides.”
False A few naturally derived products are still allowed, such as copper or sulphur. Synthetic chemical pesticides, however, are banned. Organic farming can use a few natural products, but never synthetic chemicals.
“An organic fruit can come from very far away.”
True The organic label says nothing about the distance travelled. For fruit from near you, check the origin on the label. Yes! An organic banana comes from very far away. Look at the label to find out where your fruit comes from.
“GMOs are banned in organic farming.”
True It’s one of the basic rules of the EU regulation. Yes, in organic farming, plants modified in a lab are banned.
“Organic is always more expensive.”
False In season, at the market, loose or in a veg box, the gap with conventional shrinks a lot. Not always! In peak season and at the market, organic sometimes costs almost the same.
“Washing fruit removes all pesticides.”
False Washing removes some of the surface residues, peeling a bit more, but never all of them. Washing helps, but it doesn’t remove everything. Always wash your fruit anyway!
Drawing: on the left, a young farmer in his field; on the right, a family shopping at the market
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Drawing: on the left, a smiling farmer in his orchard; on the right, two children tasting fruit in the kitchen
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