The Organic Movement
Organic is a word that seems straight forward but actually has several nuances in meaning. When many people envision organic food, their minds jump to GMO-free crops raised without herbicides or pesticides and animals raised without hormones or antibiotics. Thisvision is a good basic definition of the idea of organic food, but it is not wholly accurate and only scratches the surface. In general, it is important to understand that there are relatively clear definitions of whatlegally constitutes “organic” food devised and regulated by government agencies such as the USDA in America, or one of the USDA’s Accredited Certifying Agents. Other governments will have their own standards as to what classifies as organic, and those requirements should be sought out on the individual country’s websites.
For USDA standards, organic food must be produced, handled, processed, labeled, and marketed in certain ways to qualify as an organic product. The USDA agriculture marketing site says “Overall; organic operations must demonstrate that they are protecting natural resources, conserving biodiversity, and using only approved substances.” Most people know that the USDA programs regulate food, but it is interesting to note that other products are regulated as well. There are categories for flowers and plants; tobacco; wool, mohair, and cotton; nuts; and specialty products.
The Natural Movement
The natural movement, on the other hand, does not have a lot of rules and regulations because the government has not codified it like organic production. Therefore, people looking for “natural” products need to know a lot more about what they are specifically looking for and how to find it. The main way that natural differs from organic is that adherents to “natural” products are mainly seeking to avoid anything that is altered chemically or synthesized in any form and by some definitions, they may even attempt to avoid anything modern.It may seem ironic to this group of people that synthetic substances are allowed in organic farming as long as they are on the list of approved substances and in some schools of natural eating, organically produced milk is no longer “natural” once it has been pasteurized.
This desire to make their diet as natural as possible has even spawned a whole movement dedicated to turning back the clock. Paleo principals turn back the clock by several epochs, while the movement towards heirloom fruits and vegetables only turns back the clock a few generations. The Paleo school of thought espouses that natural eating means as much as possible only eating the things that our distant ancestors ate during the Paleolithic period. The argument is that humans have not changed as much genetically as our foodstuffs have changed and that optimum health comes from eating a diet aligned with our genetic makeup Heirloom proponents such as the Seed Savers Exchange and The Livestock Conservancy are examples of organizations dedicated to conserving the genetic diversity of plant and animal species respectively. Home picking and canning and buying fresh and local foods from farmer’s markets or direct from producers is another way proponents of natural eating seek to enhance their health and minimize their ecological footprint.
The natural movement also encompasses many other consumer goods such as the fibers that we wear, the cleaners we use in our homes and even the materials from which we build our homes. Adherents to the natural movement are probably the most likely to be found “living off the grid.”
The Herbal Movement
Although herbs are used in food for flavor and to enhance its nutritive value, the core of the herbal movement is in the medicinal uses of these compounds. The word “herbal” is a bit of a misnomer because many of the traditional medicinal plants are not actually “herbs” by traditional botanical definition, but are understood to be many other plants. The Herb Society of America notes that “they [herbs] are valued for their flavor, fragrance, medicinal and healthful qualities, economic and industrial uses, pesticidal properties, and coloring materials (dyes).” With this myriad of applications, it is evident why adherents to the idea of natural living would be interested in the use of herbs in their lifestyles.
Even people who would probably consider themselves mainstream are aware of the uses of herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Naturopathic practice. This type of more traditional medical care is becoming more popular because 1) It WORKS, and 2) the antics of people like Martin Shkreli (Pharmabro) are doing a good job of opening the general populaces eyes to the real motivations of modern pharmaceutical companies.
It is not clear if herbs raised for use in TCM and Naturopathy are actually organic. In fact,this article from the Institute for Traditional Medicine in Portland, Oregon raises definite concern about how many Chinese herbs sources from China may be grown and treated and advised caution to practitioner sourcing these products to treat their patients. So herbal is “natural” but may not necessarily be organic
The Holistic Movement
Talking about TCM and Naturopathic Medicine is an excellent segue from the herbal movement to the holistic movement – because fundamentally what these two branches of medicine do is to treat the WHOLE patient – body, mind, and spirit. They understand that the foundation of health is balanced, and that there is no distinction between our physical needs, emotional needs, and spiritual needs.
In a broader sense then – living a holistic lifestyle means that we give reverence to all of the components of “self.” We won’t fill our bodies with non-nutritive foods and chemicals; we won’t fill our minds with inane material from society and the internet, and we will commit to nurturing our spirits with whatever faith tradition (or lack thereof) gives us life. Many holistically-minded people practice arts such as yoga or meditation and nurture their inner selves through a combination of techniques. However, for most, clean eating – be it organic, natural, or what is commonly just referred to as “clean” is a fundamental part of this life strategy. So even though integrating elements of the first three lifestyle choices is not a requirement for holistic living, it is a natural progression in the search for “wholeness.”