Organic food is an important part of a healthy diet, but because of its growing popularity, large corporations are taking advantage of the opportunity and are deteriorating the reliability of the USDA’s organic certification requirements in the process.

The USDA’s organic seal is the most widely recognized and trusted marker of organic foods. For this label to be used on food products, they should be free of unnatural ingredients, should not be genetically modified or irradiated, and should be from crops that are grown without chemicals and livestock that are raised without antibiotics or hormones. Despite the many benefits of certified organic food, it’s unfortunately not always as healthy or pure as you may think.

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The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was put in place to protect and support the health of the general public. Unfortunately, it’s become clear over the past few decades that the FDA is protecting and supporting something entirely different and is actually endangering our health more so than protecting it.

The modern era of the FDA began in 1906 with the introduction of the Federal Food and Drugs Act which was intended to improve the safety of foods and drugs. Despite this being a step in the right direction, there were still very few restrictions on the production of pharmaceuticals at the time. In 1937, a poorly tested medication called Elixir Sulfanilamide turned out to be poisonous to humans and caused more than 100 deaths. In response, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 was created which gave the FDA much of the power that it has today. However, this power has been put to use in ways that conflict with the best interests of the general public.

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