Korean Job Discussion Forums

[charlieDD]

I see "yoo gi nong" showing up on just about every kind of food product imaginable these days in Korea, from candy and chocolate to rice, vegetables, eggs, milk, tofu, poultry and meats.

I was always doubtful with the "organic" claim of products in the states, but trusted them a bit more after the certification regimen was put in place (by the FDA I suppose). I know that is still no guarantee that you're getting what you think you're getting, i.e. that it matches your expectations of what "organic" should mean.

How about here in Korea? Anybody know if there is some kind of certification required before a producer can start calling his product "organic" ? Or is it just another magic word their putting on the package, like "Premium" "Gold" "Xylitol" (have read that some of the xylitol gum contains no xylitol at all !) ?



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Why should middle-class America fund with their tax dollars research at Harvard Univeristy that leads to products produced overseas?

[Bibbitybop]

I have no idea about the organic issue, but once I see the price of it over here, I buy the regular kind and let the chemicals swim through my veins.

To answer the question in your signature:

[mikekim]

Organic means a 1000% price increase. That's your certification.

[indiercj]

There are 4 different grades for every organic products certified by the government(based on the new Law on Agricultural Product Control of '99).

To obtain the 'Genuine organic agricultural product(유기농산물)' grade, you must not use any kind of chemicals including fertilizers for the last 3 years of production.

There's the 'Transitional(전환기농산물)' grade which requires at least one year without chemicals.

The 'No chemical(무농약)' grade is given when no chemicals with the execption of a reduced to less than 1/3 of certain fertilizers from a recommended total amount by the national agricutural board is used.

The 'Less chemical(저농약)' grade is given when the reduced amount of the chemicals is less than half.

[charlieDD]

[indiercj]

From left to right: Genuine organic, Transitional, No-chemicals, Lesser chemicals.

[charlieDD]

[OiGirl]

[essexboy]

who cares?

[Hyeon Een]

One of my adult students told me that he had a cousin who was an organic farmer. I hadn't heard much about organic farming in Korea so I asked a few questions about it.

My student told me that actually his cousin was very lazy, so the cousin's mother looked after his land for him. The cousin's mother was quite an old lady and she found it very hard work pulling weeds and so on. So to make her life easier she she used lots of pesticides and herbicides and fertilizers and so on, without telling her son.

I wonder how often they inspect these farms. Or maybe the old lady just hands over a bribe or something. Anyway, it was interesting to learn about 'organic' farming in Korea.

[indiercj]

[bellum99]

I have been to the farms...they use the contaminated water on both organic and non-organic. I have to seriously doubt the quality assurance process. They are not using cleaner water on the organic products...

[mindmetoo]

Some food for thought on organic:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/organic.html