It’s Not Organic…It’s Certified Transitional. What is That?

Over the course of our lifetimes, our diets and dietary habits will change.

What we once thought was “healthy” would be no longer, as research keeps changing day-by-day.  And what was healthy for us before, may not be as healthy for us today, due to new health issues that pop up as we age.

And this is exactly what happened to me over the course of my lifetime.  From having a “healthy” low-fat diet throughout the 2000’s to a 80% organic/20% non-organic balanced diet today, things have drastically changed for me and my family as a direct result of my pesticide allergy.

**Even though it was already complicated with a Type 1 Diabetic and Food Allergy Sufferer (to corn, avocados, bananas, etc) in the same household).**

If you have an allergy, you know how difficult it is finding similar foods you once liked to one’s that you could have and trust.

So let’s get to the chase.

The last time I went grocery shopping, I went straight down the cereal aisle looking for a different “organic” cereal to try.  I found a few, but since Kashi was on sale, I picked a few as many of them were organic-certified.

To my dismay, despite looking similar, one of them (see here) did not say organic, instead it said “Certified Transitional.”

I’ve never heard of this terminology before.  And just as I was about to put it back, I saw that there was a long explanation on the back of what certified transitional meant.

Certified Transitional is defined as:

“a new process in which a third party certification company will monitor and approve farms that are transitioning from conventional to organic. “

Given this definition, you may ask why even bother?  Why not just wait until it’s organic rather than give another title?

And the reason that they are creating this title is for the farmers.

During the three years in which it takes to transition from conventionally grown to organically grown farmer’s lose money.  They spend more money meeting all requirements necessary to become organic, but while doing so, sell the item at the same amount.

They lose money for years just to have a certified organic label.

By creating this new title, farmers are given more recognition. It gives farmers the positive reinforcement that they need to switch over to organic.  Essentially, the goal of this title is to increase the amount of organic farmland… And personally, I think it’s great.

As Kashi says…

So on that note, you bet I bought that “non-organic” cereal.  And I honestly thought it was great.  It may not have been as “clean” as “organic,” but it was great supporting farmers who were making the change.

So I’m curious to know…  What are your thoughts?  Will you be buying these “certified transitional products” or will you be only buying solely organic?  Let me know in the comments below!

With Love Always,

Michele

Sources To Reference:

 https://www.ota.com/advocacy/organic-standards/organic-trade-association-usda-certified-transitional-program

http://stories.kashi.com/en_US/articles/certifiedtransitional.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/18/meet-the-new-food-label-certified-transitional-huh.html