Answers (1)
Buyers want healthy food, but they also want certain things that have nothing to do with health. For instance if the grocer wraps fruits and veggies in plastic, people will buy the wrapped pieces first. So when a few people get interested in healthy food, grocers are quick to offer whatever the h*ll they want. They don't even care, they just want people to buy their stuff. So when people are willing to pay higher prices for something called "organic", farmers offer something called "organic" even if that word doesn't have any specific meaning. All food is organic, even wood. So then the people turn to the government to protect them from their own stupidity. The government creates definitions and requirements, but of course they have to maintain the farmer's profitability, so the laws are complex and don't really affect much. In the case of "organic", the laws make no difference at all, but the farmer is protected by those laws, so you can't sue him for fraud. And that is what "organic" means.