Many people equate Rainbow with organic. While it's true that not everything we carry is organic, we try to focus on organic and sustainably grown produce and products. In the 1990s, Rainbow was active in helping consumers get comments to the USDA about the proposed National Organic Program, which for a while looked as though it was going to allow Biotechnology, irradiation, and biosolids into the standards. When over 200,000 people submitted complaints to the USDA about their proposed standards, they drastically revised their plan- a victory for us!

Since the National Organic Label hit the shelves in 2002, we've continued to keep an eye on organic standards. A new standard is rising- that of 'Ecological Farming.' You may see some new labels in our Produce department bearing this moniker. That's because the farmers who use this new standard believe that the product they are producing is superior to the National Organic Standards. Avoiding pesticides and toxic sludge goes without saying for these farmers. They take extra steps in crop rotation, and maintenance of the soil so that external inputs are not required to grow healthy plants. Instead, what they are creating is a sustainable farming practice that should last for future generations and have the least negative effect on the environment and on the food.

Read our History of Organic Standards to find out more about where organic standards have been and where they're going.