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Many people prefer organic products because they are considered healthier and help keep the planet safer and in better condition than non-organic products. Yet only a handful of the best CBD oil products are designated as organic. This article will examine the reasons for this, what the studies have found the benefits of CBD oil are and what consumers can do if they want to find organic CBD products to use when they need help.
First, it is important to understand what is meant by organic. To become certified organic, a product must meet the standards laid out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are several third-party companies that conduct tests to see that these standards are adhered to before certification is granted.
There are a number of factors taken into consideration before a product is certified as organic:
1. The risk of contamination of the product during manufacturing, use or disposal
2. The effect of the crop on our ecosystem
3. The importance of the crop as a source of food or medicine
4. How compatible is the crop in question with sustainable farming practices that protect the environment?
Keep in mind that there are several types of organic classifications and they don’t all mean the same thing. They include the following:
1. Made with organic ingredients
This simply means that some of the ingredients used in the product are organic
2. Organic
If a product contains 95 percent or more organic ingredients but also contains a small, limited amount of approved chemical additives, it can qualify for this designation
3. 100 percent organic
Each and every ingredient used in the product is organic and the product was produced using approved organic practices.
Since CBD oil – including the one offered by Royal CBD – is made from a hemp plant, they must meet specific standards dictated by the USDA in order to qualify for one of these three organic labels.
1. No Radiation
In order to be designated organic, the product must be free from radiation. Radiation comes from elements that are left in the water or soil that the hemp plant grows in. It is caused primarily by run-off from factories and other industrial pollutants that contain radioactive isomers and contaminate the water or soil. Radiation is caused by human action and typically does not occur naturally in the making of the product.
According to industrytap.com, the key type of radiation to avoid in the making of CBD products is beta radiation. Once the radiation is inside the plants, the consumer of the product will have these elements in their body once they consume the product. Over time, these elements build up in the body and can cause long-term harm or damage to the user.
To be certified organic, no radiation can be found in the plant.
2. Growth Hormones Cannot be Added
No growth hormones are permitted to be used to receive a designation of organic from the USDA. Also, stimulators and enhancers, which larger, mass producing hemp farmers tend to use, cannot be allowed either.
These enhancers and hormones help the farmer grow more crop at one time and thereby help maximize profits for the farmer in the short term.
However, the use of these products can also disrupt the natural secretion of the hemp plant’s hormones and change the phytochemistry of the plant.
We are still unsure what effect these changes have on people who ingest these products over time but they may alter the human hormone system as well under certain circumstances. Additional studies are needed to confirm or disprove these theories.
3. Must Use Untreated Hemp Seeds
If a hemp farmer wants to receive an organic certification for their CBD products, they must use untreated and pure hemp seeds. That means no chemical additions, no genetic modifications and an all-natural process for planting and growing these products.
4. The Soil Must Meet Organic Standards
Anybody who has ever grown a garden in their backyard knows you need fertilizer to help your crops grow quickly, efficiently and well.
If a farmer wants to receive an organic certification for their crops, they must make sure that any fertilizer used on the soil is 100 percent natural and does not use chemical compounds.
In addition, the plants must be grown far apart from each other enough that they have adequate room to grow and mature.
5. Pesticide Use Is Limited
Like any crop, hemp plants may also be exposed to different fungi, parasites, bacteria and other infections from the time it is planted until the time it is harvested.
To prevent the crops from being destroyed, farmers use sprays and other treatments to control these potential problems. To be certified as organic, only a specified amount of these products can be used to control pests and other diseases.
The amount and the type of pesticides permitted vary by crop and depend on how each type of crop respond to potential threats and how much of the pesticides are absorbed by the crop in question.
That is one reason why organic hemp is so rare. Hemp is a bio accumulator which means the plant absorbs a lot of the compounds in the soil where it grows. That includes beta particles, heavy metals and other particles from pesticides or pollutants.
Another factor that makes it more difficult for hemp farmers to gain organic certification is that the USDA only recently declared that hemp could receive this certification. The change came in 2018 and because the process is relatively new, it is quite expensive and time consuming. Because of this, very few farmers have signed up for the program.
The good news is that as time goes by, more hemp farmers are likely to sign up for the program in order to meet the increasing needs of the organic product market. Changes in the Farm Bill enacted in 2018 do allow for CBD oil to be certified as organic. Prior to that, it was considered a controlled substance and was not permitted to obtain that designation.
While it is presently difficult and costly for hemp famers to get their products to be certified organic, that is gradually changing. Look for more certified organic CBD oils and other products to become available in the near future.
