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Worked in retail many moons ago. Back when organic was just becoming a thing. I can tell you one thing.: A lot of people were getting a deal on organic food -because cashiers would just key in the code for non-organic. The lines were too long, and you look foolish looking things up in the "book" haha.

threelonmusketeers

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Isn't it usually just the same code with a "9" concatenated at the start? I.e. tomatoes are #4664, organic tomatoes are #94664.

Kecessa

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Sure, but still you need to look at the sticker to know if it's organic or not

uis

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Are those tomatoes made from metal? Or sand? If you can chew it then it's organic. Technucally if it has carbon-based compounds.

Fun fact: acetone is organic too. And you don't want to drink it. Seriously, don't do it.

Mo5560

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MSc in chemistry here

Just because chemistry utilizes words and defines them with specific criteria it doesn't mean these words can not be used in other contexts with different meanings (e.g. vinyl)

Oh and you probably know, but diamond, graphite, CO2 and all sorts of carbonates are excluded from being organic.

uis

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And you are right. They need to have orbital hybridisation. SP{,2,3}.

And in other meaning as produced by organism nearly all food is organic too. Some stuff like sugars should be possible to make without organisms(but you know it better than me), but too expensive compared to produced by organisms.

Sorry for awkward sentences, English is not my native language.

EDIT: there are apparently more meanings

When people use the word "organic" for food, they're specifically referring to particular certifications, like the National Organic Program in the USA, and foods that are "organically farmed". I agree that the naming isn't ideal, but the word "organic" is very commonly used for this, and therefore it's a legitimate definition of "organic". That's just how language works :)

Mo5560

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Sorry for awkward sentences

Don't be sorry, you're communicating quite clearly.

And, just for the record, I do agree that the term "organic" is daft when referring to food. The term is entirely arbitrary and I wish we had a food certificate that was actually based on scientific factors (like impact on environment etc.)...

They need to have orbital hybridization

This one is often cited as a factor (because it excludes carbides like e.g. WC, TiC, TaC) but afaik it's not true. Carbon in graphite is sp2 hybridised, in diamond it's sp3 hybridised, both are explicitly excluded from the definition of organic.

Side note: I am unsure whether graphene falls under the definition of organic. Depending on how you look at it, it's just a huge aromatic molecule. Don't get me started on nanoribbons which are synthesized from organic precursors...
But I know people doing research on graphene, and I don't think they would care about that definition. It simply doesn't matter.

Side note^2: While CO_2 is also explicitly excluded from being organic, it can be used as an educt in organic reactions (e.g. Preparing Phenylacetic Acid from Benzyl chloride and CO_2)

uis

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Carbon in graphite is sp2 hybridised, in diamond it's sp3 hybridised

Didn't expect this.

Anticorp

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I still do this if I have to go through self checkout. Look man, I don't work at a grocery store. If they force me to do two completely separate jobs (cashier and bagger), and still raise my food prices, I'm going to give myself some employee discounts.

DrPop

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That's stealing, says the person who also does this. Also I have some saffron I nicked from Wally world too if you want to try it with our ill gotten gains.

Yearly1845

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Our store just slapped 9 in front of the old PLU. Green peppers: 4062. Organic green peppers: 94062

Seasm0ke

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Nice and you still have 8 lives left

Nanomerce

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last time I didn't use self checkout, the cashier keyed in all my stuff as organic when it wasn't :(

Raiderkev

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Organic is the same code with a 9 in front.

Fish

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As expensive as organic food is, I'm sure that they already factor incorrect item entry into the cost of organic produce items.

uis

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The only inorganic compounds in food I can imagine are salts. It is beyond me how they not understand that almost everything everyone eats is organic.

dan

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I get what you're going for, but not everything is literal. People refer to their computers as "rigs" even though they can't drill for oil.

When people use the word "organic" for food, they're specifically referring to particular certifications, like the National Organic Program in the USA, and foods that are "organically farmed". I agree that the naming isn't ideal, but the word "organic" is very commonly used for this, and therefore it's a legitimate definition of "organic". That's just how language works :)

uis

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an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal

Guano wars, anyone?

and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting.

Isn't this a thing everyone always does? Isn't monoculture turns soil into shit?

Maybe. I'm just tired of seeing "GMO-free" soda kind of idiocy.

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