Naturally Organic is a Fruit-based Life term describing food grown in a way that works with natural ecological processes and minimizes human interference with the natural growing environment.
Naturally
organic growing emphasizes healthy living soil, biodiversity, natural nutrient cycling, beneficial organisms, and the natural resilience of plants. It seeks to produce food without the routine use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, or other synthetic agricultural chemicals, while avoiding practices that unnecessarily disrupt the natural ecosystem.
Where possible, Naturally Organic food is grown from healthy soil using natural sources of fertility, natural pest and disease management, appropriate plant diversity, and growing practices suited to the local environment. The objective is not simply to meet a regulatory standard, but to cultivate food in a manner that is as close as reasonably possible to the way plants naturally grow within a healthy ecosystem.
Naturally Organic is not an official agricultural certification or regulated labeling term. It is a Fruit-based Life concept and should not be interpreted as equivalent to
certified organic.
A food may therefore be:
- Certified Organic but not meet all of Fruit-based Life's preferences for Naturally Organic growing.
- Naturally Organic according to Fruit-based Life's definition but not be formally Certified Organic.
- Both Certified Organic and Naturally Organic.
Fruit-based Life considers Naturally Organic growing to be the preferred approach because it focuses not only on compliance with an agricultural standard, but also on the health of the soil, plants, surrounding ecosystem, and the natural processes that support healthy food production.
Syntropic Farming (also known as Syntropic Agroforestry) is an established practice that aligns with the principles of growing Naturally Organic produce.