organic

To me, the term is synonymous with all things hippie... and it's highly overused!

Most of the vegetables I have grown would fall into this category. I make my own compost and I use no chemicals to rid the plants of pests. It's laborious efforts. Can I tell the difference? Probably not. I used to raise backyard chickens and fed them organic feed. Their water was the same municipal fluid the rest of us drank. Nope, no purifiers. Their eggs had somewhat darker yolks. The lives of the birds were relatively stress free... they got to roam and range, scratch and peck, and have as many dust baths a day as they wanted. They almost never battled rain and never saw a day of snow. While their lives were short, I think their days were happy.

organic [ awr-gan-ik ]

adjective
noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon.

characteristic of, pertaining to, or derived from living organisms:
organic remains found in rocks.

of or relating to an organ or the organs of an animal, plant, or fungus.

of, relating to, or affecting living tissue:
organic pathology.

Psychology. caused by neurochemical, neuroendocrinologic, structural, or other physical impairment or change: organic disorder.Compare functional (def. 5).

Philosophy. having an organization similar in its complexity to that of living things.

characterized by the systematic arrangement of parts; organized; systematic:
elements fitting together into a unified, organic whole.

of or relating to the basic constitution or structure of a thing; constitutional; structural:
The flaws in your writing are too organic to be easily remedied.

developing in a manner analogous to the natural growth and evolution characteristic of living organisms; arising as a natural outgrowth.

viewing or explaining something as having a growth and development analogous to that of living organisms:
an organic theory of history.

pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals:
organic farming; organic fruits.

Law. of or relating to the constitutional or essential law or laws of organizing the government of a state.

Architecture. noting or pertaining to any work of architecture regarded as analogous to plant or animal forms in having a structure and a plan that fulfill perfectly the functional requirements for the building and that form in themselves an intellectually lucid, integrated whole.

Fine Arts. of or relating to the shapes or forms in a work of art that are of irregular contour and seem to resemble or suggest forms found in nature.

noun
a substance, as a fertilizer or pesticide, of animal or vegetable origin.