As you may have heard, there is research that shows organic farms have a reduced ecological footprint compared to conventional counterparts.
The National Organic Program develops regulations that follow the principles of sustainable agriculture and issues organic certificates to farms that meet the requirements. There are many farms that are very sustainable and ecologically-minded, but they opt not to seek organic certification or another certification such as certified naturally grown. It is very important to seek some sort of certification. Whether the certification be organic or naturally grown, it benefits you tremendously. The certification sets standards for organic products and ensures that products sold as organic meet those standards. The certification helps create the market-driven demand for organic products by giving the consumer confidence that organic products meet their expectations.