NATURAL: are widely used terms in food labeling and marketing with a variety of definitions, some of which are vague. The term is assumed to imply foods that are minimally processed and do not contain manufactured ingredients, but the lack of standards in some jurisdictions means that the term assures nothing. The term “organic” has similar implications and has an established legal definition in many countries and an international standard. In some places, the term “natural” is defined and enforced. In others, such as the United States, it has no meaning. The terms are often misused on labels and in advertisements.
ORGANIC: are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.
NON GMO: foods that haven’t been genetically modified…. organisms that haven’t been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE).
In 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs, because they are not considered proven safe. In the U.S. on the other hand, the FDA approved commercial production of GMOs based on studies conducted by the companies who created them and profit from their sale. Many health-conscious shoppers find the lack of rigorous, independent, scientific examination on the impact of consuming GM foods to be cause for concern.
BY PRODUCT: is a secondary product derived from a manufacturing process or chemical reaction. It is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be considered waste.IEA offers the following definition for the purpose of life-cycle assessment:
MAJOR BY-PRODUCTS:
Animal sources
- blood meal – from slaughterhouse operations
- poultry by-product meal – clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines
- chrome shavings – from a stage of leather manufacture
- collagen and gelatin – from the boiled skin and other parts of slaughtered livestock
- feathers – from poultry processing
- feather meal – from poultry processing
- fetal pigs
- lanolin – from the cleaning of wool
- leather – hides and skins from slaughterhouse operations processed via the leathermaking process
- manure – from animal husbandry
- meat and bone meal – from the rendering of animal bones and offal
- poultry litter – swept from the floors of chicken coops
- whey – from cheese manufacturing
Vegetation
- acidulated soap stock – from the refining of vegetable oil
- bagasse – the fibrous residue remaining after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice
- black liquor from the production of cellulose pulp using the Kraft process
- bran and germ – from the milling of whole grains into refined grains
- brewer’s yeast – from ethanol fermentation
- cereal food fines – from breakfast cereal processing
- corn steep liquor – from corn wet-milling
- distillers grains – from ethanol fermentation
- glycerol – from the production of biodiesel
- grape seed oil – recovered from leftovers of the winemaking process
- molasses – from sugar refining
- orange oil and other citrus oils – recovered from the peels of processed fruit
- pectin – recovered from the remains of processed fruit
- sawdust and bark – from the processing of logs into lumber
- soybean meal – from soybean processing
- stover – residual plant matter after harvesting of cereals
- straw – from grain harvesting
- tall oil from the production of cellulose pulp using the Kraft process
- vinasse – from the fermentation of sugar to ethanol fuel
Minerals and petro chemicals
- asphalt – from the refining of crude oil
- fly ash – from the combustion of bellend coal
- slag – from ore refining
- gypsum – from flue-gas desulfurization
- ash and smoke – from the combustion of fuel
- mineral oil – from refining crude oil to produce gasoline
- salt – from desalination
- Molybdenum – from copper extraction
Other
- sludge – from wastewater treatment
- waste heat – from electricity production and usage
FREE RANGE/ CAGE FREE: is a term which outside of the United States denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals are allowed to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner.[citation needed]In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and indicate that the animal has been allowed access to the outside.[1] The USDA regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range nor the duration of time an animal must have access to the outside.[2]The term is used in two senses that do not overlap completely: as a farmer-centric description of husbandry methods, and as a consumer-centric description of them. Farmers practice free range to achieve free-range or humane certification, to reduce feed costs, to produce a higher-quality product, and as a method of raising multiple crops on the same land.Legal standards defining “free range” can be different or even non-existent depending on the country. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires only that the bird spends part of its time outside, and allows egg producers to freely label these eggs as free-range.[1] Many producers will label their eggs as cage-free in addition to or instead of free-range. Recently, US egg labels have expanded to include the term “barn-roaming,” to more accurately describe the source of those eggs that are laid by chickens who do not range freely but are confined to a barn instead of a more restrictive cage.Cage-free egg production includes barns, free-range and organic systems. In the UK, free-range systems are the most popular of the non-cage alternatives, accounting for around 28% of all eggs, compared to 4% in barns and 6% organic. In free-range systems, hens are housed to a similar standard as the barn or aviary. In addition, they have constant daytime access to an outside range with vegetation. In the EU each hen must have at least 4 square metres of space.Free range may apply to meat, eggs or dairy farming.
In ranching, free-range livestock are permitted to roam without being fenced in, as opposed to fenced-in pastures. In many of the agriculture-based economies, free-range livestock are quite common.
There is a diet where the practitioner only eats meat from free-range sources called ethical omnivorism, which is a type of semivegetarian.
*** Free range does not imply in any way that the hens were fed any differently than on normal commercial farms. The label “free roaming” does not describe feed supplies, which means that free-range hens can be fed the same animal-derived byproducts or GMO crops as in other non-organic farms. This is also the main reason why free-range eggs are cheaper than organic eggs.
FAIR TRADE: is a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment. It is a model for the global economy rooted in people-to-people connections, justice, and sustainability. When you make Fair Trade purchases you are supporting:
A Fair Price for Products
For Fair Trade Certified™ products, a base price for the commodity is set by the international Fair Trade Labeling Organization. The price attempts to 
cover the cost of production and a living wage to cover the basics of food, shelter, clothing, education, and medical care. Importers and retailers are then screened and certified byTransFair USA to ensure that they are paying the Fair Trade price for products. Crafts, apparel and other non-certified products are sold by members of the Fair Trade Federation, businesses committed to the principles of Fair Trade. For these crafts, a living wage is paid in the local context.
Workers are guaranteed freedom of association and safe working conditions. Fair Trade also encourages women’s participation in and leadership of cooperatives. Human rights and child labor laws are strictly enforced.
CRUELTY FREE: developed or produced without inhumane testing on animals
SUSTAINABLE LIVING: is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual‘s or society‘s use of the Earth‘s natural resources and his/her own resources.[1] Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet.[2] Proponents of sustainable living aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the Earth’s natural ecology and cycles.[3] The practice and general philosophy of ecological living is highly interrelated with the overall principles of sustainable development.ORGANIC: foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.
VEGETARIAN: may contain dairy
VEGAN: cruelty free, does not contain meat or dairy, no animal byproducts, no honey
the hoppy vegans 