The word inorganic is patently inappropriate for describing food, even if that food wasn't produced in a manner consistent with organic farming. Wikipedia points this out, but doesn't really offer an alternative. While the phrase food produced through chemical farming may leave some people with a bad taste in their mouth, I doubt it carries the same connotation as food that is not organic food. Is there a better word to use here?
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The term organic food has been introduced to distinguish from that produced with the use of chemical or other growth promoters/ 'bio-cides', etc. As such you cannot have an antonym for the term organic food.– KrisCommented Oct 12, 2012 at 14:48
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2@Kris I don't understand why such a term precludes the existence of its antonym; even so, though, if your point is about the definition of antonym, can you come up with a word that describes the relative complement of organic food in food (set theory)?– kojiroCommented Oct 12, 2012 at 14:57
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Take a look also at the interesting discussion on "Word for “cinema with a single screen” english.stackexchange.com/questions/85475/…– KrisCommented Oct 12, 2012 at 14:59
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1Pesticidal - but it wouldn't make a great advertisement for the product.– Alan GeeCommented Oct 12, 2012 at 15:04
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What is the context for the word you want to use? If it's advertising, it needs a different answer from describing such food in an academic paper.– Andrew Leach ♦Commented Oct 12, 2012 at 15:18
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2 Answers
Most often, "conventional" is used as a retronym for "not organic."
It's not great, and a better one may gain acceptance; be patient: these things take time.
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Here are a couple of links to strengthen your case. Other terms that I came across in my cursory search were sustainable and traditional farming. Commented Oct 12, 2012 at 15:19
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2@coleopterist, I don't agree that sustainable is equivalent to organic. See this discussion about the distinction between organic and sustainable: sustainabletable.org/issues/organic– JLGCommented Oct 12, 2012 at 16:43
For product labels, the USDA uses non-organic to contrast with organic. See these links:
http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-the-usda-organic-label-means/
http://www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/label.cfm?LabelID=151
As Jeffiekins says in his answer, for the farming method used to produce the food or textile, the terms the USDA and others use are usually organic vs. conventional:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/nsfc/39.htm
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/organic-food/art-20043880
