At long last, organic eating is proving to be more than another health-food fad.

For those who embraced "organic" long before it was a catchphrase, this is welcome news.

More people are seeking the organic label because they want to eat the way nature intended, without all of the fillers and pesticides.

Organically grown fruits, grains and veggies are not doused with bug sprays, synthetic fertilizers, anti-fungal treatments or radiation - and they're not genetically modified. Organic meat, eggs and dairy products come from more humanely raised animals that haven't been pumped full of antibiotics or growth hormones.

According to the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), a non-profit environmental-research organization, "There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long-lasting effects. Although washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them.