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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

chemiefrei

English translation:

completely/all natural

Added to glossary by Frosty
Dec 7, 2006 19:51
17 yrs ago
German term

chemiefrei

German to English Science Agriculture pesticides and fertilisers
Man muss mit der Natur und ihren Produkten respektvoll umgehen, dazu gehört umweltgerechter, chemiefreier Anbau und artgerechte Viehzucht. Das sind wir unserer Gesundheit und unseren Nachkommen schuldig. Natürlich ist alles ein bisschen teurer, aber krank zu werden, kostet viel mehr.

‘Chemical-free’, ‘non-chemical based’, ‘that do not rely on chemicals’. I somehow suspect that the best option here will not mention ‘chemicals’ at all. As this magazine article for a lay readership is all about ‘organic’ farming and produce I have already made ample use of that particular word. Any formulation including ‘pesticides and fertilisers’ is going to sound long-winded.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 completely natural
4 +2 without/free of synthetic chemicals
3 +2 no chemicals
4 +1 untreated
5 organic
3 +1 biological

Discussion

Michele Fauble Dec 10, 2006:
Echoing Richard Bentham's comment, what is wrong with 'without (the use of) chemicals', 'free of chemicals'? - in the context of organic farming, these are all commonly used terms, used in exactly the same way as 'chemiefrei' is used in your text.
Lancashireman (asker) Dec 10, 2006:
Thanks to all contributors. In the end I was persuaded that ‘chemical’ had to be in there somewhere. Unfortunately the only hits for ‘chemical-free’ were Australian (more particularly ‘wineries’ in the Barbarossa Valley). My final version was lengthy (“natural methods of agriculture that do not rely on chemical pesticides and fertilisers”) so I had to make economies elsewhere in the article. The points could have gone to Stephen for being the first to suggest ‘natural’ but ‘untreated’ was too reminiscent of sewage. ‘Biological’ also had some merit: I was so mesmerised by the task of translating ‘Bio-‘ with ‘organic’ that the thought of using ‘biological’ at some point in the text never occurred to me.
Richard Benham Dec 8, 2006:
Andrew I hope you're not engaged in avoiding the obvious and literal translation for the sake of it? What on earth is wrong with "chemical-free"? It's the standard term among Anglophone organic freaks, and no more inaccurate than the original!
Lancashireman (asker) Dec 7, 2006:
The thought did cross my mind. Faute de mieux, Stephen...
Stephen Sadie Dec 7, 2006:
might something with "natural" work, andrew?

Proposed translations

+4
24 mins
Selected

completely natural

"completely natural" + agriculture gets over 44,000 hits on Google - many of the sites extolling the non-use of chemicals.

Peer comment(s):
agree Ingeborg Gowans (X) : this might work here, if you don't want to use organiz agasin and stay away from "chemical-free" which would have been my choice..:))
32 mins
agree Cetacea : or "all natural".
39 mins
agree Lori Dendy-Molz : "all natural" would be my choice here
1 hr
agree DDM
18 hrs
agree Christina Keating (X)
1 day 9 hrs
disagree Michele Fauble : This changes the meaning.
2 days 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks!"
+1
16 mins

biological

...
Peer comment(s):
agree Christina Keating (X)
1 day 9 hrs
thank you
Something went wrong...
+2
21 mins

no chemicals

I have thought of "biological", too.

Another option is "uses no chemicals". Plenty of googles for "no chemicals" in the context of "green" agriculture.
Peer comment(s):
agree John Speese : I would say no chemicals or chemical free, as there are chemical that are certified for organic gardening, i.e., leave out synthetic, unless the rest of the text says different.
1 hr
agree PoveyTrans (X)
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
22 mins

untreated

just came to mind or, as above, natural
Peer comment(s):
agree Christina Keating (X)
1 day 9 hrs
thanks CM
Something went wrong...
23 mins

organic

Usual in the US.
Peer comment(s):
agree Oktay Ardan (X)
1 min
agree mjbjosh : totally wide-spread both in UK and US English
23 mins
disagree Stephen Sadie : clearly NOT wanted by the asker
26 mins
disagree Cetacea : Doesn't help the asker at all, as Stephen points out.
40 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

without/free of synthetic chemicals

This is what is meant.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-12-07 21:20:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Organic farming is more labor-intensive than conventional farming, ...
... being free of synthetic chemicals ...
www.sunorganicfarm.com/Merchant2/why-organic-food-1.htm


... organic agriculture is farming without synthetic chemicals.
www.organicconsumers.org/organic/organics101.cfm




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-12-07 21:22:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

also 'without artificial chemicals'


Organic farming delivers delicious high quality food produced without artificial chemicals and with respect for animal welfare and the environment. ...
www.jerseydairy.je/organics.asp


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-12-07 21:33:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You could just use 'without chemicals'. In the context of organic farming, this is understood as "without the use of synthetic/artificial chemicals".
Note from asker:
Thanks for your added note, Michele, and also for making such an interesting case for ‘synthetic chemicals’ as opposed to ‘chemicals’. As I suggested at the time I posted this question, I felt that this sounded ‘translated’ and did not quite ring true in the context. I was willing to be persuaded to the contrary but various other contributors here seemed to have endorsed my unease.
Peer comment(s):
agree vera12191 : or just chemical free
10 hrs
thanks - yes, 'chemical free', 'without (the use of) chemicals', 'free of chemicals' - in the context of organic farming, these are all commonly used, equivalent terms meaning "without the use of synthetic/artificial chemicals".
agree Maureen Millington-Brodie
14 hrs
thanks
Something went wrong...
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