What is organic?

From various discussions on permies.com, it would appear that newspaper and cardboard are a no-no in the organic garden. So, I was surprised when reading the West Yorkshire Organic Growers newsletter.

I attach a photo of the relevant part which mentions these are part of improving soil. On balance, I have decided to continue in this vein myself, since I have such a constant supply of the stuff and my soil is desperate for organic matter.

I use both all around my property. Newspaper die is soy-based. The earthworms love to crawl between the cardboard, and both breakdown quickly.
 I don't know what the organic people would say though. I never use any pesticides or purchase any fertilizers. Everything comes from compost, worm castings, leafmold etc...
Deep mulching, hand picking and predator species also contribute a lot.
We are happy with our organic approach. May be more rules in selling organic certified produce though.

I think there are different rules in different countries regarding organic certification. Whichever country we’re talking about, though, I don’t think that cardboard would be allowable if money were being made out of an organic claim.