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Is Organic Meat Healthier or More Sustainable
- 1. IS IT BETTER TO CHOOSE TO ORGANIC MEAT? By: ABHINAVA BANERJEE
- 2. INTRODUCTION: Organic food is food produced by methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Organizations regulating organic products may restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers in the farming methods used to produce such products. Organic foods typically are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or synthetic food additives. In the 21st century, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification to market their food as organic. Although the produce of kitchen gardens may actually be organic, selling food with an organic label is regulated by governmental food safety authorities, such as the National Organic Program of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or European Commission (EC).
- 3. From an environmental perspective, fertilizing, overproduction, and the use of pesticides in conventional farming may negatively affect ecosystems, biodiversity, groundwater, and drinking water supplies. These environmental and health issues are intended to be minimized or avoided in organic farming. Demand for organic foods is primarily driven by consumer concerns for personal health and the environment. Nevertheless, from the perspective of science and consumers, there is insufficient evidence in the scientific and medical literature to support claims that organic food is either safer or healthier to eat than conventional food. While there may be some differences in the nutrient and antinutrient contents of organically and conventionally produced food, the variable nature of food production, shipping, storage, and handling makes it difficult to generalize results. Claims that "organic food tastes better" are generally not supported by tests. Organic agriculture has a higher production costs and lower yields, higher labor costs, and higher consumer prices as compared to conventional farming methods.
- 4. Q. What does organic meat means? --There are unique regulations that organic poultry and livestock farmers must follow to ensure organic meat is produced sustainably, with the health of the animals and the health of the consumers in mind. While there are many distinctions between USDA Organic and non-organic, the main differences are related to what the animals eat, where they spend their time, and how they are treated if/when they get sick. Q. What are the properties possessed by the organic meat? --The properties that are possessed by the organic meat are:- Has an improved nutritional profile Avoids pesticide residues Does not contribute to antibiotic resistant bacteria Bans the use of growth promoters Protects our environment
- 5. Q. Then, what are the managements of organic live stocks? --The managements of the organic live stocks are:- 1) PASTURE ACCESS: Organic ruminant livestock, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, must be grazed throughout the entire grazing season-- at least 120 days per calendar year. The pasture they are grazed on must be organically managed, so it can’t be sprayed with toxic synthetic pesticides or synthetic fertilizer. Pasture-based diets are important for animals, because more grass in the ruminants’ diet leads to more balance in gut microbes, less acidity in the rumen, which is the largest chamber to process roughages, and overall improved digestive health. 2) FEEDING AND GRAZING: The diet for organic livestock needs to be completely organic, meaning that it can’t contain growth promotants of any kind, antibiotics, genetically modified feeds or ingredients (GMOs), or slaughter by-products from mammals or birds. During the grazing season, organic ruminant livestock must get at least 30% of their diet from grazing on organic pasture.
- 6. 3) LIVING CONDITIONS: In organic production, the animals’ stage of life, the climate, and the environment need to be taken into consideration when providing year-round access to the outdoors. The outdoor environment must include shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, clean water for drinking, and direct sunlight. Continuous total confinement of any animal indoors is prohibited. Yards, feeding pads, and feedlots may only be used to provide ruminants with access to the outdoors during the non-grazing season or for supplemental feeding during the grazing season. 4) ANIMAL HEALTH: On organic farms, preventive healthcare practices are used to deter illness. If those efforts fail, organic farmers can use other restricted medicines, but antibiotics and most synthetic chemicals are prohibited.
- 7. 5) ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: Organic farmers and ranchers must use practices that minimize impacts to the environment surrounding the farm. They often recycle manure into crop and pasture production to help avoid nutrient runoff and increase carbon storage in their fields. They also use beneficial farming practices such as crop rotation and cover crops to maintain soil fertility and help protect soil and water quality. Organic production may also have a lower contribution to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Synthetic fertilizers or pesticides—leading drivers of climate change within the agricultural sector, are prohibited in organic production.
- 8. Q. Which are the qualities to which the organic meat generally deals with? --The qualities with which its generally deals with are:- No antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones, GMOs, or pesticides The health and natural behavior of animals are prioritized All livestock feed must be 100% organically produced Cows are pasture-raised and grazed throughout the grazing season Organic meat farmers use holistic, preventive health care practices Organic meat production helps protect the environment Q. How do you know your meat is organic? --The USDA strictly specifies what products can be labeled organic or not. Not all organic meat, however, is labeled as such. Getting organic certification is expensive and for farmers operating small farms, the certification may not be worthwhile. Not using antibiotics can also be expensive for small farmers, who may rather help an
- 9. animal recover from disease or sickness than let them die because they cannot use antibiotics to heal their livestock. Small farmers and conventional farmers who are not organic may also choose to abstain from using hormones and steroids which quicken the growth of livestock. Hormones given to poultry and livestock correlate to a higher rate of hormone-dependent cancers, which is why some prefer to eat hormone- free meats, though those are not necessarily organic. "The concern with conventional beef is the risk that cows may be given growth hormones (BGH, rBGH, rBST) to increase milk production in dairy cows or speed up and increase the size of cows that will go to slaughter for beef," Kelly Hogan, clinical nutrition coordinator at the Dubin Breast Center of the Tisch Cancer Institute at
- 10. Mount Sinai Hospital, said via email. She noted that studies are inconclusive about how much humans can absorb the byproducts of these hormones, which have been linked to certain cancers, but a surefire way to avoid them is by eating organically raised cows, which are never given endogenous growth hormones. Hogan also mentioned that antibiotics are prevalent in conventional chickens and "can be preserved in the chicken we eat at the dinner table." Limiting sources of antibiotics is important because "antibiotic resistance is a real problem." Whether or not an animal is organic, knowing if it's been treated with hormones or antibiotics could be a useful guiding factor in your meat-eating decisions.
- 11. Q. Is grass-fed beef organic? --The USDA's organic standards for livestock stipulate that cattle must be able to graze in an organic pasture for at least 120 days during grazing season. That four months of the year, however, is just a sliver of a cattle's lifespan: Most beef cattle are slaughtered at about 18-22 months of age, meaning that most of your grass-fed organic beef's life may have been spent eating organic feed (like hay and alfalfa pellets) rather than grass. So yes, your organic beef is technically grass-fed, just like you're salad-fed if you only eat salads in the summer and crap the rest of the year. If you're committed to eating 100% grass-fed beef, either because you prefer the taste, are health conscious (cattle fed a mostly-grass diet have higher levels of omega- 3s, more antioxidants, can have lower levels of fat and are considered more nutritious) or are just looking for a steak to comply with your paleo diet, you should look for a trusted third-party verification on the package, like the American Grassfed Approved logo. If that's a no-go, search for the phrase "grass-finished."
- 12. Q. Is organic meat doesn't necessarily equate to a better life for the animals? --While your carnivorous guilt may lead you toward purchasing meat from an animal that lived a happy and carefree life, an organic label doesn't necessarily mean the cow your beef came from was treated like the queen of the pasture. "I've visited organic farms where the animals were actually in far worse health condition than at factory farms, due to the exposure to the elements and lack of antibiotics," senior fellow at the think tank Sentience Politics, said via email. The researcher of meat, dairy and egg industries described seeing birds with Marek's disease suffering from missing eyes, swollen abdomens and fungal infections at an organic egg farm in Northern California. Reese also noted that the open pasture made the birds
- 13. susceptible to predators. As a response, the farmer chained a dog to the chicken coop, which Reese described as whimpering with "matted fur" and no water nearby. The eggs at that particular farm retailed for over $6 per dozen. Organic, unfortunately, does not mean cruelty-free — reminder that eating meat still involves killing an animal — though improvements have been made to give animals a better life. "In my view, the bigger downside to organic meat is the harm it does to animals,” "Contrary to those expectations of higher prices meaning higher standards, organically raised animals in the U.S. still live miserable lives." With the recent change in administration, it is also concerned that standard for organically raised animals will not improve. There was some hope of improvement, new regulations were set to give organic livestock the most basic welfare standards — that they could lie down, turn around, and fully stretch their limbs". Egg-laying hens would no longer have their beaks seared off to prevent them from injuring each other due to the intense confinement.
- 14. Q. At last, is organic meat worth the extra cost? It depends what your reasons are for buying organic. If you're concerned about animal welfare, you might consider visiting or contacting a local farm to learn more about their farming practices. You can also ask local chefs where they get humane meat and if they have any recommendations based on farms or ranches they've visited. In other words, you could choose to familiarize yourself with your steak's origins, rather than its packaging.