Everyone knows that Organic vegetables are grown without the use of pesticides, but you can’t use pesticides on livestock, so what makes organic meat “organic”? In order for their products to be considered organic, organic farms and ranches must follow strict rules and regulations, with little room for error or deceit. All certified organic farms and ranches are inspected annually by a third-party inspector to ensure that organic food production standards are maintained. Below, we’ll outline and explain all the guidelines that ensure your organic meat is truly organic.
Must be raised organically on certified organic land:
Being raised on organic land means that the pastures where the livestock are kept are not treated with pesticides, or other toxins. This ensures that the animals do not ingest anything that will compromise the organic status of the meat.
Must be fed certified organic feed:
Organic livestock must be fed organic food with no animal by-products, antibiotics or GMO grains. The food must also be grown without the use of pesticides, or chemical fertilizers, just like the organic produce you buy in store.
No antibiotics or added growth hormones are allowed:
Federal regulations already prohibit the use of growth hormones for all pork and poultry, but not beef, so some non-organic beef may contain growth hormones, or other additives. Growth hormones and antibiotics can have harmful side effects on humans, so even if you aren’t buying organic meat, it’s important to avoid them.
Must have outdoor access:
Raising livestock in small, confined structures with no access to the outdoors is not only disturbingly inhumane, but it also causes the animals a lot of stress, which impacts on the quality of their meat. Certified organic meat comes from livestock that have access to pastures and other large swathes of land, so that the animal can live a normal, peaceful life before it it harvested. The benefits of giving livestock access to grazing pastures is obvious in the quality of their meat, which holds it’s tenderness better after cooking.
All organic meat sold in our Pasture to Plate stores comes from our certified organic ranch in Redstone, BC. As our organic meat comes from a local, BC source, fewer resources are used in transporting it to our store on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Come in today to discover what organic really means and how delicious it tastes.
