Why Buy Organic Meat, Poultry and Dairy Products?

Eating organic meat and dairy products provides an important safeguard against the unethical and unnatural practices of livestock rearing in a factory like manner, not to mention about all the health benefits. Our meat comes from animals and not machines, although this is all too often forgotten in today’s industrial rearing techniques, especially with chicken. In a world of Mad Cow disease, hormone and antibiotic laden chickens, the only way to ensure protection against this is to eat certified organic meat and poultry. At the “ Organic Foods and Café “ we take this very seriously and have researched thoroughly each farm we buy from. We have gone straight to the farmer to ensure that our meat and poultry are reared, slaughtered and brought to our stores right. We can trace each piece of meat right back to the farm. With our processed meats, we selected only premium producers who process without the use of preservatives and stabilizers. Beware, there are a lot of processed meats “made with organic ingredient” that have preservatives added, (we do not stock any of those).



No Chemical Cocktail

Our meat comes from animals raised without the use of:

Hormones, antibiotics, growth promoters, colour enhancers or other artificial drugs.

“Chemical drenching” a term used to describe the treatment to guard animals against internal parasites needed due to intense farming.

Chemical tick and lice sprays or baths.

Genetically modified food.

Fertilised grass.

Chemically de-weeded grass.

All the animals are raised in a healthy organic environment, fed organic feeds as they would in nature as opposed to specially prepared feeds or being supplemented with hay.

This leads to significantly healthier animals than their factory raised counterparts.

All this is possible as the farming is not so intense with a lot more space available per animal. Our farmers do not raise their animals for purely monetary reasons but out of conviction.



Mad Cow Safeguard

- The practice of feeding cattle ground up remains of other animals including sheep and bone meal making them cannibals in some cases causes Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, a horrific disease that destroys the central nervous system and brain. This can be transmitted to humans as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

- The only way to eliminate all possibility of mad cow disease is to raise pasture fed organic cattle. There has never been a case of mad cow disease in an organic cow.

Organic animals are 100% vegetarian, like nature intended with no protein feed.

Our Aberdeen Angus beef is 100% grass fed without any supplementary feed.

Our chicken are 100% organic corn and organic vegetarian feed fed without ground up animal parts or growth promoters, antibiotics etc.



Better Taste

Our meat comes from animals that eat grass or grain (for chicken) and not prepared artificial growth feeds so they grow at a natural rate giving the true and tasty fresh flavour. Organic meat and poultry also have less fat than conventionally farmed livestock as the animals have large outdoor areas to live in. Animals are leaner as they are not over fed (they eat at leisure) and get more exercise.



Humane, Ethical Treatment of Animals

Factory farms treat animals like commodities. They are kept in tight, enclosed spaces, often can not move more than a few inches and are without access to fresh air and exercise especially in the case of chicken.

Humane treatment is of paramount concern to organic farmers. Organic animals have lots of space, access to the outdoors and can roam and graze at will.



Animals are Free-Range and Grazed

Animals are not confined and spend time outdoors and with other animals.

Animals can graze and peck as inclined.

Organic animals have a more varied and well rounded diet. Cattle graze and a large variety of organic grasses and chickens eat more insects and grubs.

Organic farmers do not raise animals which have been bred to only live in a coop. The average conventional chicken would die if it was left to live outside.



Less Waste – Manure

Manure from an organic farm is “pure” and can be used to fertilize the farm making it self-sustaining. It is pure because animals are fed a vegetarian, organic diet.

Manure from industrial farms has been known to create a human health risk. It contaminates wells and streams with E.coli and other pathogens.



Fewer Chemicals Used

Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are not used on food or land.

Residues of persistent chemicals such as DDT and PCB’s concentrate in animal fat.

- Herbicides are not allowed to kill weeds in the pasture fields.

- Synthetic fertilizers, such as super-phosphates and nitrates are not allowed to be applied to pasture grass.

Organic agriculture is committed to the healthy balance of the soil, to safeguarding groundwater, topsoil and the health of habitat and environment.



Fewer Resources Used

Organic farms use 70% less energy than conventional farms. They also produce much less pollution.



Diversity

Industrial farms rely on a few species of cattle, chicken, pigs etc. whereas small organic farms raise a wider variety of livestock. This contributes to a wide gene pool and the health and sustainability of a species.



Support Small Farms

Buying Organic supports small family run businesses whose top priority is to deliver healthy, nutritious and safe meat and poultry without using drugs and hazardous chemicals. All our farmers live on the land they farm and they take pride in living in a natural environment that is chemical free and will be in good condition to farm even for their grand children.



The Differences

Organic Poultry

Organic poultry cannot have antibiotics used on a regular basis. Sickly birds can be humanely treated with antibiotics and are removed from the rest, but the routine use of giving perfectly healthy birds antibiotics to prevent disease is not allowed. Any treated birds are taken out of the food chain for a specific time until the antibiotic clears so as not to contaminate the meat.

The number of chickens housed in a single shed is restricted to 1,000. A non-organic intense chicken farm may have as many as 40,000 in the same shed, where the birds can barely breathe much less move and where feces builds up to such a degree that it burnsthe legs and breasts.

Organic poultry are kept free-range, having continuous daytime access to clean pasture where they can peck and move at will. Non-organic birds are cooped up all day and night never setting foot on the ground, often becoming so fat and weak they are unable to stand and not knowing if it is night or day. Most never see day light in their lives.

Poultry is fed a vegetarian diet. Feed contains only organic cereals, vegetable proteins, vitamins and minerals. The feed is also guaranteed free of genetically modified feedstuffs and they are never fed animal by-products. Conventionally raised birds live on a diet that contains meat, bone meal and animal fat.

Organic chickens are reared for at least 81 days, allowing chickens to grow at their natural rate. They are never given growth enhancers to speed development. Slaughtering chickens earlier than 81 days makes the meat bland, tasteless and fatty. Conventional chickens are slaughtered as young as 56 days.



A Guide to the Safe Handling of Meat and Poultry

Separate. Don’t Cross-Contaminate
Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria spreads from one food product to another. Be sure to keep meat, poultry and eggs and their juices away from other foods.


Chill. Refrigerate Promptly
Since cold temperatures keep most harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying, refrigerate or freeze meat promptly, within two hours. Do not leave meat in a hot car, if you are transporting meat products for more than 2 hours store in a portable cooler.


Cook. Cook to Proper Temperatures
Different foods require different cooking times and temperatures. Cooking foods to safe internal temperatures can kill potentially harmful bacteria. A food thermometer takes out the guesswork. Eggs should be cooked until both the yolk and the white are firm not runny.

Clean. Wash hands and Surfaces Often
To avoid spreading bacteria, wash cutting boards, knives, sponges and counter tops, and your hands with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next.

We encourage all our customers to carefully read the labels of the food they buy. Some certification bodies are not as strict as others. This is especially true when it comes to preservatives and stabilizers. At the “Organic Foods and Café “ we have chosen premium organic brands which adhere to the strictest organic standards. None of our meat and poultry contain chemical preservatives or stabilizers.