Is organic meat all free range?

victotoro

I'm a bit clueless regarding meat, having been veggie since the 80s, but my OH is an omnivore, and I would like to occasionally feed him happy meat.

However, there is such a range of labelling that I usually end up not getting anything off the shelves out of sheer frustration.

Could someone let me know whether meat termed 'organic' (which is usually relatively easy to find) is also free range? Also, does anyone know whether organic / free range meat is slaughtered in the same manner as other meat (ie driven miles to the nearest 'registered' slaughterhouse with all that entails)?

Here's hoping

Thanks

Debt_Free_Chick

Yes, organic meat is free-range and produced to exacting standards which include taking care of the animal right up to the point of slaughter.

Slaughter is only done at registered abbatoirs and there are far fewer of them. How far they have to travel depends on the farm's location relative to the nearest abbatoir. If the animals have to travel, then there's no real alternative, but the organic standard means that the farmer takes steps to reduce the risk of stress to the animals.

victotoro

Thanks Debt_Free_Chick, that will make the OH well happy!

Now I just have to remember that even happy chickens occasionally come with plastic innards (last attempt to cook chicken 10 years ago involved melted plastic and inedible bird).

Seakay

I think that the Soil Association site will be able to answer all you questions:

http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/0/A14602757F0F1AE980257415004A07D8?EditDocument

Hermann

Could someone let me know whether meat termed 'organic' (which is usually relatively easy to find) is also free range?

Not always.

For example http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1400794.ece

Also, does anyone know whether organic / free range meat is slaughtered in the same manner as other meat (ie driven miles to the nearest 'registered' slaughterhouse with all that entails)?

Most of the time the answer is Yes.

There are some small producers who slaughter on farm and supply locally. They can be difficult to find and are currently swamped with orders and struggling to expand as the supermarkets are stopping some suppliers from dealing with the small producer.

Hermann

Seakay wrote: »

I think that the Soil Association site will be able to answer all you questions:

http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/0/A14602757F0F1AE980257415004A07D8?EditDocument

Not everything labelled 'Organic' is in the soil association scheme.

The SA turned into a bit of a nightmare for medium sized producers and many went down routes other than the SA.

victotoro

Thanks Hermann, maybe he can just eat my vegetables and take his carniverous tendencies out the house when the urge hits.

That (very interesting) article also makes me realise how little we can trust labelling without doing our own research. Life is getting way too complicated.

On the plus side, even organic veggies are cheaper than meat, so yay! moneysaving!!

sillyvixen

Hermann wrote: »

Not always.

For example http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1400794.ece

Most of the time the answer is Yes.

There are some small producers who slaughter on farm and supply locally. They can be difficult to find and are currently swamped with orders and struggling to expand as the supermarkets are stopping some suppliers from dealing with the small producer.

thanks for that, as alife long veggie (on weaning i was found to have a metobolic allergy to meat) i do cook meat occasionally for family and have no experience of buying the stuff!! i always but the most expensive organic meat as i am not in a possition to taste the food!!

Tozer

No - not all organic is free range...and certainly not all free range is organic. Organic only relates (in terms of meat) to the type of feed and medications used.