Why eat organic meat?

If you followed us during the 30 days of Organic Awareness Month on Instagram (#busbynaturopathics) you'll have already seen our post on organic meat.  The reason we suggest everyone makes a point of eating their meat organic is simple ... Meat is the top of the food chain.

So that means these animals have spent a lifetime accumulating toxins from antibiotics, unnatural grain feed, GMO grain feed, chemical sprays, herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones (including very disruptive Oestrogens which can cause a whole host of health problems for males, females and developing children) which is then passed on to us when we cook and eat this type of animal meat product.

So even if the budget is tight and you can't yet buy everything organic, it's certainly best to start with the top of the food chain - buy your meat organic so you know it is safe for you and your family to eat and free from all of those above nasties. 

Certified organic beef, chicken, pork etc will be grown as close to their natural state as possible, allowed to roam in open fields, eating fresh-unsprayed grass, clean environment, free of anti-biotics or growth hormones. This means better quality, safer, fresher food.

Conventionally farmed livestock are often raised in appalling conditions. It's common in Australia now to raise animals in Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFO), where they cram an extraordinary number of animals in very small spaces - to the point where they can spend all day standing in their own excrement in very unsanitary conditions. Due to this the animals can easily get sick and are therefore given antibiotics, even as a preventative measure, which further adds to the toxic pollution. These animals are feed genetically modified corn and grains (which is in often cases unnatural and hard for them to digest) which leads to their further ill health. They are also injected with  drugs and artificial hormones to grow and produce much faster than they would naturally.

In the book CAFO Reader editor Daniel Imhoff outlines some pretty scary statistics such as;

• 3 million people are sick annually from contaminated meat and poultry
• 60-80% of all antibiotics used in the US are used in industrial food animal production

These poor animals during their sub-par existence in CAFO's and when they are taken to the large abattoirs they can experience a great amount of fear and stress, which means their bodies are flooded with stress hormones such as cortisol, which is again directly passed on to us as humans when we eat this type of meat. It's a very sad story that we have allowed our meat production in Australia to deteriorate to this. We as consumers have power to vote with our dollar each and every time we shop, fighting for the fair and humane treatment of animals and quelling the overuse of antibiotics by our agriculture industry.

So in addition to the huge health benefits of organic meat, for me it's always a pleasure to know that the meat I'm eating came from an animal that had a happy, stress free life in a natural habitat. For a former vegetarian this always makes me grateful and is another great reason for us to buy organic. 

Easy ways to buy organic produce

• Organic butchers (In Brisbane, QLD - Allstop Butchers in Cooparoo and The Meat-ing Place in Paddington)
• Organic Farmers Markets (such as Northey St Organic Markets)
• Local farmers markets may have an organic meat van or stall
• Direct from an organic farmer / co-op where you can buy 1/2 or a whole animal (they will prepare it for you giving you a range of different cuts of meat, this can be an economical way to buy in bulk)
• Some Coles & Woolworths have now started carrying Certified Organic meat ranges (as always look for the certification)
• Lastly "Food Ink" is an excellent documentary sharing more enlightening and empowering information on these important issues. Click here to watch the trailer.

To leave you on a happier note, some pleasant pictures of contented, healthy animals on organic farms.. What a huge difference! Lets go back to farming like this please Australia!