Organic vegetable and animal proteins provide your body with the protein it needs for growth, development and muscle maintenance while minimizing the number of chemicals, hormones and artificial ingredients you get from your food supply. The laws that govern organic agriculture and ranching in the United States are different than the laws governing conventional agriculture and ranching. There may be payoffs in better health and decreased risk of certain illnesses.
Soy Products
Soy is an excellent source of vegetable protein. Organic soy is guaranteed to be free of both genetically-manipulated ingredients -- known as GMO -- and the soy used is not treated with herbicides. Organic soy products like tempeh, miso, tofu and soy milk are all labeled "organic." You can also find soy products labeled "non-GMO," which contain no genetically manipulated products but may contain soy grown with herbicides.
Organic Fish
When fish is labeled as "organic," it is farm-raised fish that has been cultivated without hormones or pesticides. The United States doesn't currently certify fish as organic; however, fish that has been important from Canada or other countries that is labeled "organic" has met that country's standards for such labeling. It is unlikely that wild-caught fish will be labeled as organic because of the inability to control the growing conditions under which the fish are raised.
Organically Raised Meat
According to the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, organically raised meat differs greatly from conventional meat products. The main difference arises in the way the livestock is fed. Organic practices ban feed that includes mammalian and poultry slaughter byproducts, which reduces the incidence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy -- also known as "mad cow disease." There are no reports of cattle with BSE on organic farms in the United States, which governs that organic cows must be born and raised on farms using only organic practices.
Organic Poultry and Eggs
Organic poultry for food or egg production must be free-fed organic feed and sleep in organic bedding. Organic birds must be separated physically from non-organic birds while on the farm. The plants in which the poultry and eggs are processed use only organic pest management, and all packaging is free of synthetic chemicals. During processing, the poultry has not come in contact with any non-organic material. Organic poultry and eggs may or may not come from free-range poultry.
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