Organic foods claim to have a number of health benefits, but their costs can be high. With meat, the concern isn't exposure to more pesticides, as it is with fruits and vegetables, but rather with the practices associated with raising cattle, pork and poultry. Organic meats are raised differently from conventional meats and may carry less risk of contracting certain diseases carried by meat.
Labeling
Organic U.S. Department of Agriculture labels state whether a meat product is 100 percent organic; organic, meaning 95 percent organic; or made with organic ingredients, meaning 70 percent organic. Meats labeled free-range or hormone-free aren't necessarily organic, MayoClinic.com warns.
Feeding Practices
Animals raised for food using conventional practices can be fed a number of substances banned in organic meats, including gelatin rendered from cattle and other animal hooves, poultry by-products, rendered pork and horse protein and fats, grease and tallow from cattle and other species, James Riddle of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Organic Advisory Task Force states. Organic-raised calves are also given organic milk rather than milk replacer, which may contain dried blood plasma and serum from cattle and hogs, Riddle adds. Grass-fed beef have higher nutritional value than grain fed beef, Organic Facts reports.
Inspections
Organic livestock is subject to more scrupulous record-keeping than conventionally raised livestock. Feed mills and slaughter facilities also undergo more rigorous inspections to ensure that they're following organic procedures, Riddle reports.
Additives
Much of the concern over conventionally raised meat focuses on antibiotics and hormones given to cattle and poultry to accelerate their growth. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration claims that the growth hormones used in cattle are the same as those naturally produced by cattle. Groups such as Consumer's Union state that milk from cows fed growth hormones contain higher amounts of the substances. Antibiotics in meat may contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Benefits
Organic meat reduces the risk of contracting a serious disease transmitted in non-organic meat, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BCE, also known as mad cow disease. The human form of BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease, or CJD, occurs if you eat meat from an animal given contaminated food. Only one confirmed case of BSE has occurred in the United States, and the woman involved actually contracted the disease in Great Britain, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
