Benefits & Risks Of Organic Meats

Organic meats have several benefits over their non-organic counterparts, with the biggest risk probably to your pocketbook. Although they lack substances found in non-organic meats, organic meats don't have additional protein, vitamins or minerals. You can be sure organic livestock come from more humane conditions -- unless you're being fooled by the label.

Growth Hormones and Pesticides

Organic meat is free of growth hormones and pesticides that livestock might be exposed to in non-organic conditions. While it is unclear if the growth hormones are dangerous to humans, pesticides can be. Livestock raised in organic conditions only eat organic feed that has not been exposed to chemical pesticides.

Antibiotics

Non-organic meats generally come from animals that have ingested antibiotics -- not because they are sick but as a preventative measure. The crowded and often unsanitary conditions can be a breeding ground for disease, so breeders feed livestock antibiotics to ward off the threat. Ingesting unnecessary antibiotics -- which you end up doing when you eat meat from livestock raised in such a manner -- helps give rise to more potent bacteria that can eventually resist antibiotics. Eating organic meats ensures you're not getting unnecessary antibiotics through your meat. It also means you're not supporting the practice.

Mad Cow Disease

Mad cow disease spreads when cows eat animal feed that contains parts of dead animals. Organic meat does not pose this threat, although feed used in non-organic conditions can. Mad cow disease is linked to the human condition known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which kills off brain cells and is always fatal. Worldwide, only 217 cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have cropped up as of October 2009, according to Kids Health.

Risks

One risk of eating organic meat is swiftly draining your budget. It's more expensive to raise livestock in organic conditions and the cost is reflected on the price per pound. Another risk is believing everything you read. For a meat to be organic, it needs the circular, green and white USDA Organic label. Other labels might not mean much. Free range, for instance, generally refers to conditions in which animals are exposed to open air and areas. The only free range regulations are for chickens, however, and that outdoor air exposure can be as little as five minutes each day, according to Consumer Reports. No regulations govern other animals or even eggs labeled free range, which means the meat may not have been raised according to any standards.