What is organic cattle farming?

Organic cattle farming is a method for raising cattle in a more "natural" way. Cattle raised this way are allowed to graze on natural foods and have access to the outdoors. What feed they are given is grown organically, and they are usually not given antibiotics or hormones. These cattle often have much better living conditions than most large-scale cattle farms that are often crowded and prevent cattle from getting much exercise in order to maximize profits.

Some of these organic cattle farmers also use the cow manure as a natural way to fertilize their fields. ---- Different countries as well as local governments have varying criteria for what is considered certified organic, and there is still some debate as to the minimum requirements for defining what constitutes an organically raised cow. ---- Here's the definitive answer. The Word "organic" means "containing carbon". If you look it up in the dictionary, that's the first definition. You have to go through about 8 or 10 alternative definitions before you get to anything anywhere near how people are (mis)using the Word today. "Organic" has always meant either "containing carbon" or "of or pertaining to living things or once-living things". An "organic compound" is a compound containing carbon. "Organic chemistry" is the field of chemistry dealing with substances containg carbon. "Organism" refers to a living thing. "Organ" refers to a part of a living thing. "Organophosphates" are substances that contain carbon and phosphorous (organophosphates also happen to be very potent insecticides, and their use is strictly forbidden in so-called "organic farming", yet by definition, organophosphates are the epitome of "organic". Go figure!) Over the last decade or so, however, the definition of the Word "organic" has been co-opted (stolen) by a small group of farmers who would like to distinguish their products from food raised in a conventional manner. These farmers, in general, don't use man-made fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones, preservatives, or genetic modification. They believe this, somehow, makes their products healthierthan conventionally-grown products (but the facts contradict this belief - more on this later). These farmers needed a Word to describe their products, to set them apart from the conventional products. You see, their products ended up being of far lower quality than conventional products. Since they didn't use insectides, they tended to have quite a bit of insect damage. Since they didn't use man-made fertilizers, they didn't have good yields, and so it was more expensive to produce a given amount of product. And, at least to most consumers, the stuff didn't taste as good as conventionally-grown food. Consumers aren't going to spend more for lower-quality food, unless you can convince them that it is somehow healthier. So the growers of these kinds of food searched high and low for a label that they could stick on their food to differentiate it from conventional foods, and phrases like "bug-ridden", "bad-tasting", "manure-grown", and "growth-stunted" (though absolutely true) didn't give the consumers a favorable impression of the products. So, after toying with Words and phrases like "natural" and "____-free" they eventually settled on "organic". But then a curious thing happened. Although all of these growers had an objection to something in the way that conventional foods are grown, they didn't all object to everything. Some thought it was bad to use pesticides, but okay to use fertilizers. Others thought you could use "natural" pesticides and fertilizers, but not "man-made" pesticides and fertilizers. The farmers that were using a more restrictive definition of "organic" started complaining that the others weren't really "organic", but were taking advantage of the label to sell their only-slightly-more-organic-than-conventional products. Isn't that ironic?! "Organic" growers were complaining about "less-organic" growers mis-using the Word "organic", when they themselves were mis-using it. Essentially, they're saying, we can change the definition of the Word to mean what we want it to mean, but those other guys can't change the definition to what they want it to mean. The hypocrisy boggles the mind. Eventually, the US Department of Agriculture got involved, and they came up with a definition of "organic" that all growers had to follow if they wanted to market their produce as "organic". This definition was, not surprisingly, contrary to the definition in the dictionary. Now, it is a crime, punishable by a $10,000 fine per occurrence, to label any food product "organic" if it does not meet the USDA definition, even if it meets the dictionary's definition of "organic". Today, if I tried to sell you an Apple, and I accurately called it "organic" (because it contains carbon), I would be fined $10,000. Furthermore, there are a lot of growers who consider themselves "organic", but don't quite meet the USDAs definition (or are not willing to pay the cost of certification) that are really ticked off at the government. But is"organic" food actually healthier for human consumption, as the "organic" growers like to believe? Numerous studies say No. It is not more nutritious, as the British government has stated in its official position on the subject. "Organic" food does tend to contain less pesticide residue, but that doesn't really mean much in terms of human health. Most pesticides are not dangerous to human health at all, and the ones that are dangerous are not present, in retail-level conventional foods, at high enough concentrations to cause any health concerns. There has never been a case of human death due to consumption of pesticide residue on retail-level food. By contrast, there have been several deaths attributed to manure residue on organic food. The 2006 e Coli outbreak in the US, which killed 3 people and sickened nearly 200, was traced to organic spinach which contained e Coli from animal manure. "Organic" growers, you see, have to use manure on their crops because they can't use man-made fertilizers. But manure contains e Coli, which can be deadly to humans. Of course, much of the information above does not apply specifically to organic cattle farming, but to organic farming in general. However, to answer the question, by the actual definition of the Word "organic", "organic cattle farming" is any enterprise engaged in raising "organic" cattle, which means any cattle, because all cattle contain carbon. ---- See Discussion Area