The Real Cost of Organic Meat

Meat has long been one of the most expensive items in organic food, often double in price! Why is Organic Meat more expensive and what difference does it have to the less-expensive non-organic meat that you find in the grocery store?

The typical reply for this question is, of course, that non-organic raised animals are given growth hormones, antibiotics, and other medications to prevent diseases caused by poor feeding and living conditions. Growth hormones have received a great deal of attention in the media lately as a potential cause of growth problems in young children. Antibiotics are a concern due to overexposure creating super-bugs that require stronger and stronger measures to combat them. Living conditions are cramped with animals often living in their own filth and fed only that which is least expensive, not necessarily what is best for the animal or the human later consuming them.

Photo Credit: Wendy Nuttall

In contrast, organic raised animals are allowed to roam free as soon as they are weaned. Their food consists mostly of what they would find in the wild, grasses and insects, supplemented by all organic feed imbued with naturally occurring minerals to make up for any deficiencies in local plants based on soil and weather conditions. When housed inside shelters, they are provided a space where they can move around that is cleaned regularly to help minimize disease without the use of medications and chemicals that later get passed on through the meat.

The benefits to the environment and local growers are numerous, but the biggest benefit that everyone can enjoy is the quality of the meat itself. One of the most expensive meats in the world is a type Serrano ham called “jamón ibérico.” It is produced only in Spain and in order to qualify, the pigs must only eat a very specific diet of naturally grown grass, herbs, acorns, and roots until they are old enough. Then they are switched to a diet of pure acorns and olives. This specific diet is so pronounced in the flavor of meat that it is renowned the world over as some the best cured ham in the world.

If the taste itself does not convince you, one experiment I have tried is to purchase a boneless organic chicken breast and a non-organic one. We cooked them up in separate pans on the stove, just something simple in a small amount of olive oil with a bit of salt and pepper. Same heat, same size pan. The non-organic chicken breast started out larger, but as it cooked down there was more and more liquid in the pan until it was the same size as the organic chicken breast in the next pan. The organic chicken breast had very little liquid in the pan in comparison. The technique is called “plumping,” injecting saltwater, chicken stock, or seaweed extract into the frozen chicken to make it appear bigger and make it heavier. That can mean that 15-30% of the chicken you paid for is actually water, up to an additional $1.70 per package!

Meat may seem like a costly alternative when purchasing organic, but once you add up every cost, to the environment, your health, and to your wallet, it isn’t that big an investment after all.