# Organic vs non-organic meat **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251 "2015-11-11T03:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/21 "2015-11-11T17:50:03Z")
Free range meats are typically leaner and a bit tougher - which, depending on how you cook it, can mean drier, tougher, and a taste you don’t like. Most people I know around here who have hens also plant marigolds where the birds can get at them. Hens, being hens, will peck at the flowers just as they peck at everything else. Result: very yellow yolks. A label saying “free range” or “organic” actually guarantees little to nothing in the US, but hey, marketing, right? Next up: carrots labeled “gluten free”. Nevermind that carrots don’t naturally contain gluten anyway, it lets the seller get away with charging a bit more for the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/22 "2015-11-11T17:51:48Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Our feed has marigold petals in it, which will cause orange yolks. > > Of course, we don’t tell customers that. ;)… I was in northern Europe this summer, and all the eggs had orange yolks, but no special flavor. The neighbor eggs had remarkable flavor as well as color. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/23 "2015-11-11T17:53:38Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Free range meats are typically leaner and a bit tougher - which, depending on how you cook it, can mean drier, tougher, and a taste you don’t like. > > Most people I know around here who have hens also plant marigolds where the birds can get at them. Hens, being hens, will peck at the flowers just as they peck at everything else. Result: very yellow yolks. > > A label saying “free range” or “organic” actually guarantees little to nothing in the US, but hey, marketing, right? Next up: carrots labeled “gluten free”. Nevermind that carrots don’t naturally contain gluten anyway, it lets the seller get away with charging a bit more for the same thing. I bought a free range turkey last year that was noticeably tougher and leaner than a conventional bird, and didn’t taste very different. Not buying another from that vendor. Maybe it got more exercise but regular turkey chow. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/24 "2015-11-11T17:57:37Z")
Well, yeah, all sorts of things factor into the tastiness of a food animal: age, genetics, feed, hormones, various other environmental factors/stress… The factory-farm meats are more consistent because you have genetically similar animals raised in very controlled conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/25 "2015-11-11T18:30:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Free range meats are typically leaner and a bit tougher - which, depending on how you cook it, can mean drier, tougher, and a taste you don’t like. > > Most people I know around here who have hens also plant marigolds where the birds can get at them. Hens, being hens, will peck at the flowers just as they peck at everything else. Result: very yellow yolks. > > **A label saying “free range” or “organic” actually guarantees little to nothing in the US, but hey, marketing, right?** Next up: carrots labeled “gluten free”. Nevermind that carrots don’t naturally contain gluten anyway, it lets the seller get away with charging a bit more for the same thing. The term “organic” is actually regulated by the FDA which mandates what can be labelled as such: [http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm214871.htm](http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm214871.htm) You may be thinking of “natural” which is unregulated and can be slapped on anything for marketing purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/26 "2015-11-11T18:42:55Z")
“organic” can include several types of pesticide, rather than meaning “no pesticides” as all too many assume. “organic” meat animals can still be abused and/or inhumanely slaughtered. “organic” does not guarantee freedom from various food-borne illnesses like samonella or the like. “organic” does not mean “inherently safe” - for example, refined white sugar is actually safer for infants than organic honey. “organic” does not automatically mean “healthy”. You can get organic junkfood. I’m not saying anyone here in this thread think that, but I do find such misconceptions to be disturbingly common in the buying public where I work. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/27 "2015-11-11T19:07:58Z")
When we raise pigs, they aren’t ‘organic’ because I really don’t believe it matters one whit to the pig whether the corn in its feed is grown with Roundup or not, nor do I believe it changes the quality of the meat. What does matter is what the pigs eat. Mine live on a large pasture. They eat what they root up, along with a special feed that my local feed mill and I concocted that includes peanuts, corn, oats, etc, but absolutely no soybeans or lysine. They also eat acorns and walnuts when they fall out of the trees. When you buy bacon at the supermarket and the fat turns all runny and soft from sitting on the counter for 5 minutes, and you can’t peel the slices apart because the fat is melted together, that’s from feeding pigs soybeans. When your pork chop is spongy in texture, that’s because lysine makes the muscles grow faster than they should. When I’m watching a network TV food competition and Nigella Lawson and Anthony Bourdain are arguing about whether a particular meat is chicken or pork, that’s when I know that no one in this country knows what real pork or chicken taste like anymore. Not to mention that in the supermarket they’re both brined and injected within an inch of bursting their cell walls. I just realized I sound like an angry old man in this post. Kids today! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/28 "2015-11-11T19:37:33Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Our feed has marigold petals in it, which will cause orange yolks. > > Of course, we don’t tell customers that. 😉 > [@Broomstick](#): > > Most people I know around here who have hens also plant marigolds where the birds can get at them. Hens, being hens, will peck at the flowers just as they peck at everything else. Result: very yellow yolks. To be clear, deeper-colored yolks do not require hens eating marigolds, or necessarily any yellow or orange foods. Yolk color (and flavor) comes from a complex of things in the birds’ diet. Marigolds do have xanthophyll carotenoids, but other sources like dark-green leafy vegetables and mixed pasture plants are better for the ultimate flavor and nutrient profile. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/29 "2015-11-11T20:49:22Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Next up: carrots labeled “gluten free”. Nevermind that carrots don’t naturally contain gluten anyway, it lets the seller get away with charging a bit more for the same thing. My mom gave me a bag of Himalayan salt that proudly proclaimed itself to be gluten free, and the back blurb on the packaging told me all about the evils of “regular” salt, amde up mostly of this strange, possibly cancer causing CHEMICAL (OMG!!) called sodium chloride! Quick, anyone have any dihydrogen oxide, I hear it’s so strong it dissolves that stuff! It was nice and chunky salt, almost like Kosher salt, so I like using it on roasts 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/30 "2015-11-11T22:41:34Z")
I find it interesting when people/sites promote the pink salt’s trace minerals as health boosting, but fail to mention said 80+ “trace minerals” (which some might call “contaminants”) include such yummy things as uranium, polonium, thallium, and others usually regarded by the health crowd as deadly poisons. On the upside - they really are in trace amounts, small enough they are unlikely to have bad effects. You might as well worry about the trace radioactive potassium in organic bananas. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/31 "2015-11-11T23:00:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I find it interesting when people/sites promote the pink salt’s trace minerals as health boosting, but fail to mention said 80+ “trace minerals” (which some might call “contaminants”) include such yummy things as uranium, polonium, thallium, and others usually regarded by the health crowd as deadly poisons. Hey… since switching to this salt I’ve completely cut out my daily uranium supplements. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/32 "2015-11-11T23:43:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I find it interesting when people/sites promote the pink salt’s trace minerals as health boosting, but fail to mention said 80+ “trace minerals” (which some might call “contaminants”) include such yummy things as uranium, polonium, thallium, and others usually regarded by the health crowd as deadly poisons. > > On the upside - they really are in trace amounts, small enough they are unlikely to have bad effects. You might as well worry about the trace radioactive potassium in organic bananas. Yep. Generally speaking, colored salt = pure white salt + dirt. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/33 "2015-11-12T00:11:16Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > … But we got some of the $9-per-pound beef chuck (cut into stew-size chunks) from Whole Foods, just for the hell of it, and made stew, and _holy crap_ was it good. > … > So much better than the $4-5 regular beef chuck from the local grocery chain… Have you found non-organic beef that cost $9 per pound and compared that? I’m generally in favor of organic, free-range, pasture-fed all that good stuff, but there exists the possibility that a good chunk of your different experience wasn’t whether they used organic or inorganic pesticide on the plants the cows ate, but just that they used an overall better process and created a better product. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/34 "2015-11-12T00:30:21Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Have you found non-organic beef that cost $9 per pound and compared that? I’m generally in favor of organic, free-range, pasture-fed all that good stuff, but there exists the possibility that a good chunk of your different experience wasn’t whether they used organic or inorganic pesticide on the plants the cows ate, but just that they used an overall better process and created a better product. I’m sure that’s exactly what it is. Pastured meat _is_ the better process and product. But part of that is that the animals are healthier throughout their lives, so there’s no need for antibiotics, hormones, or insecticide implants (industrial meat isn’t just about junk put in the _feed_), maybe even no supplementary grain at all, organic or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/35 "2015-11-12T02:51:44Z")
I’m in favor of free range because I like happy animals. Also because I like happy animals, I am against organic meat. I understand that to get that sticker, the animal can’t be given antibiotics. While I don’t care so much for the large amounts of antibiotics pumped into intensively produced meat, I do want sick animals to be cared for. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/36 "2015-11-12T04:15:12Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I’m in favor of free range because I like happy animals. Also because I like happy animals, I am against organic meat. I understand that to get that sticker, the animal can’t be given antibiotics. While I don’t care so much for the large amounts of antibiotics pumped into intensively produced meat, I do want sick animals to be cared for. Uh… I think you have a basic misunderstanding here. Nobody just lets a sick steer or hog _stay sick_ to keep their organic eligibility. That risks not only losing the whole investment in the animal but also infecting others. Organic animals that _get_ sick will get separated, treated, and sold as non-organic (but possibly still grass-fed) meat. If a pasturing operation is run well, whether certified organic or not, animals shouldn’t get sick very often. On the other hand, industrial animals, destined from the beginning for unnatural grain diets, confined spaces and filth, are pretty much expected to be sick their whole lives–or to be on the edge of sicknesses held at bay only by continuous prophylactic antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/37 "2015-11-12T12:49:58Z")
This spring I had to process one of my pastured chickens, one I had raised from a chick, as it turned out to be a mean rooster It was a pastured Easter egger, about 5 pounds, a “dual purpose” breed, however there was little meat on it, nowhere near a meat bird, the meat that was there, however was absolutely delicious, tasted rich and moist with an almost turkey-like flavor ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/38 "2015-11-12T13:03:24Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I’m in favor of free range because I like happy animals… I’ll pay extra for beef or lamb that was more humanely reared, and I avoid most industrial pork, because the conditions hogs are raised in seem too unnatural and inhumane. But I have to confess that I don’t care a lot how chickens are turkeys are raised except to the extent I can taste the difference. There is some pastured poultry I’ve had that was far better than supermarket birds, and some that isn’t any better than the better brands I can buy easily. Oh, and yeah, if a bird in an organic flock gets sick, (or a mammal a herd) it is promptly removed from the flock so as not to infect others. Depending on what is wrong with it, it will be killed or treated, and the meat either discarded or sold as non-organic. No one intentionally keeps sick animals around on a meat-producing operation. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/39 "2015-11-12T13:59:09Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > This spring I had to process one of my pastured chickens, one I had raised from a chick, as it turned out to be a mean rooster > > It was a pastured Easter egger, about 5 pounds, a “dual purpose” breed, however there was little meat on it, nowhere near a meat bird, the meat that was there, however was absolutely delicious, tasted rich and moist with an almost turkey-like flavor 5 pound live weight is going to be about half usable meat at best, meaning 2.5 pounds of eatable chicken distributed about the carcass. Unless you also make use of things like organ meat, gizzards, and the like you’re looking at maybe a pound of food at most? Is that about right? This is, of course, why people used to re-purpose the various bits they didn’t roast/bake/whatever to eat (bones and such) for making things like stock, to get more out of the critter. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251/40 "2015-11-12T14:33:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You might as well worry about the trace radioactive potassium in organic bananas. WHAT?! ::Throws lunch banana away:: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organic-vs-non-organic-meat/737251.md?page=3)