Unless you are vegetarian, I would suggest that there is nothing more mouthwatering than a thick juicy, medium rare steak, seasoned to perfection and sizzling away on a grill. However I guess you could say that it all depends on what type of beef you use. More and more people are cottoning onto the fact, that not only does organic taste the best, it’s also really good for you. Thankfully organic beef production in Ontario Canada is on the increase. However in order for beef to be classed as truly organic, there are certain criteria that have to be met.
The Canadian food inspection agency has stringent rules that constitutes what is and isn’t organic and some of these rules are as follows.
- All cattle must be fed a balanced diet with the essential nutrients required to maintain the animals health and general well being.
- They must be fed with purely organic feed which in itself must also live up to the regulations and standards
- All young cattle must be fed natural milk, and not a powdered supplement
- For an animal to be classed as organic, they must also have access to pasture (weather permitting) and should get a minimum of 30% of their dry matter intake from grazing this pasture.
- A large proportion of the cattle feed should consist of fresh or dried fodder, silage and roughage
- There must be no drugs, hormones or antibiotics which promote growth in the animal.
- There should be no feed formulas containing manure or other animal waste
- An organic beef producer is not permitted to use any preservation or coloring agents, or flavor and appetite enhancers.
- They should use only natural methods of breeding, with no artificial insemination
As you can see, there are quite a few regulations which have to be followed and it does make organic methods expensive due to higher production costs, therefore pushing up the price of the beef. Other challenges for the farmer include sourcing organic feed, crop and pasture management, alternative animal welfare methods as well as a 2-3 year turn round for getting everything in place. An example of this is crop production to organic methods. However when all said and done, there is evidence to suggest that more and more people are concerned about what they are putting into their bodies, as well as the welfare of animals and as a result are willing to pay more for organic produce, including beef. In fact, recent studies by the organic trade organization showed that sales of organic products in the US and Canada topped 16.7 billion dollars in 2010 and over two thirds of supermarkets are now stocking these products. So if statistics are anything to go by, it seems that we really do prefer to eat organic,
Of course the best way to purchase organic products including beef is at your local farmers market, where you can meet the producer in question and get the facts about their products, straight from the horse’s mouth
So the next time that you are in your local branch of Metro, take a look at the label and buy organic. Yes it may well cost a couple of bucks more, but you’ll be glad that you did!