 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2010) |
Organic livestock farming or organic livestock production is a means of food production with a large number of rules directed towards a high status of animal welfare, care for the environment, restricted use of medical drugs and the production of a healthy product without residues (pesticides or medical drugs). [1]
According to the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) Standards rules passed on October 22, 2002, certified organic livestock must come from a fully verifiable production system that collects information on the history of every animal in the program, including its breed history, veterinary care, and feed. Further, to be certified as organic, all cattle should meet the following criteria:
According to George Monbiot organic, pasture-fed beef and lamb are the world’s most damaging farm products. [3]
Professor Wolfgang Branscheid says that organic animal production is not good for the environment, because organic chicken requires twice as much land as "conventional" chicken and organic pork a quarter more. [4] According to a calculation by Hudson Institute, organic beef requires three times as much land. [5]
A 2021 meta-analysis reported (i) a 14% lower productivity in organic dairy cattle, (ii) an 11% lower feed-use efficiency in organic dairy cattle and an 89% lower in poultry broilers, and (iii) reduced competition between feed and food use in organic dairy systems. [6]
Extended grazing on open grasslands can stimulate plant growth that sequesters additional carbon dioxide. [7] However grass-fed cows generally grow more slowly and are smaller at slaughter compared to grain-fed cows. Because they take longer to reach market weight and convert feed into meat less efficiently, their total lifetime emissions—particularly methane—are typically higher. As a result, grass-fed beef tends to have a higher carbon footprint per kilogram than grain-fed beef. A study by Daniel Blaustein-Rejto and colleagues estimated that emissions from grass-fed beef were approximately 20% higher than those from grain-fed cattle. [8]
Compared to caged hens, free-range and organic hens produce fewer eggs and required more feed, which resulted in a carbon footprint around 16% higher per kilogram of egg. [8]
Honikel (1998) reviewed the limited number of studies on milk, beef, pork, and eggs, concluding that product quality characteristics—such as nutritional, hygienic, sensory, and technological factors—do not differ substantially between organic and conventional livestock farming. [9]
A 2003 literature review found no indications that health and welfare are worse in organic than in conventional livestock farming, with the exception of parasitic diseases. [10]
