Is Our Chicken The Same As Grocery Store?

With the addition of chicken we’re getting tons of questions about our chicken and how it compares to other chicken you can buy, which we love! 

Recently, someone was telling me they had been buying organic chicken from the grocery store, and now were going to be buying our chicken. They asked about pricing and the comparison between our prices and grocery prices. They asked, “your chicken isn’t really different than organic chicken in the store right?”

Whoa. Hold on!

Now to be fair, I’m pretty sure they meant it as a compliment that our chicken was on the level of something with organic certification.

We’ve covered before how many loopholes there are in food labeling, and some of the misleading statements….and you’ll be shocked to know that organic certification has its own set of loopholes.

Of course, in order for any product to be labeled as certified organic, it must adhere to the rules put in place by the USDA. Certified organic guidelines for all meat production require that the animals are fed 100% organic and non-GMO feed and forage (yes that means organic beef isn’t necessarily grass-finished beef), not given any growth hormones or antibiotics and have the ability to graze on organic pasture.

Before I go much further, all of this information is available on the USDA’s website – there’s a ton of information there. This handbook from the USDA is a good place to get started if you want to dig into it! NOP Handbook | Agricultural Marketing Service (usda.gov)

Back to certified organic – according to the guidelines, it turns out that chicken is exempt from the requirement that they graze on pasture. Per the USDA, “maintaining vegetation cover is a challenge” when it comes to raising poultry.

So, is organic chicken required to be raised outside on pasture? Not according to what I’m reading!

Organic chicken is supposed to have “access to the outdoors and direct sunlight”. Remember what we found with the misleading label of “free-range” chicken? What’s that mean? It means industrially raised birds are still raised inside large barns and are only provided access to the outdoors, sometimes in the form of just a “pop hole”….so they can’t even get their whole body outside. 

So, if organic chicken is required only to have “access” to the outdoors, are they falling into the same loophole as free-range and only have to be able to poke their head out if they want?

Based on those basic guidelines…

• - Fed organic & non-GMO feed
• - Not given any growth hormones & antibiotics
• - And only have “access” to the outdoors & sunlight

How easy would it be to produce chicken in large quantities, in a big industrial barn, and still be able to label it as certified organic?

Still with me?

I’m sure this one has ruffled some feathers (sorry couldn’t help that pun!). I know lots of people who live and die by the organic label.

And let me be clear, I’m not slamming organic labeled food. There are some great local farms doing organic right. (Here's a great place to search for them Home Page - Real Organic Project)

So, what’s the purpose of even writing this email?

Labels are misleading. Claims are misleading. Even certifications can be worked around with the loopholes out there.

Find out where your food comes from! Talk to the farmer. Ask questions and be comfortable with the answers before you decide you want to purchase those products.

That’s part of why I’m always encouraging you to email with questions, or just corner me at the farmers market!

I want you to be 100% comfortable and excited about the products you buy from us. No, we’re not certified organic. But we do work really hard to raise and produce the cleanest, healthiest meats that we possibly can – and we’re very open about our practices, so you always know where your food is coming from and how it was produced.

If certified organic is important to you, I think that’s great. A quick google search will help you find any certified meat or vegetable producers in our area…find them, and go talk to them. If they’re a small farm like us, they’re probably doing it right. But don’t take my word for it, go ask them and get comfortable with where your food is coming from!

Okay, putting my soapbox away for now!