What You May Not Know about Organic Poultry

The organic chicken and turkey industry is a case study in the pernicious influence of industrial agriculture combined with the failure of the USDA to protect the integrity of the organic label.

With respect to organic poultry, the USDA organic seal represents a controversial spectrum of management practices, promoting more questions than assurances.

At one end, authentic organic producers, driven by their commitment to organic principles, provide legitimate outdoor access, prioritize animal welfare, and take measures to protect human and environmental health. But open any grocery meat case and you’re more than likely to find the USDA organic label on brands that don’t meet the intent of the organic standards.

Motivated by the economic promise of a marketplace hungry for organic poultry, industrial producers take advantage of consumer trust in the USDA organic label, while using conventional management practices. Factory-scale operations externalize costs and undercut competition by offering “organic” meat prices far below what is sustainable for authentic organic producers.

The industrial takeover of the organic poultry market is profound, but the market is not without hope. Authentic, family-scale farms exist; and many of these ethical farmers are well-integrated with their local communities. Superb organic poultry requires a greater investment of time and money – but the payoff in sustainability, nutrition, animal welfare, and economic justice pays dividends.

This report, along with Cornucopia’s Organic Poultry Scorecard,[1] serves as a call to action to safeguard ethical, organic poultry farmers and secure their essential role in the marketplace. The small number of authentic organic brands rely on the continued support of invested eaters.

Informed consumers must vote with their forks, putting them down when the only choices in the grocery store are products that push the boundaries of animal welfare and the intent of the organic label.

If you have access to local, pasture-based organic poultry producers, your patronage keeps them in operation and encourages other ethical producers to enter the market.

Cashing in on a lucrative market

Organic poultry has seen a surge in popularity. The benefits of organic production, including nutrition, animal welfare, environmental impact, and economic justice for ethical farmers, have made chicken the most popular and accessible meat available in the organic marketplace today.[2]

According to USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), more than 19 million certified organic broilers were produced in 2016, with sales exceeding $749 million.[3] The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) notes that “Chicken is … the most popular natural and organic meat, purchased by more than seven in ten shoppers.”[4]

Organic turkey is also in demand. Representing a much smaller market share than organic chicken, organic turkey sales reached approximately $83 million in 2016.[5]

The organic chicken and turkey industries continue to experience rapid growth. In 2016, sales from US poultry producers surged 78% from the previous year to a total of $750 million.[6] In 2018, poultry made up the largest volume of sales in the US organic meat market. All signs point to further expansion of the organic poultry industry.[7]

Industrialization

Among the various reasons for the boom in the organic poultry industry, one main driver stands out: industrialization. Factory-scale operations entered the organic marketplace when it became clear that the USDA label offered economic advantages: consumers are willing to pay more to know how their food is raised. Big players, many with deep roots in conventional agriculture, scrambled to get a foothold.

Some of the most common organic brands, such as Petaluma Poultry, Smart Chicken, and Draper Valley Farms, are owned by massive, vertically integrated companies (i.e., when one entity owns and operates multiple stages of production). Chicken dominates the organic meat market because of the relatively short production cycle and comparatively low cost at the checkout.

The majority of modern American poultry producers, even those that carry the USDA organic seal, are more like factories than farms. Sparse regulatory controls for organic poultry have institutionalized conventional style management practices, implemented to produce strikingly cheap organic broilers. The end result: huge barns holding tens of thousands of birds with no legitimate outdoor access are now certified organic. Legitimate farmers who produce ethically raised poultry products struggle to compete with the economies of scale and the externalized costs flouted by industrial producers.

Contract growing

Shifts in the poultry production market have seriously impacted the industry. One result is the prevalence of “contract growers” who produce poultry on behalf of a larger company or brand.

Most of the major corporate brands get their organic poultry product almost exclusively from contract growers.[8] Contract farming methods keep corporate costs down and profits up by offloading risks to the farm-operators.[9] Too often, these chicken producers must sink thousands of dollars of their own money into infrastructure, feed, and other costs before they see any funds from the contracting companies. They also bear the risk of disasters such as unexpected losses from disease or predation.

The expenditures assumed by contract growers notoriously outweigh the prices paid by their corporate buyers. Over time, contract growers become increasingly reliant on their corporate buyers.[10] They are often forced to sign agreements that tie up their capital in mandated updates to poultry housing, irrigation, and other infrastructure, while preventing them from producing birds independently.[11]

Industrial tactics have changed the face of poultry farming; the traditional vision of a chicken pecking around the barnyard is no longer a reality for billions of animals. While there are organic chicken brands that go beyond the basic requirements of the organic standards, the majority of organic chicken in the US comes from factory farms mimicking conventional management strategies.

Part of the problem is lax enforcement. As Cornucopia has detailed, this has led to widespread abuses and industrialization in organic production.[12,13] In the absence of NOP [National Organic Program] action, some accredited certifiers have added to the confusion by offering their own interpretations of organic standards.[14]

But a more fundamental issue is represented by the organic rules and regulations themselves, and their impotence in encouraging the humane treatment of poultry in the organic landscape.

The spirit vs. the letter of the law

The organic label is the only federally regulated label that speaks to how a product was produced, not just what a consumer can expect in the end product.

The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), enacted under Title 21 of the 1990 Farm Bill, served to establish uniform national standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as “organic.”[15] As a result, organic food has strict labeling requirements that include what can and cannot be displayed on the front panel of a product.[16]

The NOP Final Rule defines organic production as “a production system that is managed … to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.”[17]

The standards provide a framework under which every organic producer must operate, or else risk their certification. But the rest of the federal law is light on specifics regarding livestock animals.

The laws themselves can serve as an important consumer education tool. But less regulatory language is dedicated to poultry than ruminant livestock. While the basic organic livestock standards apply to birds (along with all other organic livestock), special accommodations for the unique needs of poultry are a glaring omission.

The regulatory root

As the overarching federal law for the organic label, OFPA dictates a structure for organic production and handling. The organic regulations are other federal laws built on OFPA’s initial framework. Both sources are important when trying to understand what organic poultry production was intended to be, what it is now (including the regulatory loopholes found by some unethical producers), and what it could be in the future.

OFPA sets some standards for the origin of poultry, stating: “With the exception of day old poultry, all poultry from which meat or eggs will be sold or labeled as organically produced shall be raised and handled in accordance with this chapter prior to and during the period in which such meat or eggs are sold.”[18]

OFPA does not get into many specifics when it comes to livestock animals; instead, it focuses on the basic requirements a product must meet to qualify for the organic label. OFPA’s section on animal production practices and materials lays out some basic prohibitions that apply to poultry (as well as other livestock):[19]

• No re-feeding of manure or feeding urea,
• No growth promoters or hormones (though growth hormones are prohibited in conventional chicken and poultry as well),
• No sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics,
• No use of synthetic internal parasiticides on a routine basis, and
• No medication, other than vaccinations, in the absence of illness.

Bare bones for birds

• The basic requirements applying to organic poultry operations that sell over $5,000 in organic products annually include:[20]
• Operations must be certified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent.
• Birds must be fed and managed organically from the second day after hatching.
• All agricultural components of the feed ration (including kelp and carriers in feed supplements) must be 100% organic.
• All poultry must have access to the outdoors.

The intent of the organic law was to support pasture-based production, but these baseline standards did little to inform the industry about how exactly they should be raising their poultry. Nor did it discourage industrial players from moving in and taking over.

Loopholes for living conditions

The language within the organic standards plainly intends that every animal should be outdoors, but many broilers never see the sun. Popular strains of broiler chickens are bred to reach market weight sometime between four and six weeks of age, a fragile age that some producers and certifiers argue is too young to be let outdoors.

Using allowances under the “stage of life” rules, these industrial producers confine organic poultry.[21,22] But because broilers are processed at a young age, their time in the open air is severely limited. The birds may get outdoor access for the last week or 10 days of their lives, but since “outdoor access” is not defined, it does not necessarily mean the birds are actually going outside.

Stocking density is another problematic area of the regulations. A rule protecting ruminant livestock (e.g., cattle, sheep, and goats) stipulates that the feeding areas (other than pasture) must allow for them to feed simultaneously without crowding and without competition for food.[23] Chickens and turkeys do not benefit from such specific requirements.

It’s left to individual certifiers to determine whether a poultry producer’s stocking density is appropriate. The average adult chicken needs approximately two feet of space to comfortably spread their wings without hitting another chicken. One industry analysis found that certifiers were requiring a minimum of 0.14 square meters (or 0.46 square feet) per bird – a square less than eight and a half inches wide for each bird.[24] It is difficult for broilers, bred to grow rapidly, to express natural behaviors such as preening, resting, and dissipating excess heat in such a small area.[25]

Because the regulations are open to interpretation with respect to poultry, enforcement of outdoor access and stocking density is essentially non-existent in the organic broiler industry. But these are not the only loopholes that have led to highly variable organic poultry production management techniques.

The organic rules require producers to maintain living conditions that accommodate the health and natural behavior of all their animals, an important differentiator that could help consumers choose between industrial and family-scale production.[26] But the standards contain sparsely defined exceptions that are easily twisted to maximize profits in the organic poultry market. The organic label is an enticing incentive.

Why poultry management matters

Industrial brands benefit from economies of scale when it comes to both feed and certification expenses, allowing a more stable bottom line and less risk overall. Other factors that increase risk for smaller farms may include smaller flock sizes, which reduce the ability of a farm to recover from any losses, and a longer growth period for broilers from healthier breeds. Additionally, the high cost and relative unavailability of organic feed and the costs associated with certification itself can be burdensome for small producers.[31,32]

All of these factors have associated costs, from environmental issues to impacts on human health and animal welfare, making the final product for authentic organic production more expensive. Since industrial organic producers label their poultry with the same organic seal used by authentic organic farmers, consumers often gravitate toward the cheaper option. Cornucopia’s Organic Poultry Scorecard provides shoppers with the information they need to support farmers that go above and beyond the minimum organic rules and regulations for poultry.

Environmental issues

Industrialized poultry production attracts consumers because of its incredibly low price on grocery shelves. But there are many environmental costs for cheap chicken or turkey that are not accounted for in the pricing. These externalized costs are paid by society as a whole, in the form of pollution, destruction of native ecosystems, and land-use burdens.

Chicken is often touted as a sustainable meat option because it takes less feed to produce a pound of chicken than a pound of beef or pork. However, whereas cattle can subsist and even thrive on an entirely grass-based diet, chickens need to obtain a large percentage of their diet from grain, seeds, or other farmed inputs. These inputs need to be grown on land that could otherwise be used to produce food directly for humans.

There are many environmental costs of industrialized poultry production:[33,34,35]

• The energy use and emissions associated with the production of poultry feed ingredients, such as fuel use for field operations, the manufacture of fertilizers and soil amendments, and the manufacture of additives such as synthetic methionine.
• The degradation of lands used for growing feed (although organic agriculture, and particularly regenerative organic practices, can provide some environmental benefits).[36]
• The reduction of oceanic fisheries, due to extensive use of fish meal as both a common feed supplement and a feed crop fertilizer.
• Energy and pollution burdens from hatchery chick production and the maintenance of breeder flocks, as well as the disposal of birds that do not meet production needs.
• On-farm energy use, especially when large-scale lighting and ventilation systems are used (as is typical in industrial production).
• Litter and manure management, which can cause pollution runoff into waterways or ground water that impacts local ecosystems and communities. Unmanaged manure can run off during rainstorms and can cause algal blooms in nearby waterways.[37] These blooms deplete oxygen in the water, killing other wildlife and plant life and destroying native ecosystems. At industrial scales, waste may include not only the manure itself but spent bedding and gaseous emissions.
• Transportation costs and associated energy consumption for feed, live birds, and processed poultry.

When poultry is well managed on pasture, many of these environmental concerns disappear. Ultimately, the cost on grocery shelves may not reflect the complete story. In fact, a lower cost on the shelf may indicate that more of the true production costs have been offloaded to the environment and community as a whole!

Impacts on human health

Human health impacts from industrialized poultry production align closely with the risks to the environment. An increase in human health concerns associated with poultry production often correlates with increased industrialization of management practices and scale of production.

When poultry manure is allowed to contaminate water, the nitrogen compounds convert to nitrate. High levels of nitrate in water cause “blue baby syndrome.”[38] When it occurs, this condition frequently leads to death in infants.

Additionally, as microbes decompose the nitrogen compounds in manure, gaseous ammonia is produced and released into the local environment. This ammonia is a respiratory irritant, can cause chemical burns to the respiratory system, skin, and eyes, and can lead to chronic lung disease in workers who are routinely exposed.[39]

Conversely, authentic organic production not only prevents these human health threats, but also increases benefits to human health through nutrition.

Nutritional benefits

Factory organic producers would like consumers to believe that their products are equivalent to their pasture-based counterparts, but nutrition studies show otherwise.

Studies published in the journal Poultry Science show notable differences in the nutrient profiles of pastured and conventional chicken. One study found that meat from pasture-raised chickens contained more omega-3 fatty acids than meat from those who were not given access to fresh forage. This included higher levels of eicosapentaenoic acid in breast meat, one of the omega-3 fatty acids.[40] A second study found higher levels of four different omega-3 fatty acids in birds who had access to fresh pasture and whose cereal feed intake was restricted (presumably to encourage foraging).[41]

The breed or strain of bird also has important nutritional impacts. Another study compared the meat quality and nutritive value of poultry meat from slow- and fast-growing breeds. It found that the quality of the meat was higher in the slow-growing breeds – that is, lower in fat and higher in protein and tocopherols.[42] This study also tested the difference between production systems and found similar nutritive benefits in birds raised with time spent outdoors.[43]

Another study showed that breeding chickens for rapid growth has increased the proportion of omega-6 fatty acids in the meat.[44] Omega-6 fatty acids are inflammatory and already overabundant in the Western diet. The study noted that fat has replaced protein as the leading source of calories in chicken.[45] Traditional poultry, such as heritage breeds, raised on pasture or other forage seem to be one of the few land-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids (long-chain n-3 fatty acids).[46]

Chicken meat that provides several times the fat of its leaner, higher-protein ancestors may be a concern in the face of the US obesity epidemic.[47] However, healthy fats in good balance with other nutritional elements – like those in products derived from animals with a more natural diet – are increasingly in demand.[48]

Pasture-raised poultry is also likely to contain more vitamins. Chicken farmer Barb Gorski compared nutrition data from several pastured chicken farmers to data of conventionally raised poultry in 1999. The findings of the USDA-funded study concluded clear differences in fat and vitamin content:

Meat of the pastured chickens was found to display 21% less fat, 30% less saturated fat and 50% more vitamin A than the USDA standard for chicken meat. Skinless meat displayed no significant differences from the standard; it consequently appears that these healthy attributes of pasture-raised chickens are wholly to be found in the skin.[49]

Organic food is also free from antibiotics and toxic pesticides.

In most respects, organic turkey faces the same issues as organic meat chickens. Fresh, organic, pasture-raised turkeys can easily cost twice as much as conventional turkey. As with organic chicken, organic turkey provides benefits to human health that are lacking in conventional turkey.[50] Turkeys labeled organic are also raised without antibiotics, and the overuse of those drugs in raising farm animals is being connected to increasing health issues in humans.[51]

Animal welfare implications

Chickens and other poultry get a tough break in agricultural law. As previously described, compared to other livestock, poultry have few regulatory protections. In part, this may be because consumers identify less strongly with birds than with mammalian species. Still, like any animal, poultry suffer from pain, deprivation, stress, and neglect. As gregarious animals, they also can feel social stress.

The organic label is not an animal welfare label in the same way that other labels, such as Animal Welfare Approved, purport to be.[52] Still, organic poultry appeals to many consumers who are seeking a more humane production method.

Organic certification does provide these baseline welfare considerations for meat poultry:

• All organic poultry are “free-range,” meaning they are not confined to cages and have access to the outside.[53]
• Antibiotics are not allowed, encouraging farmers to use management practices to avoid disease in their livestock, such as avoiding overcrowding and stress.
• Poultry production practices are audited on-farm for the organic label (most animal welfare labels are awarded without on-farm inspection).
• Outdoor access requirements give chickens and other poultry the opportunity to express natural behaviors like foraging, scratching, and perching, and provide access to fresh air and sunlight.

While all of these points are important, the organic rules and regulations only go so far to promote animal welfare. The organic label does not strictly require any amount of space per bird or clearly define the outdoor access requirement. Similarly, while organic livestock slaughter and processing plants are required to be audited, that audit does not cover animal welfare concerns. Some of these considerations can be covered by other add-on labels.

What might be considered high welfare for one species could be considered low welfare for another. In general, however, systems are considered “high welfare” when the animal can perform natural and instinctive behaviors and is free from deprivation, neglect, and outright abuse.

Some indicators of high-welfare systems include:

• Housing conditions that promote natural and instinctive behaviors (including foraging, socializing, dust bathing, etc.), are clean, and offer fresh air and natural light.[54]
• Freedom from pain, injury, and undue stress for birds.
• Low to moderate stocking density.
• The absence of cannibalism and feather pecking,[55] which are often caused by malnourishment, overcrowding, excessive light, and poor housing conditions in general.

When consumers know their farmer, it is easier to determine how those farmers raise and care for their birds.

Conclusion: consumer choice rules the day

Consumers have been trained to expect cheap organic chicken in their grocery stores. But the price of this product does not reflect the actual cost to eaters, animals, and the environment. Understanding the nuances of poultry production is the first step in making more ethical poultry choices.

When good food advocates purchase authentic organic food, they amplify their values. In the current regulatory environment, this marketplace activism may be the most powerful tool in effecting change.

Animal welfare is a compelling reason for consumers to choose organic over their conventional counterparts. While even factory-organic is preferable to conventional production, due to its lower toxic load and land use concerns, the most industrialized organic production provides few animal welfare benefits.

Birds in factory-organic systems live in massive flocks, often in crowded, dirty conditions, and without legitimate access to the outdoors. This contrasts starkly with truly pastured production that prioritizes animal welfare.

Consumer education must also include the implications of breed and strain selection. Poultry consumers are used to the thick breast of the fast-growing breeds, and birds that grow at a more humane pace result in an entirely different end product. Consumers may dislike this meat simply because they haven’t been taught the most delicious way to cook it.

The problem is exacerbated by price. A bird that takes twice as long to raise requires a higher price point. Without this knowledge, that extra cost can be hard to swallow.

Some ethical producers meet consumers halfway by raising hybrid strains that are similar to the Cornish Cross* in flavor, but are bred to perform better foraging outdoors. Others raise birds like Red Rangers or other hardy breeds that produce a familiar meat product, sometimes with an improved flavor!

What can you do?

Your food choices matter. Although factory farms currently dominate the organic poultry industry, there is hope. Consumers have the ultimate power to prompt change: we do it every day with our purchasing decisions.

One strategy is to eat chicken or turkey less often, freeing up dollars to pay for a product that is truly organic. When consumers make this choice, it shifts market demand. Our support of small farmers ensures a market for new farmers, one in which farmers considering organic certification can make a living while adhering to organic ideals. Consumer choice can also influence factory farms; informed consumers threaten business models that rely on marketing subterfuge.

Cornucopia encourages informed eaters to invest in the superior management practices of authentic organic poultry farmers. Finding them requires rigorous homework, making Cornucopia’s Organic Poultry Scorecard a valuable consumer tool. Surveying more than 60 marketplace brands of chicken and turkey, the mobile-friendly scorecard points consumers to brands they can trust and warns of brands to avoid. Cornucopia’s poultry scorecard can be found at: cornucopia.org/scorecard/organic-poultry-scorecard.

Purchasing these top-rated products, as well as those identified using our do-it-yourself guide (see shaded box below), benefits the farmers who are doing the best work, while enhancing your life in ways that aren’t always obvious. Your food dollars serve as an investment in legitimate organic agriculture, as well as our collective health and the future of the planet.

FOOTNOTE

* This Cornish breed and other similar hybrid strains are what you would recognize as today’s “typical” grocery-store chicken. The Cornish Cross and similar strains are more susceptible to illness and stress than slower-growing [heritage] breeds. Fast growth, uneven weight distribution, and low activity cause physical issues.

Excerpted from For the Birds: How to Recognize Authentic Organic Chicken and Turkey by Marie Burcham, JD; published by The Cornucopia Institute, www.cornucopia.org.

About the Author

Marie Burcham, JD, is domestic policy director for The Cornucopia Institute. They have a background in Animal Science and English from the University of California, Davis, and hold a JD degree with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law from Lewis and Clark Law School.

The Cornucopia Institute is a tax-exempt, public charity focusing on consumer education and watchdog work. Cornucopia empowers consumers and wholesale buyers to make discerning marketplace decisions, elevating the organic food and farming movement and the value it delivers to society. For more information, see www.cornucopia.org/research/organic-poultry-report-and-scorecard/.

ENDNOTES

1. The Cornucopia Institute. “Organic Poultry Scorecard.” Accessed December 12, 2019. https://www.cornucopia.org/scorecard/organic-poultry-scorecard/
2. Agricultural Resource Marketing Center. December, 2018. “Organic Poultry Profile.” Accessed January 31, 2020. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/livestock/poultry/organic-poultry-profile-625
3. Most recent data available for this report. Agricultural Resource Marketing Center. December, 2018. “Organic Poultry Profile.” Accessed June 28, 2019. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/livestock/poultry/organic-poultry-profile-625
4. Agricultural Resource Marketing Center. December, 2018. “Organic Poultry Profile.” Accessed June 28, 2019. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/livestock/poultry/organic-poultry-profile-625
5. Megan Durisin. 2017. “Americans Are Devouring Organic Chicken As Sales Rise.” Bloomberg Markets, September 20. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-21/americans-are-devouring-organic-chickens-as-farm-sales-surge
6. Megan Durisin. 2017. “Americans Are Devouring Organic Chicken As Sales Rise.” Bloomberg Markets, September 20. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-21/americans-are-devouring-organic-chickens-as-farm-sales-surge
7. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture. April 23, 2018. “Chicken and Eggs.” https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/fb494842n/6q182m415/rn301286j/ChicEggs-04-23-2018.txt
8. The Cornucopia Institute. February 23, 2017. “Cheap Chicken Carries Steep Cost.” https://www.cornucopia.org/2017/02/cheap-chicken-carries-steep-cost/
9. Monica Potts. 2011. “The Serfs of Arkansas.” The American Prospect, March 5, 2011. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://prospect.org/article/serfs-arkansas-0
10. James M. MacDonald. 2014. “Financial Risks and Incomes in Contract Broiler Production.” Amber Waves, August 4, 2014. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2014/august/financial-risks-and-incomes-in-contract-broiler-production/
11. The PEW Environmental Group. July 27, 2011. “Big Chicken: Poultry and Industrial Poultry Production in America. Diminishing Options For Contract Growers.” http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/peg/publications/report/pegbigchickenjuly2011pdf.pdf
12. See The Cornucopia Institute. December 11, 2016. “Industry Watchdog Calls for Independent Investigation of USDA’s National Organic Program.” https://www.cornucopia.org/2016/12/industry-watchdog-calls-for-independent-investigation-of-usdas-national-organic-program/
13. The Cornucopia Institute. 2019. “The Complete Guide to the Dairy Crisis.” Accessed December 13, 2019. https://www.cornucopia.org/dairy-crisis/
14. The Cornucopia Institute. 2019. “The Gatekeepers of Organic Integrity: Guide to Organic Certifiers.” https://www.cornucopia.org/certifier-report/
15. Title 21 of Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, codified at 7 U.S.C. ch. 94, 7 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.
16. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. 2017. “Organic Labeling Standards.” Accessed April 18, 2017. https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-labeling-standards
17. 7 USC § 6502 – Definitions; Jim Riddle. 2013. “Requirements for Organic Poultry Production.” eOrganic, August 27, 2013. https://eorganic.org/node/7959
18. 7 USC § 6509(e)(1)
19. 7 USC § 6509
20. Jim Riddle. 2013. “Requirements for Organic Poultry Production.” eOrganic, August 27, 2013. https://eorganic.org/node/7959
21. 7 CFR 205.239(b)(2)
22. Stage of life is defined as: “A discrete time period in an animal’s life which requires specific management practices different than during other periods (e.g., poultry during feathering). Breeding, freshening, lactation and other recurring events are not a stage of life.” 7 CFR § 205.2
23. 7 CFR 205.239(a)(1). “Yards, feeding pads, and feedlots shall be large enough to allow all ruminant livestock occupying the yard, feeding pad, or feedlot to feed simultaneously without crowding and without competition for food… Continuous total confinement of ruminants in yards, feeding pads, and feedlots is prohibited.”
24. Fanatico A, Owens C, Emmert J. July 1, 2009. “Organic poultry production in the United States: Broilers.” The Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 18(2): 355–366. https://academic.oup.com/japr/article/18/2/355/705693
25. Compassion in World Farming. July 5, 2013. “Welfare Sheet: Broiler Chickens.” Accessed June 28, 2019. https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235309/Welfare-sheet-Broiler-chickens.pdf
26. 7 CFR 205.239
27. 7 CFR 205.239(a)(1)
28. 7 CFR 205.239(a)(3)
29. 7 CFR 205.239(a)(4)
30. 7 CFR 205.239(e)
31. Agricultural Resource Marketing Center. December, 2018. “Organic Poultry Profile.” Accessed July 15, 2019. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/livestock/poultry/organic-poultry-profile-625
32. The Cornucopia Institute. “Certifying Small Farms: The Challenges and How Consumers Can DIY.” The Cultivator, Summer 2019, page 6. https://www.cornucopia.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/06/Summer2019-Cultivator.pdf
33. Pelletier N. May 21, 2008. “Environmental performance in the US broiler poultry sector: Life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas, ozone depleting, acidifying and eutrophying emissions.” Agricultural Systems 98: 67–73. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.467.6116&rep=rep1&type=pdf
34. World Wildlife Fund. 2019. “Sustainable Agriculture: Soy.” Accessed September 18, 2019. https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/soy
35. Marie Burcham and Anne Ross. Fall, 2019. “Conventional Soy Damages the Environment.” The Cultivator, page 4. The Cornucopia Institute. https://www.cornucopia.org/2019/10/the-cultivator-fall-2019/
36. John W. Roulac. January 21, 2015. “How Regenerative Organic Agriculture Can Save the Planet.” EcoWatch. https://www.cornucopia.org/2015/01/regenerative-organic-agriculture-can-save-planet/
37. Kraham S. 2017. “Environmental Impacts of Industrial Livestock Production.” International Farm Animal, Wildlife and Food Safety Law. http://www.bookmetrix.com/detail/chapter/094be469-11e6-49bb-b7c5-9e848636c093
38. Carrie Hribar, MA. 2010. “Understanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Their Impact on Communities.” National Association of Local Boards of Health. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf
39. Carrie Hribar, MA. 2010. “Understanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Their Impact on Communities.” National Association of Local Boards of Health. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf
40. Ponte P, et al. January 1, 2008. “Influence of Pasture Intake on the Fatty Acid Composition, and Cholesterol, Tocopherols, and Tocotrienols Content in Meat from Free-Range Broilers.” Poultry Science, 87(1): 80–88. https://academic.oup.com/ps/article/87/1/80/1567071
41. Ponte P, et al. 2008. “Restricting the Intake of a Cereal-Based Feed in Free-Range-Pastured Poultry: Effects on Performance and Meat Quality.” Poultry Science, 87:2032-42. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23272970_Restricting_the_Intake_of_a_Cereal-Based_Feed_in_Free-Range-Pastured_Poultry_Effects_on_Performance_and_Meat_Quality
42. Fanatico A, Pillai P, Emmert J, and Owens C. 2007. “Meat Quality of Slow- and Fast-Growing Chicken Genotypes Fed Low Nutrient or Standard Diets and Raised Indoors or with Outdoor Access.” Poultry Science, 86:2245–2255. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17878457
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Published in the Price-Pottenger Journal of Health and Healing
Summer 2020 | Volume 44, Number 2
Copyright © 2020 Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, Inc.®
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