When it comes to shopping for poultry, it is not uncommon to find ourselves having to decide between different options, even when at first sight, all chickens should be the same. However, whenever we are choosing between free-range chicken, cage-free chicken, natural chicken, and organic chicken, feeling a bit confused is perfectly fine. During recent years, opting for organic chicken has become quite popular, and many households are starting to choose this option as their standard. Therefore, here we have all you always wanted to know about organic chicken.
First of all, we need to understand what the concept of organic foods represents, so that we can be aware of how it applies to chicken. Organic foods are grown using different processes that aren’t industrial, and that are usually environmentally friendly. In the case of poultry, organic chickens are bred based on a healthy and balanced diet, with access to outdoor spaces, and without the use of antibiotics or low-quality feed.
Despite the growing popularity of organic chicken, there are some misconceptions about this type of products that we need to clear out. Most people tend to believe that organically grown meats are hormone-free and that’s what gives them a superior taste and quality. Even when this is actually true, the same applies for all types of farm animals, since the use of growth hormones is banned from farming, including chicken and pork. Thus, whenever we see a label stating a given product is “hormone-free”, we should know that it is simply following standard regulations.
There are many benefits that come from choosing organic products, including chicken. To begin with, organic chicken is an environment-friendly alternative. Also, organic meats do not contain antibiotics, which prevent us from developing a resistance to different bacteria. Another aspect that makes people prefer organic chicken is that they tend to be treated in a more humane manner during they life, reducing the amount of suffering they go through and increasing the animals’ quality of life.
Whenever we decide to start opting for organic chicken instead of the conventional one, we need to keep in mind that this tends to be more expensive, and organic chicken might even look different, too. However, an important consideration we want to have is, if we are changing to organic meat because of environmental reasons, is that we should opt for locally grown chicken. This means that its impact on the environment is less because of transportation, packaging, and even storage.