Organic eggs are NOT free-range-bloody hell!

[Fillyjonk]

According to \link{http://www.riverford.co.uk/news/index.php?PHPSESSID=ba213fd0dd10629bf8350015407ee85f\this}, its possible to raise hens on organic feed, and call them organic, when they've been crammed into cages their whole life.

Maybe I'm naive, but I'm still lost for words.

I always buy organic free range eggs :)

I also read somewhwere that organic produce can be treated with 5 'approved' pesticides.

I too was pretty pissed off when I found this out. I now buy just free range eggs obviously.
FYI in my local sommerfield you can get corn fed chickens that are raised in RSPCA approved conditions. they are about a fiver and really tasty!

they have to been soil association certified though. Otherwise, they can be non-organic up to 16 week, and then crammed into cages with their beaks chopped off.

actually its 16 approved pesticides. still better than the 400 or so for non-organic stuff, i suppose .

I pciked those up by mistake once. Not really sure why anyone would want organic non free range eggs. Battery eggs are awful anyway.

FJ - 16?? >

sorry, but DUH!

yup.

but its stuff like sulphur that is meant to break down easily,

but still.

If you are really into not having anything sprayed on your veg, you neeed to go for Demeter. The only thing they spray is herbal preparations.

Unless they are Soil Association certified, they are not guarenteed cruelty free.

I jsut don't get who would buy organic, non-free range eggs, I guess.

you can get free range organic eggs though

Meat which is not labelled organic is often better from an eating and happiness point of view than organic..especially now there is more demand for organic produce..

When it comes to organic animal rearing, are they allowed to use any conventional medicines? I always buy free-range eggs but the organic thing is more hit and miss in this house

I think, with organic animal rearing, they're allowed to use conventional medicine - they have to, to treat animals. But I'm sure they're not allowed to give lots of low-dose antibs to try to avoid things, iyswim.

\link{http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/ed0930aa86103d8380256aa70054918d/f9fe86464f67fa7a80257149004ed3c5!OpenDocument\This} page says what I expected: they're only allowed to be given drugs to treat illnesses. It would be cruel not to treat illnesses.

Just checked the ones I've bought and they are organic free range.

How bizarre that organic doesn't always mean free range as well? I'd always assumed that they were.

Surely, if you care enough to buy organic you probably care & assume the stuff is free range?

Does anyone know if this applies to meat as well? I don't want my meat full of crap but I'd like to think that the animal had a 'happy' life whilst it was alive!

Organic meat must be free range, according to the soil association link I gave earlier.

I always check eggs are both organic and free range, but we only get eggs from waitrose or health food store, so they always are.

If you wanted to make sure you weren't ingesting any gross stuff, but didn't really care about animals being happy, you might want organic but not care about free range.

NQC - phew, I can eat my chicken breasts that I'm defreosting then!

Must be certified by the Soil Association or Demeter.

In fact, even free range doesn't guarantee great welfare. Just means the birds must have access to outdoors, they may still be debeaked, etc.
I don't know how to do links but visit Viva's UK website for more info.

Wasn't there a minor fuss a few years back when the vegetarian society wouldn't certify Quorn ?

Grown on chicken carcasses as I recall.

No, it was because the eggs in Quorn were not free range. They are now. You do talk some shite, Domini.