Organic farmers shy away from synthetic pesticides and additives, so you may wonder just what they are using to keep the bugs away.
Pesticides are often used to increase the number and quality of crops produced. However, since they are toxic chemicals designed to kill agricultural pests, there is some concern about the effects on the human body.
Organic beef and lamb are not fed a cocktail of drugs and in order to be certified organic, farmers must limit the amount of chemicals spread on the farm.
So, what do they use instead?
Rather than relying on synthetic products, organic farmers apply a range of natural products, called biopesticides that trace their ingredients to animal, plant, mineral or bacterial products.
Rather than trying to fix unhealthy soil, organic farmers aim to make healthy soil by nourishing the nutrients already found there and maintaining the soil structure and its water-holding capacity.
Healthy plants are created by using organic soil and covering crops with compost and because they are strong, they are more likely to be able to resist disease and insect predation.
Good nutrition and management are the top ways farmers control pests and diseases, and these attributes of feed are passed on to the cattle.
Farmers use crop rotations, mechanical tillage and hand-weeding to prevent weeds, insects and other disease organisms from taking root.
Organic beef and lamb come from animals given this feed. They are not given any antibiotics or hormones and are only medicated if required, but are vaccinated.
The focus is on keeping these animals happy and healthy through their diet, sanitary housing and removing any stress from their lifestyle, which helps to create delicious meat without the health risks.
