Are organic dairy products and eggs more humane for the animals?

Question

I am an off/on vegetarian, mostly for moral reasons (modern man doesn't need to cause extreme animal suffering to survive anymore).

I still eat dairy and eggs, and I know that even though those animals are not killed for their bodies, they often exist in horrible conditions too.

All things being equal, do they treat the animals more humanely under organic conditions?

Thanks.

Answer 1

No they are not treated any more humane.  (Not that I believe the majority of animals are mistreated anyways, and this is my very educated opinion).  

In fact, they may suffer more.  How would you like to suffer through months of pneumonia like the baby calves because no one can give you a shot that would clear it up in days.  Calves get pneumonia pretty easy, it's very common.  There are plenty of other illnesses that animals must suffer though.  Yeah, the natural remedies; I've used 'em, don't love 'em.  They only help the animal kick the disease on it's own.  There are some bugs (or combos of bugs) that the animal just cannot kick.  Plain and simple.

Organic milk is the biggest rip off in the world, along with free range eggs.  City folk just don't know.  They listen to peta, but they really don't know.

Truth is:

Free range is nothing more than a giant barn full of chickens, free to clump up in corners and peck each other to death.  They get the same space (square feet per bird) as chickens in cages.  

Organic milk is exactly the same as regular milk.  You can make the rBST argument (it's falling on deaf ears) but there are tons of stores that only sell rBST free milk.  So in that case, you are getting exactly the same thing.  However, if you are consuming milk from grass fed (only) cows, now that is chemically different.  More omega 3's and such.

In short, buy local.  Check out the farms for yourself and see if they meet your standards.

Answer 2

Organic doesn't have anything to do with how the animals are treated.  It refers to what they are fed.  They are caged in the same ways.  They are kept from natural sunlight in the same way, and the animals are still slaughtered when their production peaks and falls.

I use applesauce to replace eggs in cake, make fried tofu instead of scrambled eggs, and drink and cook/bake with soy milk.  That way I know that my food didn't cause suffering...

Answer 3

Below is a link to what goes into certifying chicken is organic.

But consider this - what happens to the chicken when it is too old to lay eggs?  Probably ends up in chicken soup somewhere.

Also, consider the veal industry is hand-in-glove with the dairy industry when you're consuming dairy products.

Answer 4

Just because something is labeled 'Organic' doesn't mean the animals were treated any better. You want to find a local farmer who believes in free range production techniques. Ask to visit his farm, so you can see for your self how the animals are treated.  

Answer 5

In theory, eggs and dairy labeled "organic" should be more humane for the animals, but in practice it's not necessarily true. A lot of "free-range" chickens have it marginally better than their battery-caged counterparts, but are still cooped up inside in overcrowded and unhealthy circumstances. Organic dairy cows are supposed to have access to pasture, but again, loopholes are badly abused by many "Big Organic" producers. Horizon is notorious for this, for example.

There's a good website that rates organic dairies based on their treatment of their animals: http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/

Unfortunately, I don't know of anything equivalent for chickens, but you could try the following resources to find a local producer of genuine free-range eggs:

http://www.apppa.org/

http://www.americangrassfed.org/

http://www.eatwild.com/

http://www.eatwellguide.org/

Answer 6

In theory, yes.

In order for animal products to be certified organic, they require that livestock be housed according to certain conditions, and fed according to set guidelines.  

Answer 7

From what I see, not really.  I can't speak for eggs, but I pass by an organic dairy on a regular basis.  It looks exactly like a regular dairy.  Mostly to be organic, the cows have to be in a separate facility from regular cows, they must be given organically produced feed, and they can't have any veterinarian pharms given to them.  Beyond that, the production is pretty similar.