Organic-Free range eggs and milk...good idea or cover for the same cruelty?

Question

I have heard people say that it's alright for them to consume dairy and eggs because they are organic and free range. The thing is I have heard that there is really no difference. Why do people assume something is better because the package says it is better? Do they even research it?

In my research I have learned that free range may mean being in a tiny shed with a thousand other animals instead of battery cages. Is it true that organic has nothing to do with the care of the animals?

Doesn't consuming dairy support the veal industry?

Answer 1

Here's some information about organic animal products:

http://www.goveg.com/organic_products.as...

http://www.goveg.com/organic.asp

Basically, “organic” just means drug-free and chemical-free. It has absolutely nothing to do with animal welfare. The animals can be intensively confined, mutilated without painkillers, and slaughtered while fully conscious. (Free-range and organic animals are often sent to the same slaughterhouses that kill animals from factory farms.)

Yes, consuming dairy supports the veal industry. Dairy cows must give birth in order to produce milk. Whenever a male calf is born to a dairy cow, that calf is turned into veal. So it's said that there's (metaphorically) a hunk of veal in every glass of milk.

Answer 2

Generally free range does mean they're inside because (1) you can't run a company by losing your product to poachers (and believe me, shortly every predator in the neighborhood would know where the chicken farms were!) and (2) free range sometimes means you need to hunt down the location where they've now decided to lay their eggs (!). The way to combat these issues is to buy from the small farmer who provides true 'free range' chicken eggs from chickens who roam the property. Sadly, for milk the answer is not that easy. Small farmers are prohibited from selling raw milk legally and pasturization is more likely to be something a commercial producer is going to be able to provide. I don't have any problems with my decisions about drinking dairy or eating meat but for my own choices, I prefer to raise my own animals so i know how they were raised and treated and i provide food for those i know who think likewise.

Answer 3

I don't agree with the propaganda of "organic, free-range" meat manufacturers. The cattle, for example, in such "organic" farms, spend the first year of their lives in all those scenic pastures and green fields you see on TV.

Once, they're old enough, they are auctioned off to FEEDING LOTS where they're fattened under the most cruel circumstances. They're subject to enormous pain, torture and hormone-injection for months and years.

All that pain and suffering culminates into a brutal slaughter right before they're about to lose their value (i.e. cannot be fattened anymore). So much for "organic, free-range farming".

Answer 4

COuld you please get the mountain lions to stop eating chickens too.  d**n cruel animals...trying to survive..how dare they do such a cruel thing.

Answer 5

You know what I think G L.

It's a big fat lie and is just a one tiny example of how the English language has become full of falsities and speciesism.

Answer 6

Doesn't make any difference.  Just as cruel.  Stay away from them!

Answer 7

You are correct, "free range" can mean a shed with a tiny outside yard that can only accommodate a few hens at one time. Organic just means they don't feed the hens stuff like growth hormones.

Some people think free range hens are running outside in the sun for their whole lives - not necessarily true. Some people think at least "free range" means the hens aren't stuffed into cages, that they are a bit better off. Most people don't research anything, they just assume things (like "free" really means free) and take the deal that looks better. Or they may just believe what other people tell them.

Organic can have an impact on the health of the animals. It means they won't get growth hormones, so their bones don't break when they grow too big too fast. But it can also mean they don't get feed treated against common diseases and pests, which are easily spread in crowded conditions. Rumour - I've heard "organic" doesn't mean they can't cut the hens' feed with non-digestible stuff which makes the hens hungry all the time so that they eat more.

Female calves born to dairy cows are kept as replacements for cows that are no longer useful (illness, low production, infertility, etc). Some male calves go into breeding programs, but most end up as veal. So yes, purchasing dairy products does support the veal industry. Some people argue that by refusing to eat veal, they are saving veal calves. That may save them from becoming veal; surplus male calves are then slaughtered for meat products, pet foods, etc.

Answer 8

where did you read that? organic means no pesticides and its more natural process without all the preservatives, etc. but just cuz its organic doesn't mean its fresh picked. food is still make by machines in factory's. i doubt places have free range. maybe very small farms do that but when you have 10 million orders a day to fill you can't spend 5 hours chasing animals for milk and eggs. im vegitarian but i still consume eggs and fish weekly. but i use soy milk insted of real milk

Answer 9

Dairy does support the veal industry. Random note- I know meat eaters, like my mum, who won't eat certain meats. Veal is one of them, she says it's ''cruel''. Which makes me think, well what about the pigs? lol (Selective compassion perhaps).

As you know, I avoid ALL meats and dairy, after 11 years of vegetarianism I thought about going vegan for a while. For me, it feels right. Suffering is inevitable in any diet, all we can do is minimise our personal contribution to cruelty.

I will never know *fully* the truth/ horrors of the egg, dairy and meat industries. Is organic better? It's not said to be. Are eggs always bad, no matter what the source? I don't know. So many questions arose in my head, so I cut out those foods that are from animals, I won't chance it.

I don't eat it, just in case, I suspect that there's a lot of cruelty involved in organic farming.

I don't want to support something like that, although I'm not too vocal about my beliefs. I just want everyone to eat a healthy diet, and make responsible choices. When you sit down to eat, you have a choice!!

I totally respect a meat eater's choice (please don't misunderstand me).  It would be fantastic if everyone went veggie or vegan, but in reality it *may* never happen. But we can hope, eh? :-)

[edit] Yeo Valley Dairy farms in the UK actually ADMITTED that they KILL their cows after their dairy life is over. How cruel is that?! Using them as milk machines, then using them for meat. It's like that in all dairy farms. Give the poor animals a break!

Answer 10

Organic and Free Range don't mean anything about how the animals are treated.  Free Range does sound better because it sounds like they roam the fields, when this isn't true.  As you stated, many are in tiny sheds with tons of other birds with a small hatch open.  The birds usually can't get outside because of all the other birds, and if they do, there is a cage around the hatch to keep the birds from wandering.

Organic milk and eggs will come from animals who are under the same intense stress as normal farmed animals, but they are not given hormones.  I do believe they are still fed antibiotics though.

Dairy and veal go hand in hand.  Veal wouldn't exist if it weren't for dairy cows being inseminated to increase milk production every year.

Answer 11

Cruelty? Oh, you're one of those.