Sunday, September 1, 2013

Organic Chicken Meat

There is no doubt that Chicken is a favorite food among kids, toddlers, and even adults. Children and adults alike share their love for fried chicken especially the chicken wings and drumstick parts. It brings so much joy to bite into the crispy chicken skin and its savory meat.

Chicken has always been a favorite dinner or lunch fare in fastfood chains and restaurants because people love it. Health-conscious adults opt for chicken breasts since it is lower in fat in the meat. They do away with other meat parts since fat is said to be highly concentrated on those with chicken skin on.

In early times, this widely domesticated fowl has been depicted in Babylonian carvings and was considered to be the most commonly available food source. Mature hens and younger pullets are raised for their edible eggs and meat. Immature males or cocks are castrated to become meat birds called capons. Chicken meat was believed to be the most easily digested meat in the Middle Ages.

Consumption of chicken meat increased in the United States during World War II resulting from shortage of other meats like pork and beef. Likewise, the consumption of chicken surpassed the consumption of beef and pork in Europe due to consumer awareness of mad cow disease or Bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 1996.


Chicken meat consumption dominates because of the relatively short production cycle, low price premium and integrated production compared to beef or pork.

Organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. Specific requirements must be met and maintained in order for products to be labeled as "organic". Similarly, animals are raised without antibiotics, hormones, or any other drugs. Organic chickens are fed only with natural, organic food. Organic foods are grown without modifications, and it must remain separate from conventional products. Farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers, herbicides, and sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Organic feed cannot contain any animal by-products, antibiotics, or genetically-engineered grains as many herbicides, pesticides and fungicides act as potentially cancer causing agents.

Aside from being given a healthy and balanced diet, organic chickens are also provided with clean and healthy living environment. That way, incidences of chickens getting various diseases will be nil or kept to a minimum. The largest volume of organic meat sales is for poultry.

Since chicken is the most widely available organic meat, it finds its way to a number of natural food retailers and conventional groceries. It will be good to know that Chicken is also the most popular natural and organic meat, purchased by more than seven in ten American shoppers (73%).

It may sound so easy to claim that one’s farm is organic and that they practice organic chicken raising, but that it well said than done. There are strict sets of rules before a farm could be called and certified organic. Farms must follow certain rules and must be inspected annually by a third-party certifying body to make sure that those rules are met and followed.

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