The Future of Organic Meats

Consumers' concerns about intensive/conventional food production and the potential effect on human health, animal welfare, and the environment have led to a rapidly growing organic meat market worldwide. Authors in this book report consumers' increasing interest in organic meat to be due to the concern of potential food safety issues, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks, or other food scares. Authors also report that animal health and welfare (AHW) and environmental impact are important for the organic consumer, but research has found that organic farming does not necessarily translate into high animal welfare standards. Many aspects of organic meat production remain either undeveloped or not considered as of yet, as is the case of organic meat by-products. Consumers express interest in purchasing organic pet food, which would offer an ideal use for the by-products of the organic meat industry. Currently, there is no clear difference in the nutritional or sensory quality of organic meat, nor is there clear proof of differences in chemical contamination between conventional and organic meat. More data are required to draw unbiased conclusions. Consumers often perceive that organic meats are safer than conventional meats, but there is virtually no data to support this. This is partially due to the fact that the research results generated from studies published thus far are often inconsistent. For the organic meat market to continue growth the production base must expand to meet increasing market demands, followed by industry integration and developing more value-added and further processed organic meat products