Understanding the Difference in Organic
Why is Organic so Expensive?
A lot of our clients initially are surprised by the cost of organic halal meat. Many baulk at the added percentage for organic food, but upon tasting and seeing the meat they immediately understand why. However, many people still ask why is organic so expensive?
This short article will hopefully walk you through some of the differences between ordinary halal meat in the local butcher and our organic, naturally-reared and ethically raised halal meat.
For the sake of brevity let's look at chicken.
It is possible to go to Tesco now and buy a whole chicken for a mere couple of pounds. A similar cost can be found in the butcher on the high street. Now in order to get chicken this cheap you have to realise that following:
o These chickens are bred on mass in their thousands.
o They are born and fed in tiny little cages or together in huge warehouses. Why is this done? Basically it keeps down costs and increases the time it takes to get the chicken up to a good weight. This is because they don't have the room to run around and burn off weight.
o As to their feed, this is the cheapest quality feed that is pumped full of chemicals and especially protein to ensure they put on weight rapidly.
o Most are vaccinated as chicks to ensure their chances of survival are improved.
o Many chickens now come from abroad from places like Poland. Although cheap, this has a huge detrimental impact on the environment through the carbon footprint.
This intensive method is, as far as we are concerned, unnatural and goes against the essence of the Sunnah which was compassion to animals. It is cruel and it is profit led. These are the chickens you buy for a couple of pounds or in your local kebab or chicken shop. Visit this website for an insight into intensively farmed chicken - http://www.cluckingdisgusting.co.uk/
The organic, fee-range and ethical method of raising chickens is a long and expensive process.
o First you have to give them the land to run around in.
o Second, you feed them with quality pellets or feed that costs more than commercial feeds.
o Thirdly, the chickens take almost twice as long to get to a good weight that intensively farmed chickens.
o Fourth, you lose a few birds here and there as some just die and without using vaccinations the organic method is unable to stop this.
In short, the method above is much more labour, time and financially expensive in every way. In addition, come the time of slaughter rather than run them through an abattoir where they are slaughtered by stunning and plucked with machines, we do everything by hand to ensure a compassionate end.
At the end of the day it comes down to how much people care about what they are eating, the quality of the meat and the quality of life that animal has led. Those that want to eat meat that is pure, natural and from an animal that led a happy life and compassionate end need to put their hands in their pockets to do so. It is better to eat less meat and eat better meat than to eat rubbish more regularly.
