• Animal Welfare Policy
• Soil Association Consumer Guide

Animal Welfare Policy

At Grow Wild, we care about the integrity of our products. With regard to the animal products we sell, we have to know that the animals' welfare has been a high priority during their lives. We can be sure of  this since our eggs, meat, poultry, milk and cream are certified to organic standards by the Soil Association. The Soil Assocation have come up with some clear answers to common questions relating to animal welfare which you can find below:

What is the difference between organic and free range eggs?

There are specific EU regulations for each of these systems. Standards have been set for organic and 'free range' which stipulate among other things flock sizes, stocking densities and how many hens can share a nest. Organic standards always state that hens must have access to outside areas, however they also go further than free range standards in a number of important ways.

One of the ways in which organic standards differ from 'free range' is that organic standards stipulate smaller flock sizes and lower stocking densities (the number of birds per square meter.) Smaller flock sizes help to ensure healthier and less stressed birds.

Feather pecking is a particular problem on large units and wherever hens are crowded into small spaces. Birds can be seriously injured and even killed as a result. To prevent this, the majority of 'free-range' hens are beak-trimmed – a mutilation that can be painful and also prevents the hens from expressing their natural behaviour by foraging. This practice is heavily restricted by the Soil Association.

Organic farms certified by the Soil Association have to provide more pop holes (exits from the hen house) than 'free range' farms do, to ensure access to pasture is not restricted. Generally speaking, in larger flocks a smaller proportion of birds go outside.

Be careful about misleading labelling - 'farm fresh' or 'country fresh' does not necessarily mean free range.

What is the difference between Soil Association eggs and other organic eggs?

The main differences occur in the sizes of the flocks and the rotation of the land over which the hens can roam. Hens like to dust-bathe, peck and scratch at the earth. If hens are kept in large numbers, the ground can become bare and can sometimes, after a while, harbour potentially harmful diseases. To prevent the birds becoming ill, the ground needs to be rested.

The Soil Association states that the land must be rested for nine months, whereas the basic UK standards state that it only needs two months. In order to maintain the best possible animal welfare, the Soil Association recommends flock sizes of no more than 500 birds. Where farms can demonstrate high levels of welfare, up to 1,000 meat birds are allowed in a house, or 2,000 for egg laying birds. In contrast, non-Soil Association chickens reared to the current EU rules often live in huge flocks - with as many as 9,000 in a single shed - and then sold as organic.

In smaller flocks the chickens are truly free range. In larger flocks, chickens are more likely to block the doors and this means that many birds may never go outside. Many experts believe that keeping flock sizes small helps to reduce the risk of serious suffering for chickens, caused in part by the birds getting bored and pecking each other's feathers, causing bleeding and even death.

How does the life of a chicken raised on a Soil Association certified farm differ from an intensively reared chicken?

Intensively reared broiler chickens (reared for their meat) are normally housed in groups of up to 40,000 in large sheds; turkeys in groups of up to 25,000. It now takes intensive broiler chickens half the time - just 41 days - to reach their slaughter weight than it did 30 years ago. Modern breeds of chicken have been developed to put on weight quickly and the rate of growth is often further accelerated by growth-promoting drugs. The rapid growth rates often mean that the birds’ hearts and lungs can’t keep pace with the rapid muscle growth and they suffer from painful skeletal problems. 100,000 birds die each day in UK broiler sheds as a result of heart failure, disease and afflictions caused by intensive methods of production.

On Soil Association organic farms, hens are able to exercise more of their natural behaviour, including ranging freely, scratching, dust-bathing and feeding in grass fields. To enable them to do this, organic chickens have continuous daytime access to pasture and range, except during bad weather. Organic farmers are encouraged to choose slower growing breeds which are well suited to free range systems and growth-promoting drugs are banned.

There is widespread concern about the use of antibiotics in intensive poultry units. Due to the large flocks, disease can spread very quickly. Low doses, given in feed and water, are a form of insurance for the farmer. But long-term, low-dose exposure is far more likely to create resistance to antibiotics - many of which are also used to treat humans. Organic farmers would only use a course of antibiotics to treat a specific problem and to prevent any unnecessary suffering.

How does an organic pig’s life differ from an intensively reared pig?

Pigs are natural foragers – they enjoy rooting and exploring. They are highly inquisitive, social animals and have a language which contains some forty different expressions for passing on information. However over 70% of intensively reared pigs spend their entire life indoors. This means that they cannot display many of their natural tendencies and instead display much unnatural behaviour such as tail biting, bar biting and head shaking. To prevent them rooting up the earth, intensively reared pigs are also subject to mutilations such as nose ringing.

Organically reared pigs must be able to free range allowing them to move around and wallow in mud and they cannot be ringed through the nose. A week before intensively-kept sows give birth, most are placed in a farrowing crate (a small metal cage only inches wider than the animal). The sows are unable to turn around and can only stand up, lie down or suckle their piglets once they are born. They remain in the crate until their piglets are weaned at around three weeks.

Close confinement can cause muscle weakness, lameness and inflammatory swellings of the joints. The crates are designed to maximise productivity as sows are less likely to lie on their piglets. Ultimately the crates drive down the cost of meat. The use of farrowing crates in pig production is prohibited under Soil Association standards.

Intensively reared pigs in the EU may have been tethered or lived their entire life in a sow stall. Tethers and sow stalls have been banned in the UK but it is worth noting that a lot of non-UK pigmeat is still sold in UK supermarkets. There is no independent verification of free range pork.

How does an organic dairy cow’s life differ from a non organic dairy cow?

Modern dairy cows have been selectively bred over many generations to produce as much milk as possible. Over 90% of dairy cows are black-and-white Holstein type. These cows can produce approximately ten times as much milk as a calf would naturally suckle, but there can be a price to pay in terms of their welfare. Mastitis (a painful inflammation of the udder), lameness and a number of other diseases means that many of the highest yielding cows suffer from some pain and discomfort through their productive life. The majority of cows in intensive high-yielding herds will often be culled after producing less than four calves due to infertility and disease resulting from stress. Wild cattle would average 10 calves and many organic dairy farmers will have cows still producing milk after producing 10 calves.

Organic farmers believe that stress is one of the primary causes of disease and welfare problems in intensive livestock farming. The Soil Association standards for organic farming are designed to reduce stress to farmed livestock through a variety of management techniques. Farmers are encouraged to use native breeds of cow (like Dairy Shorthorn). These are rarely capable of yielding as much milk as modern dairy breeds (like Holstein), but they are very well adapted to making good use of home grown forage (grass, hay or silage - fermented grass)to produce milk and are hardier and less susceptible to disease.

High-yielding dairy cows require a lot of concentrated (high energy, cereal based) feed in order to provide them with the right amount of energy to maintain their own metabolism and to produce the desired amount of milk. The high incidence of lameness in dairy herds is associated with large rations of concentrated feeds which affect the horn quality of the hoof. Feed for organic dairy cows has to consist mainly (a minimum of 60%) of home-grown grass or forage. This is because organic farming is an holistic, non-input based agricultural production system and so farmers try to grow what they need. The restriction on the amount of cereal organic cows can eat usually results in them producing less milk and as a consequence, experiencing less stress. Studies have also shown a lower incidence of lameness on dairy farms (www.organic-vet.reading.ac.uk).

How does an organic beef cow’s life differ from an intensively reared beef cow?

There can be vast differences in the amount of time that non-organic cattle spend grazing. The most intensive systems involve keeping bull calves indoors or in yards. Bull calves are used as they grow quickly. They are fed on high levels of concentrated feeds and silage and finished (fattened up) as quickly as possible. The animals are confined in high numbers, which can increase the risk of infectious diseases such as pneumonia.

Less intensive systems allow the calves - castrated bulls and heifers (female cows) - to remain with their mothers. The whole herd is allowed to graze for one or two summers and may be brought indoors during the winter. All beef in the UK is either produced from herds that use specific beef breeds such as Aberdeen Angus, South Devon or Hereford, or from dairy herds where a bull from a beef breed is crossed with the cows.

Organic producers are encouraged to choose breeds that suit the conditions on their farm. An organic beef system allows cows and their calves to graze pasture for most of their lives. They can be finished in well-bedded spacious yards, providing this period does not exceed a fifth of their lifetime. Organic cattle do not have to be housed during the winter, but if they are kept outside, there must be shelter, food and water.

As with organic dairy cows at least 60 per cent of the cows diet must consist of grass, hay or silage. Intestinal worms are a common problem in all cattle and can be avoided on organic farms by rotating the pastures and also allowing the calves to develop a natural immunity from their mothers. Rotating pastures means moving animals to different fields on the farm. The beef labelling scheme ensures the verification of any information put onto packs of beef. Beef that is labelled free range, grass fed or of course organic will come from welfare friendly systems. If nothing is specified about the system of production there is no way of knowing that the beef that you buy has not come from an intensive bull-beef system.

How would an organic sheep’s life have differed from a non-organic sheep?

Approximately half of the nation's sheep (organic and non-organic) are found on hilly upland areas. Most sheep are able to free range for most of their lives, although some may be brought inside to give birth. Stocking rates will generally be lower on organic farms that other farms.

The big difference between organic and non-organic sheep systems are the methods used to control and prevent diseases. Non-organic sheep are likely to receive many more veterinary treatments than organic sheep. For example many non-organic lambs will be wormed every four to six weeks, regardless of need and newborn lambs may be given antibiotics as a prophylactic (preventative) treatment. Organic farmers manage their flocks carefully to reduce the disease risk to new born lambs and use clean grazing systems to minimise the need for worming.

Clean grazing involves managing pastures so that sheep, and particularly lambs, are only put into fields that have very low or no worm infestation. A piece of land that has not had sheep on it for twelve months or more would be classed as being clean, this could be land that had crops grown on it the previous year or had cattle kept on it. When worming is necessary only certain treatments that do not leave residues are permitted. Some wormers can leave a residue in the animal's dung which can then affect soil micro organisms.

Many non-organic farmers use organo-phosphorus dips to control sheep scab. Organo-phosphorus dips are prohibited in organic systems as they have serious health implication for animal and humans. Double fencing can help to prevent sheep scab, which can spread when infected sheep rub on fences dividing them from healthy ones. However, this method is impractical on upland areas.

Maintaining a closed flock (no bought-in stock) can also prevent disease. Organic farmers who buy in breeding stock are advised to check their health status and quarantine them before they run with the main flock. It is well known that stress renders animals more vulnerable to disease and some organic farmers think that measures designed to protect the health of non organic sheep - dipping, drenching, vaccinating - are often unnecessarily stressful.

Local meat, not certified organic

In relation to the meat we have very recently started to source from Ben at Bonnytoun Farm, we are more than happy with the animal welfare standards employed throughout the animals' lives. Ben and his team at Bonnytoun, although not certified by the Soil Association or other organic certification body, are wonderful with the animals, and the farm is operated with all the usual organic standards.