What you can say when marketing organic 2020 - Flipbook - Page 23
Organic standards mean that farm animals:
Must have access to pasture (when
weather and ground conditions permit)
and are truly free-range172
Must have plenty of space (indoors and
outdoors)173 – which helps to reduce
stress and disease174
Are fed a diet that is as natural
as possible
Graze and forage naturally on organic
pasture (grasses and other crops) where
only natural fertilisers are used and
pesticides are severely restricted
Must not routinely be given
antibiotics.175 In 2017 farm animals
accounted for around 30% of all
antibiotics used in the UK.176
Note: at the time of writing in June 2020, these are the most
up to date figures, but please check for updated figures if
using this stat in the years to come.
Organic farming has high standards of
animal welfare177
Organic standards ban the use of cloning and
embryo transfer186
Organic animals are fed a natural, organic and
completely GM-free diet178
• The Soil Association has the highest standards for
animal welfare in the UK187
Organic farmers always provide enough light,
space and comfort to allow farm animals freedom
to move and express their natural behaviours179
• Ensuring all animals reared for meat and animal
products have a good life is at the heart of
Soil Association standards188
Organic animals enjoy plenty of fresh air and
have space to graze and roam, satisfying their
natural instincts180
Organic animals are able to satisfy their natural
behaviours such as grazing, rooting, dustbathing and perching. This means there is no
need for painful mutilations such as tail-docking
or beak trimming181
Organic systems provide the environments
animals need, which means they don’t need to
undergo painful mutilations182
Organic farmers reduce stress and disease in
animals by giving them plenty of space and
allowing them to behave naturally in a suitable
environment, meaning there is no need for
preventative antibiotics. An animal is only
treated with medicine if it is sick183
Soil Association standards restrict the use of
antibiotics (such as Colistin) that are critically
important for human health184
Organic farming standards ban the routine
use of antibiotics and wormers185 which helps
minimise antimicrobial resistance and protects
the effectiveness of these treatments
ANTIBIOTICS IN FARMING
The overuse of antibiotics in human and
animal medicine is undermining their
ability to cure life-threatening infections.
The more sparingly we use our antibiotics,
the more effective they will remain. Farm
animals account for around 30% of all
antibiotics used in the UK.189 In intensive
farming systems, to compensate for
animals being housed in more crowded
conditions where infections spread fast,
antibiotics can be used as a preventative
measure - before animals show signs of
illness - or for group treatments after a
disease outbreak which could have been
avoided had the animals been kept in
better conditions in the first place.
Thanks to higher animal welfare standards
which reduce the risk of disease, the
preventative use of antibiotics is banned
in organic farming.
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