Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and biological activity. It is based on a minimal use of off-farm inputs and management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony. Organic is a labeling term which denotes products produced under the requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The principal guidelines for organic production are to use materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole. Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from the air, soil and water. Organic food handlers, processors and retailers adhere to standards that maintain the integrity of Organic agricultural products. The primary goal of Organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil, plants, animals and people.
In order for a chicken to be a certified organic chicken, the following standards must be followed:
- Each bird must be fed certified organic feed for its entire life. Organic feed contains grains and soybeans that were grown in soil that has been free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers for a period of three years. All feed ingredients must be certified as acceptable by a third party certifier.
- A third party certifier must verify:
- Growing farms and farm plan used in growing birds;
- Feed mill where organic feed is mixed and equipment that delivers the feed
- Processing plant where birds are processed and cut up.
- A complete audit trail must be maintained at all times that can trace a chicken from the time it was a hatching egg through growing, processing and distribution to the end user.
- No drugs or antibiotics of any kind can be used in growing organic birds.
- All organic chickens must have outdoor access. Rosie The Organic Chicken is certified organic by Oregon Tilth, a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to environmentally sound agriculture. They are among the 33 nationally accredited organizations that develop standards and procedures which meet the provisions of federal and state laws as well as the requirements for accreditation by the international Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM).