COG wishes you Happy Holidays!

Still looking for gift ideas?  Need something to put on your wish list? Why not buy a ticket to the Growing Up Organic Conference?  Buy online!

Five reasons to buy an Organic Turkey this Christmas

1.  Environmental Integrity – Organic agriculture is a systems-based approach that works within the limits of its immediate environment to the benefit of the local community’s shared resources, and the country’s environmental health. When your turkey is raised on an organic farm no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides are allowed on the pasture where the animals live or where the supplemental feed is grown, which means those chemicals are not getting into the water system and do not compromise the long term health of our life sustaining soils.

2.  Animal Rights – Caged birds are unacceptable for organic production, they are required to have free access to the outside. When they aren’t in the outdoors their spacious indoor housing provides a healthy environment that allows natural behaviours to be followed such as wing flapping and stretching, as well as sand, dust and sun bathing. The organic standard mandates at least 2m 2 indoors and 7.4m 2 outdoors per turkey. Debeaking is prohibited in organic production.

3.  Your Health – Turkeys are naturally healthy in a low-stress environment. Organic management for your turkey means less disease and need for antibiotics. If a turkey becomes ill and requires antibiotics they are removed from the organic program. Use of antibiotics in conventional agriculture has led to concerns over the risk of human health from antibiotic resistance. Organic production of your turkey also does not permit growth promoting hormones, feed additives, veterinary drugs, slaughter by-products, synthetic preservatives and colouring agents, feed formulas containing manure or other animal waste.

4.  Feed – Food is species appropriate in organic agriculture meaning your Turkey is eating an organic feed ration to meet their nutritional requirements. This can mean a high protein diet of wheat, peas, canola, oats, rye, soya, flax, comfrey – all non-genetically engineered. Typically organic farmers grow their own feed in order to avoid costly transportation of hard-to-find certified organic feed. This reduces the energy input to raise your turkey.

5.  Fair Trade - Paying the true price of food. Yes, an organic turkey is more expensive, but that’s because you are paying what food is actually worth, as costs of organic production actually integrate the costs to our common environment. Shouldn’t something as important as food, so central to your health, win a larger proportion of your household budget? Organic premiums are also ensuring Canadian farmers a living wage.

Want to learn more about the health benefits of eating organically? Join Canadian Organic Growers at the February 17th conference in Toronto: Growing Up Organic Conference: Organics - Beyond the Hype.

There is an easy way to donate to Canadian Organic Growers! Click on the logo below and follow the instructions to donate on-line through Canada Helps.