What makes a pig organic ?
The rules for organic production of pigs or for any type of organic product are very specific and are quite similar for every country in the world. For organic production in Canada we follow The Canadian Organic Standards.
-> Read the General Principles and Management Standards here and the Permitted Substances List here.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the regulatory body that oversees, monitors and enforces the requirements of the Canada Organic Regime.
Those standards are pretty detailed and you would have to be a dedicated foody to want to review them. When it comes to pigs there are four main standards that apply:
FOOD . MEDICATION . SPACE . CERTIFICATION
Food: Wheat, peas, oats and flax. We combine those four ingredients in different ratios to make the feed for all the ages of pigs on the farm. Every ingredient in the ration must come from an organic farm and must carry an organic certificate as proof. This means that common herbicides like Round Up (glyphosate) are not allowed in the ration. (In conventional rations most of the grains are desiccated by spraying). In addition to grains we give our pigs minerals and vitamins to balance their diets. All ingredients must be scrutinized by the certification organization to make sure they meet the standards and that no GMOs were used in any part of the production cycle.
Medication: Pigs raised outside on pasture, fed freshly ground organic grains in a low stress environment rarely get sick. We have a closed herd meaning we do not import animals from other farms with the exception of the occasional boar. Breeding for natural resistance to parasites has also been one of our criteria for selecting replacement animals for decades. According to the standards, medicines must be given to a sick animal when there are no other option. If medication is given then the animal must be identifiable through “indisputable evidence” and that animal looses its organic status for life. Any animal sold as organic would never have had any medications or chemical vermicides at any time from birth throughout its entire life.
“Commonly used medically important antimicrobial active ingredients used to treat pigs.” Canadian Pork Council” These are NOT used on our farm.
Space: On First Nature Farms our pigs get to explore a total of 10 acres per year which translates to over 1000 square feet per animal per year. Most of that area is given during the summer months while in the winter the animals do not require as much space. They like to stick to their paths and stay close to their shelters. Conventional hogs must be given enough space so that each pig can lie down. In the organic standards space is regulated to be a minimum of 24.76 square feet of combined indoor and outdoor space.
Certification: Some terms have little meaning: “free run, free range, naturally raised, hormone free, grass fed, humanely raised,” etc. Anyone can make a claim without repercussion. There is one word that is protected by law: organic. In order to make that claim not only do you have to follow all the rules applying to the operation, you must also have your farm and your paperwork verified by an independent auditor. Only by passing the inspection will you achieve the status of certified organic. Making the claim without passing is considered to be false advertising. We have been certified organic for 33 consecutive years.
