Organic egg's

[greathorse]

I have been in the natural and organic foods business most of my life and beleive me there is nothing wrong with designating your product as different and unique. There is nothing wrong with telling folks your chickens are fed organic feed. That alone makes your product very different from most. Organic feed is expensive so you really would need to charge more for the eggs if you are feeding them organically.

It is just unlawful to call them certified organic and to use the USDA logo.

There are plenty of people that have extreme sensitivity to many things in the environment and if you were found using a non organic grain and someone tried to blame a bad reaction on your product it would be a bad day for all.

But no one can keep you from telling the truth about your product. That is the key.

 

[AHappychick]

Organic is not a fraud. I use untreated wood for my coops and have been maintaining my yard for 4 years (since I owned my home) on only certified organic fertilizers. I use only organic feed including organic scratch and all of their human food treats are certified as well. For those who do not believe in organic food that is ok but to call it a fraud is wrong. I am not certified but I sell my eggs as organic and say that I use only organic growing and raising methods. It cost me more to raise my chooks and to keep a healthy garden, and sometimes there are terrible losses that chemicals may have fixed but it is a choice I have made for myself and my family. Many people are happy to buy my organic eggs and pay $6 a dozen for them.

 

[greathorse]

The organic industry has grown with double digit growth for many years now. Even in these economic times people are making choices to eat organic product vs lower cost conventionally grown products.

It is not a fad it is not a bunch of idiots or idealists creating hysteria. It is a farming technique that is difficult, time consuming and expensive. Given the astronomical growth in the indsustry there are people that choose to purchase and consume this product.

Before there was a standard for the organic industry there were far to many scammers and folks doing it half way and taking advantage.

I beleive that the ag system in this country is second to none. But there is a place for organic products, there are folks that take it seriously and I will repeat for the last and final time to misrepresent it is fraudulent.

I happen to beleive that the organic farming system is more sustainable (in most cases) than the Monsanto laden system that is the norm. There are those that argue that and to each their own. My point is that the market for these products is very real and should be given its due respect.

Pretty simple

 

[AHappychick]

Quote:
well said

 

[dancingbear]

You seem to have a misconception here. "Organic" does not have anything to do with being "sterile". Sterility indicates things that are dead, lifeless, incapable of reproduction, etc. "Organic" has to do with maintaining natural, healthy soil full of all kinds of life, to produce food that is healthy and alive, to feed to ourselves and livestock to produce organic meat, milk, and eggs, uncontaminated by chemical toxins. The goal of Organics has never been to produce anything sterile, or to feed anything sterile, or to grow anything in any sort of sterile condition at all.

ETA: This post no longer makes sense, because the comment it was in response to is no longer there. The missing comment indicated that sterility was required for organic production.

I didn't just toss out a random non-sequiter!

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

We plan to sell eggs at our Farmer's Market in the summer. Our labels will read something like this: Eggs from laying hens who have been fed some or all of the following ingredients: Organic Flax seeds, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Coconut flakes, Spelt, Kamut, millet, etc, etc....and organic layer feed that does not include soybeans.

I believe that is all you have to do, and those who eat organic, are going to do whatever they have to to get there in time to purchase your eggs. (fresh eggs always sell out within the first hour after opening time here) I know that given the choice of buying something that just says "farm fresh eggs" or knowing that the eggs I had just purchased were from chickens that were fed organic products, I would choose the one with the list of organic ingredients, and be far willing to pay much more for those eggs than just "farm fresh" eggs.

I say "go for it" and add a little to your label, so that folks know that what they're getting is a good product, and not just the "farm fresh eggs" from hens that were fed commercial feed from the guy down the street!

 

[AHappychick]

If I was to sell a food and advertised it ad nut free but it was not and a child who was allergic to nuts ate it and got sick I would be committing fraud. Whether the law should be involved or not I dont know but I dont think anyone should miss lable their products. Many people dont eat organically and they will not buy my eggs, but for those who want to avoid as many chemicals as possibe will. There is plenty of scientific data on the difference between organic and not and the effects antibiotics and growth hormones that come from conventional meat. These things are facts whether you choose to believ they are harmful is up to you. I think that they are no good and live accordingly. I cant change the world I live in or most of the enviromental factors that contribute to the amount of toxins that my body takes in but I can try to limmit is as much as possible with out going off the deep end.

 

[RendonRoo]

I think the key word is certified... As long as you don't say certified you can still use the word organic. I don't think most ppl would have a problem with that and the liability problem is gone. Just my opinion.

 

[cariboujaguar]

Quote:
Around here we have what we call OBN 'Organic by neglect' it's kind of an inside joke amongst people in our county. It means we arn't certified, but we've left the property or animals or whatever we're referring to- to do their natural thing and don't treat them with anything unnatural. Do you think that's fraud? I guess we better stop saying it LOL

 

[waynesgarden]

Quote:
No, the key word is "organic." You can advertise your products as organic and not be certified if your gross income from selling organic products is less than $5,000. You stil have to be able to demonstrate that you have produced them using approved organic methods. If your gross sales are greater than $5,000 you must be certified.

If you are going to sell commercially, don't rely on opinions about what the laws say. What most people will or won't have a problem with won't keep you out of hot water if the USDA decides you are in violation. Here's a link to get started: Organic Labeling

Wayne