The complete guide to happy meat

Comedian Mike King was the pork industry’s golden boy. On TV commercials, he beamed his likeable grin, urging us all to eat New Zealand pork, from “Godzone, not God-knows-where”.

Yet at the time he didn’t know the whole truth about the product he was promoting. When animal rights activists contacted him in 2009 and took him on a secret tour of an industrial pig farm, he was horrified at the dirty, crowded conditions. Sows there were locked in tiny concrete and metal stalls for their entire pregnancies, without even room to turn around.

He spoke out against his former employers in disgust on TV One and the ensuing public outrage grew loud enough to spark a law change. As a result, ‘sow stalls’ are being phased out and by next year will be illegal.

That’s a good start – but it’s not all hunky-dory in the meat industry yet. The Animal Welfare Act stipulates that all farm animals must be allowed to express their ‘normal behaviours’. It’s just some funny things seem to have become ‘normal’ over the years…

Thankfully, the choices made by consumers are now changing the industry and there are lots of happily raised animals out there. But there’s also a lot of spin – so if you want to be sure you’re eating meat from happy chickens, pigs, cows and sheep it pays to be informed.

Here, we take a look at the animal welfare and environmental issues around different forms of meat production, and find out what options shoppers have.

Pigs

What are the issues?

In pig farming, animals are divided into two herds: breeders and growers. The breeders are the big sows that are kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and birth, while the growers are the piglets which are removed from their mothers after about two weeks, then fattened for another 20 weeks before being slaughtered and processed into bacon, ham and pork. A sow can have around 28 piglets in a year.

Pigs don’t tolerate heat well and pink-skinned varieties are susceptible to sunburn, so many are farmed under roofs. In New Zealand about 58 per cent of New Zealand pigs are farmed indoors.

It’s largely the indoor farms that are guilty of putting profit ahead of animal welfare.

Conditions vary across indoor set-ups, and in some, pigs are kept in small spaces, with limited stimulation. These environments can lead to stressed animals that display problem behaviours, which are in turned controlled by questionable means.

Tails can be docked to prevent biting. And sows can become aggressive during pregnancy, so to stop them bullying each other into miscarriage they are locked into individual stalls where they are unable to turn around. Currently, a sow can be locked in an individual stall for the first four weeks of her 16-week pregnancy.

Then after giving birth there is a risk of the piglets being squashed by the mother in the restricted conditions. To prevent this, metal cages called farrowing crates are used. These stop the sow from moving around, while allowing the piglets access to suckle. Sows can spend up to five weeks in a farrowing crate.

Afterwards the sow may spend up to a week in a mating stall, waiting to be impregnated again, before the cycle starts over.

Altogether that adds up to 10 out of every 22 weeks locked in place, unable to move. When sow stalls become illegal by the end of 2015, that number will drop to six of every 22 weeks.

Thankfully kinder alternatives are emerging. We look at the different options over the page.

Buying pork products: What are my options?

Price check

• Imported bacon ~$16/kg
• NZ bacon ~$19/kg
• SPCA Blue Tick bacon ~$32/kg
• Free farmed bacon ~$35/kg
• Free range bacon ~$41/kg

Imported

About half the pork sold in New Zealand is imported, particularly processed products (bacon and ham).

• May still be labelled ‘product of New Zealand’ if it was processed here
• May come from caged conditions
• May come from animals raised on growth hormones
• May be raised on constant low levels of antibiotics to promote growth, depending on country of origin

Conventional New Zealand-raised

• Sow stalls can be used for up to four weeks of each pregnancy but will be phased out by 2015
• Farrowing crates are used for up to five weeks
• Growth hormones are legal for use, but are not currently used
• Antibiotic use must be controlled by a veterinarian – dosing a herd of piglets for up to five weeks is fairly standard, to prevent complaints such as E. coli scour and Ileitis
• Quality of life may vary, with limited stimulation or chance to display natural rooting behaviours

Organic

Organic pigs are not raised on any significant commercial scale in New Zealand, because the high cost of certified organic feed, combined with pigs’ huge appetites, would make for very expensive bacon.

SPCA Blue Tick

This certification means the pig farmer has been audited by the SPCA, and meets basic welfare standards. Considered a minimum standard of welfare, rather than the ultimate ideal.

• No sow crates or stalls allowed
• Pigs may live in ‘eco-barns’: roomier roofed enclosures where the pigs have bedding such as sawdust and hay so they can root around
• Antibiotic use must be controlled by a veterinarian, as per conventional pig farms
• Improved quality of life is guaranteed. However animals may live indoors or out, or a combination of both
• Full standards are posted at www.rnzspca.org.nz/bluetick/blue-tick-standards

Free range and ‘free farmed’

The rare free range pigs have it best. Sows generally give birth in huts, set in pastures where the piglets and sows can explore, play and socialise. Whereas the term ‘free farmed’ generally refers to pigs raised in roomier ‘eco-barns’. But here’s the rub: terms like ‘free farmed’ and ‘free range’ are not legally enforced, and photos of the farms may give a misleading impression of conditions. So if welfare is your main concern it’s safest to choose pork with the SPCA Blue Tick, or buy from a free range farmer that you personally know is trustworthy.

• No legal definitions of ‘free range’ or ‘free farmed’ exist so conditions vary
• Best practices see sows give birth in huts, and piglets fattened outdoors with access to shade and warm shelter

Brands we like

Here are a few pork producers that we believe treat their animals better than is strictly required by law:

• Harmony
• Freedom Farms
• Havoc Farms (order from Moreish Butchery, www.moreish.co.nz or selected stores)

Chickens

What are the issues?

The chicken meat industry refers to their birds as ‘broilers’ – which is perhaps the first sign that they’re seen more as products than animals.

Large sheds are used to raise the chickens, with up to 40,000 in a flock. Many of the birds never see the light of day. They are bred for fast growth, and with their heavy bodies and lack of exercise, many have trouble walking.

As in the pork industry, consumer outcry is making a difference; free range options are on the rise. But again, with ‘free range’ labelling, it’s buyer beware – there is no strict definition of the term. And because free range chickens need shelter at night, and therefore also have sheds, cynical farmers can use the term ‘free-range’ when in reality their enclosures have just a few exits to an unappealing and unused yard.

For this reason it’s better to use one of the organic labels, or the SPCA Blue Tick, as a guide for animal welfare – unless you personally know the farmer really is doing things well.

Here’s what the different terms mean.

Buying chicken: What are my options?

Price check

• Conventional breast ~$20/kg
• SPCA Blue Tick breast ~$23/kg
• Free range breast ~$26/kg
• Certified organic breast ~$47/kg

Conventional New Zealand-raised

• Welfare is controlled by the Animal Welfare Act, however enforcement of the Act may vary and actual conditions are not always clear
• Beak tipping (cutting off the tips of chooks’ beaks so they won’t peck each other) is allowed
• Antibiotics can be used to treat entire flocks, comprising thousands of animals, at a time. Use must be controlled by a veterinarian
• Antibiotics can be used for the entire life of the chicken (though are stopped for a period before slaughter to prevent them getting into meat)

Organic

Organic rules guarantee the highest level of animal welfare. Farmers certified by one of the four organic labels in New Zealand must follow strict rules, which are in turn checked by external auditors.

• All livestock must have access to outdoor runs
• Antibiotics not allowed, or very limited
• Smaller flocks and lower flock densities than all other farming styles
• No beak trimming allowed
• No synthetic fertilisers or pesticides may be used on the farm
• Feed must also be certified organic and GE free

SPCA Blue Tick

This certification means the farmer has been through a voluntary audit by the SPCA, and meets basic welfare standards. Considered a minimum standard of welfare, rather than the ultimate ideal.

• Beak tipping (cutting off the tips of chooks’ beaks so they won’t peck each other) is allowed
• Rules on antibiotics the same as for conventional chicken
• No more than 10 birds per square metre of shed space allowed
• Improved quality of life is guaranteed. However, animals may live indoors or out, or a combination of both
• Full standards are posted at www.rnzspca.org.nz/bluetick/blue-tick-standards

Free range

• No legal definition of ‘free range’ exists so conditions vary
• Best practice sees all birds have access to the outdoors
• In reality, birds could spend most of their lives in an industrial shed; it depends entirely on the individual farm

Brands we like

Here are a few chicken producers that we believe treat their animals better than is strictly required by law:

• Rangitikei Chicken (owned by Tegel)
• Waitoa (owned by Inghams)
• Westwood (available from www.westwood.co.nz and selected shops)
• Kipdale (marketed under the Brink’s brand in selected stores)

Sheep and cattle

What are the issues?

The luckiest farmed meat animals in New Zealand are, on average, sheep and cattle. In some other countries grass-fed beef has become a rare luxury; yet here both sheep and beef cattle still spend their days roaming and grazing on pasture.

Still, the most eco-conscious eaters will note that non-organic farms use agrichemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. These can have adverse effects on the environment, and in the case of agrichemicals like pesticides, on the farmers who use them.

Buying beef and lamb: What are my options?

Price check

• NZ beef ~$31/kg
• Certified organic beef ~$36/kg
• NZ lamb ~$25/kg
• Certified organic lamb ~$34/kg

Conventional New Zealand-raised beef and lamb

• Sheep and cattle generally range freely on pasture
• Farmers may use synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and health treatments such as antibiotics

Organic

• Farmers use fertilisers from certified natural and biological sources only, and synthetic pesticides are prohibited
• Antibiotics not allowed, or very limited

Brands we like

Here are a few beef and lamb producers that we believe farm in a more environmentally sensitive way than is strictly required by law:

• Harmony (in stores)
• The Farm Butchery (order at www.thefarmbutchery.co.nz – North Island only)
• Marama Organics (order at www.maramaorganics.co.nz – large quantities of lamb only)

Taste test: Does organic meat taste better?

There’s a lot of talk about organic meat tasting better, but do the claims stack up? We asked Healthy Food Guide editor and Steak of Origin judge Niki Bezzant to conduct a blind taste test.

Niki purchased two pieces of beef sirloin from the supermarket on the same day, cooking both for two minutes each side, with a little salt. One was conventional beef from New World butchery, bearing the NZ Beef & Lamb Quality Mark and cost $30.99 per kg. The other was organic beef from Harmony Organics in Paeroa, certified by AsureQuality and cost $35.99 per kg. The steaks were labelled A and B, so neither she nor her other testers knew which was which.

Niki says: “Both steaks had good colour when raw, with rosy flesh and pale fat. Both were similarly lean. Both steaks browned well and had pleasing savoury aromas when cooked. When it came time to taste, I asked tasters to rate the steaks on tenderness and flavour.

The consensus was strong: the organic sirloin came out on top on both counts. It had more ‘meaty’ flavour, a more tender chew (bearing in mind sirloin’s natural texture) and was overall the steak we wanted to keep on eating.”

Niki’s verdict

The organic steak cost about 15 per cent more than the non-organic. In this (highly unscientific) taste test, we felt that the 15 per cent premium was reflected in at least a 15 per cent tastier piece of meat.

Logos to look for

A logo from one of the four New Zealand organic certifiers means the farm has been audited to ensure it meets organic standards for animal welfare and environmental practice.
     

Antibiotics and your meat

Consuming antibiotics in meat is not really an issue in New Zealand – they are used here, but animals must be antibiotic-free for set periods of time before slaughter, which keeps any medications out of the end product. However, over-use of antibiotics in general leads to bacteria becoming resistant to the drugs, and this issue has recently caused worldwide alarm.

A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in April issued a stark warning: “Without urgent, co-ordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill,” wrote Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s assistant director-general for health security.

The issue is particularly pressing for the meat industry. Chicken and pigs are susceptible to diseases which require mass medication – and the WHO says this large-scale use of antibiotics is part of the growing problem of disease resistance.

In the past, New Zealand farmers were allowed to use low levels of antibiotics in animal feed as a growth promoter (animals that don’t get sick put on weight faster). This is now illegal and all antibiotic use must be controlled by a veterinarian. However it is still legal to mass-dose a flock or herd when an outbreak occurs as this is the only practical way to control some common diseases in densely packed indoor farms. Currently a typical New Zealand raised pig, for instance, will spend up to 4-5 weeks of its 22 week life on antibiotics to control E. coli scour and Ileitis.

More alarmingly, imported meat such as bacon can be produced in countries where antibiotics are used with wild abandon. A veterinary consultant spoken to by Green Ideas described practices in some Asian pig farms as “quite frightening”.

As a shopper you are generally supporting more intelligent use of antibiotics when you choose happily raised meat: unstressed animals with more room and good air, water and feed are less likely to get sick in the first place. And if you buy organic meat, you’re supporting the very best farming practices, where antibiotics are not allowed or at worst very strictly controlled. So by choosing organic meat, you may also be helping humans stay healthy.