Bello Food Box

Is Bello Beef Certified Organic or Not?

From Georgina at Bello Beef.

Recently, Georgina received a great question in her DMs (which she always welcomes):

“Why is your beef not Certified Organic, but raised on Certified Organic land?”

The response is:

Good question!..  The main reason is that the abattoir and butchery Bello Beef use aren’t certified organic. Bello Beefs cattle are raised organically and the farm itself is certified, but once the animals go through processing at a non-certified facility, that certification can’t carry through.

Bello Beef choose to use their local abattoir because it’s closer, less stressful for the animals, and much more affordable. Unfortunately, small-scale farmers like them don’t get much support from abattoirs when it comes to certification – they simply aren’t interested in the extra steps.

The second factor is cost. Getting the butchery certified and using the official stamp would mean thousands of extra dollars every year, and as a small farm business, that’s a big hurdle. It’s definitely on their ‘dream list,’ but they’re not there yet.

In fact, Bello Beef have even considered letting the farm certification lapse because of the ongoing expense. But they are people who also shop for organic products, and therefore feel that certification sets an important baseline for transparency.

What they feel matters most is their practices. Certification doesn’t always tell the full story. Bello Beef are always happy to share how they manage pest burdens, weeds, grazing, and animal care – these are the principles that matter most to them.

So yes, Bello beef is grown on a certified organic farm, but it doesn’t carry the ‘Certified Organic’ label unless they send our cattle an extra 200 km away to Casino for processing and pay to have the butchery certified as well.

This also goes for our organically raised chicken.

That’s why it’s so important to know your farmer and hear the story behind your food!