Another misconception may be that all organic animals live outdoors. Actually, they may be housed for some of their lives, though there is nothing wrong with that provided that the housing is well designed, with fresh air, natural light, plenty of clean bedding, and room for the animals to move around - which it has to be to comply with organic standards. I have seen organic sheep that are indoors for part of the year and they were very healthy and content. Having said that, CIWF believes that it is important for farm animals be outdoors at least part of the time. If animals are housed then it must be roomy, comfortable and there must be plenty of bedding.
Egg laying hens live a miserable life in battery cages on a typical factory farm.
Organic hens are fed on a natural diet and therefore produce very high qualityd eggs. Problems with organic farming Organic farming is not perfect, and there are still some areas where improvements could be made. For example, markets, as I mentioned, are stressful places for animals. In a recent issue of Organic Matters , an organic farmer was citing welfare problems at an organic mart. So clearly, there is room for improvement here - rearing animals in stable groups as much as possible, and if selling is necessary then doing it by direct sale from farm to farm or farm to slaughterhouse.