Chicken Organic Only With Organic Feed

The Senate has repealed an exemption that allowed chicken farmers to call their product organic even if the chickens never ate organic meal, as long as the farmers could prove there was a shortage of the feed.

The repeal had the support of the organic foods industry, environmental groups and Bush administration officials.

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) had persuaded his colleagues to allow companies to label their products as organically fed if they could prove to the Agriculture Department there was a shortage of organic meal. Deal’s aides did not return calls.