Animals have to be produced and processed by a USDA certified organic farm and processor.
• The animals must be free on any antibiotics or growth hormones.
• They must be free of mammalian or poultry protein or by-products. Feed must not have been exposed to pesticides, fertilizers made from synthetic ingredients or bioengineering.
• Animals for slaughter must be raised under organic management for the last third of gestation.
• Producers are required to feed livestock agricultural feed products that are 100 percent organic but may also provide vitamin and mineral supplements.
• In order to produce 100 percent organic feed, the land will have no prohibited substance applied to it for at least three years before the harvest of an organic crop.
• The use of genetic engineering, ionizing radiation and sewer sludge is prohibited.
• Soil fertility and crop nutrients will be managed through tillage and cultivation practices, crop rotation and cover crops, supplemented with animal and crop waste materials and allowed synthetic materials.