Fancy a free-range, grass-fed Angus steak with biodynamic quinoa on the side?

Perhaps you think you're doing your bit for the environment and animal welfare, but maybe you're being conned.

As consumers ask more questions about the environmental impact of the food they eat and the welfare conditions animals are raised in, farmers are adapting their production system to meet expectations.

ABC rural reporters have been out on the farm, looking at the truth behind the labelling, to find out what all the trendy terms really mean.

Jump to: Organic | Grass-fed cattle | Free-range | Biodynamic

Organic

Organic food is one of the fastest growing markets in Australia, worth an estimated $1.76 billion a year.

More than a million people regularly buy organic food each year and yet the majority, two-thirds, are happy if there's no organic certified label.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 6 minutes 48 seconds 6 m Organic: Oaks Organics has been 30 years with no chemicals and sells at farmers markets. Meanwhile NASAA is cracking down on fraudulent use of its organic logo. ( Sarina Locke ) Download 3.1 MB

Consumers say: "I feel like it's better for my family's health and my health. I just love the feeling that it gives me afterwards."

That's what's dubbed the 'halo effect', with consumer group Choice finding that people associate many benefits from organic.

But that's only valid if it's certified organic, which ensures it's free of; synthetic pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. The standards also outline animal welfare requirements.

Oaks Organics, an hour south-west of Sydney in NSW, is organic and free range, practices which started 30 years ago.

"I guess it started when my children were young," said Peter Clinch.

"I used to spray blackberry and lantana and come home with the poison on my raincoat. It was, I believe, affecting my wife's health and my children's health."

Value of organics: Australians spend $5 billion a year on organics*

Australians spend $5 billion a year on organics* Conventional food in Australia consistently tests very low risk for chemical residue**

Conventional food in Australia consistently tests very low risk for chemical residue** Demand for organics is growing by between 15 to 35 per cent every year*

Demand for organics is growing by between 15 to 35 per cent every year* 60 per cent of Australians bought organic fruit and vegetables during 2012, and 35 per cent bought organic red meat and dairy* Sources: * The Australian Organic Market Report 2012 ** Food Standards Australia New Zealand

His label specifies only that the farm is organic, but he believes consumers return for his product because of the taste. That's also despite paying almost double the cost. It takes 50 per cent longer to raise chicken for meat, which costs more in organic feed.

Organic means Peter Clinch can't use antibiotics in the water as a preventive treatment for diseases.

"For example, chicken breast is $32 a kilogram and the whole chicken is $14 a kilo, which is a lot more than conventional whole chicken," Mr Clinch said.

That's three times the cost of non-organic chicken breast, which costs about $10 a kilogram to buy online through the major supermarkets.

Mr Clinch reduced his costs this year by switching certifiers from Australian Certified Organics ACO to AusQual, a not-for-profit subsidiary of AusMeat. By not certifying the whole supply chain, including meat processors, he saved $5,000.

Dr Andrew Monk, of Australian Organics, makes no apologies for the cost of certification.

"The key thing is it's all about integrity management and trust with consumers," he said.

"Some bigger operations require more than the annual audits, including unannounced audits."

Dr Monk says while Australia doesn't legislate for organic certification, supermarkets are driving it and so is the overseas market.

Organics certifier NASAA is cracking down on fraudulent use of its label, winning a Federal Court case in July this year against Victoria's Kings Court Vineyards.

Ben Copeman, of NASAA, says the signature looked wrong and a shop owner spotted it.

"That was it. He rang me to see if the signature was valid, and that's how we found it. We pursued Kings Court Vineyards for the maximum costs and we're pursuing them for damages," Mr Copeland said.

The 2012 study found the majority (two-thirds) of Australians don't look for a certified label, so many people buy on good faith.

Mr Clinch's Oaks Organics is certified organic, but he acknowledges his customers at Leichhardt markets in Sydney trust his product even without the label.

"I really enjoy going to the farmers market in Leichhardt, where a lot of my customers tell me how much they enjoy my produce. It's very encouraging," he said.

Consumer group Choice says people might not realise that organic food can also contain five per cent non organic ingredients.

Choice's last study of organics is now out of date, but in 2009 it found of 42 organic butchers, only 29 had certificates, and some couldn't even produce the certificate.

Choice Food writer Rachael Clemens says if you're paying more, you should know what you're getting.

Sam Canning in his butcher shop in the Melbourne suburb of Kew, which specialises in organic, free range and grass fed products. ( Supplied )

Grass versus grain-fed beef

For Louise Mawhinney, who farms on a property in the Pentland Hills, west of Melbourne, starting a business growing and selling grass-fed beef meant only a minor change to a long family tradition.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 9 minutes 36 seconds 9 m Grass-fed: butcher Sam Canning and farmer Louise Mawhinney ( Cath McAloon ) Download 4.4 MB

When Ms Mawhinney moved onto the family property, Braelands, she inherited the remnants of a beef herd her grandfather had started putting together in the early 1960s.

"We were selling calves at the Ballarat sales and some years they did exceptionally well and some years it was a lot tougher and we weren't making as much money. It wasn't a very feasible way to stay on, so we looked at other options," she said.

"We (had) always butchered and eaten our own beasts and the meat was fantastic."

With the encouragement of family and friends who had tasted the meat from animals raised at Braelands, Ms Mawhinney started selling butchered grass-fed beef directly to consumers and has quickly built up a steady stream of customers who buy directly from her.

"When I started, it was sort of a part time thing just to see how it would go and we were processing one steer a month, maybe two," Ms Mawhinney said.

"We've probably tripled that in a few years. We've obviously got a cap on what we do because we only sell the beef that we breed. We won't be buying trade cattle and growing them out.

"We're almost at peak, as much as we can handle now."

Ms Mawhinney's story reflects a growing demand for Australian grass-fed beef products at farmers markets, butchers' shops, supermarkets and even from overseas consumers.

A recent survey by Queensland farm lobby group AgForce found 33 per cent of consumers preferred a grass-fed beef product.

Melbourne butcher Sam Canning only sells beef that has been fed on grass, not grain.

He sources his meat from a farm in Tasmania and says consumers buy it for health, environmental and ethical reasons.

Meeting the Pasturefed Assurance System: Have open access to graze pasture their entire life

Have open access to graze pasture their entire life Have not been confined for the purposes of intensive feeding for production

Have not been confined for the purposes of intensive feeding for production Are fully traceable for their entire life via NLIS

Are fully traceable for their entire life via NLIS Are guaranteed to eat well, based on MSA; and if required

Are guaranteed to eat well, based on MSA; and if required Are free from Hormone Growth Promotants (HGPs) and/or

Are free from Hormone Growth Promotants (HGPs) and/or Are free from antibiotics Source: Cattle Council of Australia

"The whole grass-fed thing is becoming much more of a buzz word. People are sort of listening out for it when maybe ten years ago it was all about grain-fed," Mr Canning said.

"I definitely don't think (the demand for grass-fed beef) is going to go away now. The grain thing had its fad in the 90s, or 2000s."

He points to studies that have found grass-fed beef has a healthier fatty acid composition, compared to grain-fed product.

"I think whenever there's a health benefit to have, people are starting to listen a bit more."

But just what the grass-fed beef label means is not entirely clear.

Mr Canning says the meat he buys and sells to customers comes from animals that have spent their entire lives roaming freely and eating grass, but he's not sure that's the case for all grass-fed beef being sold at supermarkets and butcher shops.

"All our beef is completely grass-fed and grass-finished, but with that term grass-fed, it can actually be majority grass-fed but grain-finished. So that's probably something that needs to be looked at," he said.

"I think if you are saying '100 per cent grass-fed', then it has to be all the way, because there's a lot of producers out there who grow them to a year-and-a-half, or a year, on their farm and then they all go off to a feedlot and get finished for 90 days to get that little bit of marbling on them and to get the last 50 kilos put on them before they go to market."

The Cattle Council of Australia has a certification process, through its Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System.

To be eligible to use the 'Certified Pasturefed' label, cattle must have had open access to graze pasture their entire life, have not been confined for the purposes of intensive feeding for production, be fully traceable for their entire life via the National Livestock Identification System and be guaranteed to eat well, based on Meat Standards Australia.

Producers can also choose to be certified as being free from Hormone Growth Promotants (HGPs) and antibiotics.

While the Cattle Council standards have been adopted by some processors and retailers, others work to their own standards.

Farmer Louise Mawhinney says while various accreditation systems exist, 'like a lot of things, you are taken on your word'.

She spent time working in cattle feedlots, where cattle that started their life eating grass are finished on grain, and says cattle on her farm are treated very differently to cattle in feedlot production systems.

"In the feedlot industry, you get animals at an entry weight that come in, they have their induction process where they are vaccinated, tagged, processed and weighed ... and then they are put onto grain and expected to perform weight-gain-wise in a shortish period of time," she said.

She says raising cattle entirely on grass is more time-consuming and costly for the producer, as cattle take longer to grow big enough to meet slaughter specifications and not all cattle will meet specifications.

But offsetting the higher production cost is the fact that many consumers are willing to pay as much as 30 per cent more for grass-fed beef.

Mr Canning says his customers in Melbourne's wealthy eastern suburbs seem happy to pay more.

"Grass-fed does cost a little bit more," he said.

"I guess it depends on the area that you are in. We are able to achieve the price point that we need to for this kind of beef. It's not cheap, but it's awesome.

"In the areas that my shops are in, people are happy to pay a little bit more, providing they are getting an awesome steak."

Ms Mawhinney says her customers also value the grass-fed label.

"The grass-fed (label) is very important. I have a lot of customers who are living with the 'paleo diet' where grass-fed beef is one of the predominant things. I have quite a few customers that are on a diet that follows their blood type and it specifies grass-fed beef, so that's important to them," he said.

"I have some that just like the taste. They like the fact that they know us, or they can see photos of the cattle, or they can ring up and talk to the farmer, they can ask lots of questions.

"There's many different reasons why people go down this line."

A litter of free-range piglets only hours old. They were born under the A-frame shelters that dot the paddocks at the Killara open range pork farm, Boyup Brook, Western Australia. ( Babs McHugh )

Free-range: pork production

When Peter Bradford started farming pigs 40 years ago, he just wanted to work outside and farmed them the way he thought both he and the animals would enjoy.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 7 minutes 11 seconds 7 m Peter Bradford says pork industry on the front foot over free range accreditation ( Babs McHugh ) Download 3.3 MB

He certainly didn't consider himself a pioneer in the free-range pork industry, but that's exactly what Mr Bradford and his wife Cathy are.

They regularly mentor new entrants into to the farming practice and often play host to national and international farming groups which take a keen interest in how they run their operation so successfully.

Their dedication and experience was also recognised when Mr Bradford was one of a group of 25 pork producers from around Australia who met in Canberra four years ago to thrash out the regulations and requirements to be a certified, free-range pig farm.

Those regulations come under the auspices of the Australian Pork Industry Quality Assurance Program (APIQ).

"Strangely enough after 40 years we've not changed anything in the basic system here on Killara," Mr Bradford said.

"Even when APIQ came along we made a few minor changes but the base system has been exactly the same.

"All we've done is just get better at it I guess."

To be accredited for free-range pork, pigs need to be kept permanently outside from birth to death, with access to bedding material and shelter from the elements.

The pigs need to be able to move in and out of shelters and around paddocks as they feel like it and, importantly, they must be able to forage and root around in those paddocks.

And who can imagine any free-range pig without a nice, muddy wallow in which to, well, wallow?

Wallows are very important for free-range pigs and must be available unless there are regulations or weather conditions that don't allow it.

"Pigs don't sweat and wallows are the only way they can cool down," Mr Bradford explains as he drives to the sow paddock on one of the wettest winter days in many years.

"They can get really knocked around by the heat and need to be able to cool down. On hot days, Cathy and I will fill up the tank on the back of the fire truck and come down up to three or four times a day to hose them down."

That's quite a different situation to more intensive pig farming operations where the animals are kept in strict climate controlled conditions.

The heat stress factor and outdoor farrowing - gestation and birth of piglet litters - are some of the drawbacks to the free range farming system.

Hot weather can give rise to something known as 'summer infertility' where it's very hard for the gilts and sows to fall pregnant.

A combination of the mothers rolling on them, exposure to the elements and predators like foxes, cats and crows can lead to a piglet mortality rate of between ten and 15 per cent.

The Australian Pork Industry Quality system has three different accreditations: indoor, outdoor bed, and free-range.

"We got to the stage where you can apply the same set of standards anywhere around Australia for free-range pork production," says Mr Bradford.

This is how you know your pork has received official free range certification by industry body Australian Pork Ltd ( Babs McHugh )

"From here in the south-west of Western Australia you could go to the Northern Territory, Queensland or down to Tasmania those standards can be applied by the growers."

Applying standards for free-range certification for pig farming is a rather complex process.

Rather than using set parameters or upper limits such as stocking density per land area, it works on a whole-of-farm sustainability model.

APIQ has standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines that must be addressed for each individual farm.

These include base standards such as nutrient and effluent runoff management, pasture rotation, soil type, property aspect, climate, rainfall and local environmental considerations.

And once it's achieved, free-range certification must address and meet the same criteria every year.

"The farms are audited twice a year starting with an internal audit within six months of the main audit being carried out," he said.

"Then the on-farm auditors will come out and do a book audit and then drive around and assess the operations; they may then come up with minor or major corrective actions which need to be addressed.

"It's only once they're addressed, if necessary, that you will be re-accredited for the next 12 months.

"We're not playing games here; this is very, very serious.

"The pork industry has been bagged quite badly over the years and it's very hard, once you get an image like that, to change that.

"But the current system is going a very long way to bring about those changes.

"People can be assured that when they see that pink PorkMark label or the APIQ free-range accredited label, that is exactly what they're getting."

But do internal audits and a system that comes under the auspices of Australian Pork Limited be a case of the industry policing itself?

That's something Peter Bradford says emphatically is not the case.

"Sure, we do our internal six monthly audit on forms provided by APIQ, but the on-farm auditors are independent.

"They don't have to have anything to do with the pig industry itself. They themselves are accredited, and they themselves are assessed."

Biodynamic winemaker, Chris Carpenter at his Lark Hill vineyard, at Bungendore, on the southern tablelands of NSW. ( Lucy Barbour )

Biodynamic: Viticulture

Chris Carpenter and his family converted to biodynamic viticulture because they wanted to reduce the use of chemicals on their farms. But they were also taken by the the 'holistic' and 'interconnected' approach to farming that it allowed.

They were inspired to act after attending a biodynamic wine conference in Beechworth, in northern Victoria, in the early 2000s.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 7 minutes 24 seconds 7 m Biodynamic wine movement yet to 'take off' in Australia ( Lucy Barbour ) Download 3.4 MB

"We saw people who were walking the walk, not just talking the talk," Mr Carpenter recalls.

What is biodynamic agriculture? A spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, food production and nutrition

A spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, food production and nutrition Biodynamics was first developed in the early 1920s based on the spiritual insights and practical suggestions of the Austrian writer, educator and social activist Dr Rudolph Steiner

Biodynamics was first developed in the early 1920s based on the spiritual insights and practical suggestions of the Austrian writer, educator and social activist Dr Rudolph Steiner Biodynamic farmers strive to create a diversified, balanced farm ecosystem that generates health and fertility as much as possible from within the farm itself

Biodynamic farmers strive to create a diversified, balanced farm ecosystem that generates health and fertility as much as possible from within the farm itself Most biodynamic initiatives seek to embody triple bottom line approaches (ecological, social and economic sustainability)

Most biodynamic initiatives seek to embody triple bottom line approaches (ecological, social and economic sustainability) Biodynamic practitioners also recognize and strive to work in cooperation with the subtle influences of the wider cosmos on soil, plant and animal health - for example the cycles of the moon

Biodynamic practitioners also recognize and strive to work in cooperation with the subtle influences of the wider cosmos on soil, plant and animal health - for example the cycles of the moon Compost or 'preparations' are made from fermented manure, minerals and herbs. They are used to help restore and harmonize the vital life forces of the farm and to enhance the nutrition, quality and flavour of the food being raised Source: Biodynamic Association

"We walked around farms that were already doing it and the difference was so astonishing and profound that we went really whole-heartedly into the whole thing and sought certification at the same time."

Biodynamic viticulture draws on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, who advocated for minimal intervention in the vineyard and the use of biodynamic preparations including one known as '500', which is made from fermented cow dung buried in cow horns in the soil.

The Carpenters produced their first fully certified vintage in 2006 but it was four years before they had the confidence to place 'biodynamic' labels front and centre on their bottles.

"We had a tiny little sticker on the back label that had our certification number," Mr Carpenter explains.

"We were intensely aware that we were talking about something with a very unusual farming method, a tight little niche.

"Probably 90 per cent of people we met at our cellar door had never heard of biodynamics or had often heard something that wasn't quite right...this stereotypical dancing round the fire by the light of the moon."

But over the years, consumer demand for Mr Carpenter's wines has grown and he says more than half of his customers buy the product specifically because it's biodynamic.

"It's because they're more concerned about how the wine is farmed and the chemicals that are used and eventually what goes into their body when they drink the wine," he said.

But wine stockist, Kate O'Leary, from Canberra argues the movement is yet to really take off in Australia. She stocks about a dozen biodynamic wine labels and doesn't charge a premium.

While she likes the idea of biodynamic wine and supports the methods of production, she doesn't deliberately buy them in.

"Quite often we get requests for preservative or organic specifically yet biodynamic isn't really yet on the radar of a lot of consumers," she says.

"I just don't think that it's as big an issue as organic or preservative free. I mean, when you read into it, it is largely an organic principle but I just don't think a lot of consumers are aware of it."

Although Mr Carpenter's wines sell for up to $40 a bottle, he says he doesn't do it for a premium, and he's not convinced the label guarantees better prices.

"If you look at say, the price of fuel, or the price of labour, or even just CPI, our wines have probably actually gotten cheaper," he said.

"So we haven't really increased our pricing so much, and in reality it's not really about a cost saving or a cost expenditure method, it's about quality.

"I'd much rather charge the same for a bottle of wine and have it so good that it surprises people. So maybe the profitability is in having a farm that survives long past me and my children as well."

There are about 450 certified biodynamic wine producers world-wide, but it's hard to say exactly how many Australian wines are biodynamic.

The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia - or NASAA - certifies 30 producers.

It suggests that many wine grape growers use biodynamic standards in their vineyards, but when it comes to processing, they prefer to have the flexibility of being able to use additives and preservatives.

Kate O'Leary thinks the cost of certification could be holding some producers back.

"Some vineyards may work well with biodynamic principles and some won't. I have a Henschke here and it isn't labelled but they do use biodynamic principles on all of their vineyards."

There are about six major biodynamic certification bodies in Australia, including Demeter, Australian Certified Organic and NASAA.

Lark Hill is certified by NASAA, which offers perks like export approval, but Chris Carpenter says there's too much fragmentation across the sector.

"There are less well connected certifying agencies and their certification protocols are less stringent and they're costs are lower," he said.

"There really isn't an overall body putting everything in place, so unfortunately it comes down to the consumer to look at who is certifying a product and maybe do some research into how that company certifies and what standards they apply."

Biodynamic viticulture draws on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, with minimal intervention in the vineyard, and the use of preparation 500, or fermented cow dung buried in cow horns in the soil. ( Supplied: Lark Hill Winery )

"And there are certifying agencies whose minimum transition time is a twelfth of that we went through."

He describes the future of biodynamic wines as a 'big growth' area but says the industry is currently in 'no man's land'.

"Biodynamic and organic are really still niche products and it's still any man's business as to where that goes.

"And I think once you see that coming a little bit more mainstream, there'll be more pressure to have kind of an overall certifying standard and a bit more transparency as to who's doing what.

"I guess part of me dreams of a day when biodynamic and organic are no longer alternate, but they're actually the mainstream agricultural methods anyway."