Actually, the “Organic” label is pretty strongly regulated, at least in the US (and I think also in the EU).
Though you wouldn’t know it from looking at the USDA’s website. Because their website is absolute shit.
Anyway, in order for a food to be legally labeled “organic,” it has to meet certain requirements:
• No synthetic fertilizers or pesticides
• Livestock must be fed mostly organic feed
• No antibiotics or artificial growth hormones
• Minimal living standard requirements (but better than not organic).
Note that there are labels that are not regulated by the government and therefore could mean anything. “Cage free,” “Natural” and “Free Range” are examples. The “Organic” label actually means something (see above); these labels don’t mean anything, because they’re unregulated.
So, it is definitely better for the environment and for animal welfare to buy organic than from non-organic supermarket suppliers, and you should always buy organic over other nice-sounding labels. However, organic farms are often industrialized monocultures. They usually aren’t the hippie ideal of small mixed farms, and they can still get away with treating animals poorly (though not as much as non-organic). So the best bet is to buy directly from a local farmer that you trust. But since this isn’t always an option, buying organic is still better than buying conventional.