Food Standards

Diet / Feed

• 100% Grass Fed - Animals are never fed grain, and graze on pasture grass and forage and are fed bailed grasses during winter

• Grass Fed / Grain Finished - Animals graze on pasture grass and forage, and grain is added to their diet near the end of their life

Health / Safety

• No growth promotants (like added hormones or steroids)*

• No routine antibiotics (only if medically necessary)

• If an animal gets sick, they treat it responsibly under veterinary care and always follow strict USDA withdrawal times to ensure no residues enters the food supply
  
  

Diet / Feed

• Natural foraging plus a supplemental vegetarian feed

Health / Safety

• No growth promotants (like added hormones or steroids)*

• No routine antibiotics (only if medically necessary)

• If an animal gets sick, they treat it responsibly under veterinary care and always follow strict USDA withdrawal times to ensure no residues enters the food supply
  

*Federal law prohibits the use of hormones or steroids in the raising of poultry and pork

Diet / Feed

• Diet consists of natural foraging and a supplemental vegetarian feed

Health / Safety

• No growth promotants (like added hormones or steroids)*

• No ractopamine (a feed additive still permitted in conventional U.S. pork but banned in many countries)

• No routine antibiotics (only if medically necessary)

• If an animal gets sick, they treat it responsibly under veterinary care and always follow strict USDA withdrawal times to ensure no residues enters the food supply

*Federal law prohibits the use of hormones or steroids in the raising of poultry and pork

General Definitions

• CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation): An agricultural facility where large numbers of animals are raised in confinement, often indoors or in crowded outdoor pens. CAFOs are designed for efficiency and high output, with animals typically given limited space and little or no access to pasture.
• Growth Promotants: Substances used to accelerate animal growth or improve feed efficiency. These can include added hormones, steroids, beta-agonists (such as ractopamine), or other additives that increase weight gain or lean muscle development.
• Humane Raising Practices: Animals are treated with respect and care throughout their lives. They have space to move freely, access to fresh air and clean water, and are not subjected to crates, cages, or crowding. Handling and transport are conducted with minimal stress.
• Pasture-Raised: Animals spend most of their lives outdoors on open pasture, with space to roam, graze, and forage naturally. They are never confined to cages or feedlots, and have access to shelter during harsh weather.
• Routine Antibiotics: The regular or preventive use of antibiotics in livestock to promote growth or to prevent disease in healthy animals, often when animals are kept in crowded or stressful conditions. This practice is distinct from therapeutic use, where antibiotics are given only to treat animals that are actually sick.

Beef Specific Definitions

• 100% Grass-Fed: Describes cattle that eat only grass and forage for their entire lives, without any grain supplementation. Their diet consists of fresh pasture during the growing season and stored forage such as hay or silage in winter.
• Feedlot: A feedlot is an industrial facility where large numbers of cattle are confined in pens and fed a high-energy, grain-based diet to promote rapid growth before slaughter. Animals in feedlots typically have limited space and little to no access to pasture.
• Grass-Fed/Grain Finished: Describes cattle that begin their lives on a grass-based diet but are fed grain during the final months before slaughter. Grain finishing increases energy intake, which enhances marbling and tenderness in the meat.

Chicken Specific Definitions

• Cage-Free: Chickens are not housed in cages, but typically live indoors in large barns. While they have more space than caged systems, they may still be crowded and do not necessarily have outdoor access.
• Free-Range: Chickens are given some outdoor access in addition to indoor housing. Regulations do not specify the amount of space or time outdoors, so access may be limited to a small door and a small yard.
• Mobile Coops: Portable shelters that can be moved across pasture to house poultry. Mobile coops provide protection from weather and predators while allowing birds regular access to fresh grass and forage. Moving the coops helps distribute manure naturally, improving soil health.

Pork Specific Definitions

• Detusking: The removal or trimming of tusks (elongated canine teeth) from boars. This is sometimes done to reduce the risk of injury to other pigs or handlers, but it is an invasive procedure that alters the animal’s natural anatomy.
• Farrowing Crates: Stalls used to confine mother pigs (sows) during and after giving birth. The crates are designed to limit the sow’s movement to reduce the risk of her accidentally crushing piglets, but they also severely restrict natural behaviors like nest-building and nursing freely.
• Gestation Crates: Narrow stalls used to confine pregnant sows during most of their pregnancy. The crates prevent movement beyond standing up or lying down, restricting natural behaviors such as turning or walking.
• Nose Rings: Metal rings inserted into a pig’s nose to discourage rooting behavior. Rooting is natural for pigs, and nose rings cause discomfort when the animal tries to dig, limiting this instinctive activity.
• Ractopamine: A feed additive classified as a beta-agonist, used to promote lean muscle growth and improve feed efficiency. Ractopamine is approved for use in the United States in both pork and cattle, but it is far more common in pork production. Its use is banned in many countries, including those in the European Union and China, due to animal welfare and food safety concerns.
• Slotted Floors: A type of flooring used in industrial pig barns where concrete or metal floors are built with narrow gaps or slats. These openings allow manure and waste to fall through into a pit below, making cleaning easier for farmers. However, pigs raised on slotted floors often live indoors with little bedding, limited comfort, and no ability to root or forage naturally.
• Tail Docking: The partial removal of a pig’s tail, typically done to reduce the risk of tail biting in crowded or stressful housing conditions. While common in industrial systems, it prevents pigs from using their tails for natural communication and expression.