Your meat and what to look for

More resources are available on the Products & Places page, but here’s a summary of what to look for (and where) when buying your humanely raised meats.

There may be others, but here’s a short list of local grocers that carry humanely raised products.

When shopping, look for these key words on your meats:

  • Beef: Look for “pastured”, “pastured-raised”, “non-confined”, “no added hormones” and “no antibiotics” labels.
  • Pork: Look for “pastured”, “pasture-raised”, “free-range”, “non-confined” or “raised in deep-bedded housing” labels.Under federal regulations hormones are not allowed in raising pigs.
  • Chicken: Look for “pastured”, “pastured-raised”, “non-confined” and “no hormones” labels. Beware of the “cage-free” and “range-free” labels because they don’t tell the whole story about whether chickens were treated humanely. Under federal regulations hormones are not allowed in raising chickens.
  • Eggs: Look for “pastured” or “pasture-raised” labels. Beware of the “cage-free” and “range-free” labels because they don’t tell the whole story about whether chickens were treated humanely.
  • Dairy: Look for “pastured”, “pasture-raised”, “no hormones” and “no antibiotics” labels.