Products

Learn what to buy and what labels to look for.

As more and more brands jump on board with humanely-raised concept, eating kind is becoming easier and easier. On your right are some brands that offer a variety of products that are humanely-raised.

Here’s a great read that clarifies on what meat labels (such as grass-fed, organic, and free-range) mean and which ones to ignore (farm fresh, cage-free, etc).

Beef

Look for “pastured”, “pastured-raised”, “non-confined”, “no added hormones” and “no antibiotics” labels.

Brands: Markgard Family and Niman Ranch 

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.

Brands:  Fowler Creek FarmGlaum Cage Free Eggs

Chicken

Look for “pastured”, “pastured-raised”, and “non-confined.” Beware of the “cage-free” or “free-range” 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.

Brands: Fowler Creek FarmSoul Food Farm and Smart Chicken

Dairy

Look for “pastured”, “pasture-raised”, “no hormones” and “no antibiotics” labels.

Brands: Consider Bardwell FarmDrakes Bay Family FarmsOrganic Pastures Dairy Company, LLC., Clover Stornetta Farms

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.

Brands: Becker Lane Organic Farm and duBreton All Natural Fresh Pork 

More tools

Here are some great search tools to help you find grocers, restaurants, and farmers markets near you that sell humanely-raised.

Where does organic fit in?

Not all organic is bad, but not all organic is good either.

It’s important to remember that organic is not the same as grassfed. Natural food stores often sell organic beef and dairy products that are hormone- and antibiotic- free. These products come from animals who were fed organically grown grain, but who typically still spent most of their lives (or in the case of dairy cows perhaps their whole lives) in feedlots. The sad reality is that almost all the organic beef and organic dairy products sold in the U.S. today comes from feedlots.

Just as organic does not mean grass-fed, grass-fed does not mean organic. Pastured animals sometimes graze on land that has been treated with synthetic fertilizers and even doused with herbicides. Unless the meat label specifically says it is both grassfed and organic, it isn’t.

Source: http://foodrevolution.org/blog/the-truth-about-grassfed-beef/