Labels, certifications, what do they mean?

We advertise our beef herd as “Animal Welfare Approved” and “Certified Grassfed by AWG“, but what do these labels mean?  I don’t know about you, but when it comes to checking out claims, I turn to Consumer Reports.  In August 2015, Consumer Reports published a “Beef Report“:

Let’s take a look at some of the report findings:

Consumer Reports – Sustainable Beef-Production Practices:

• Cows are ruminants—their natural behavior consists of grazing. Allowing beef cattle to graze on well-managed pastures from birth to slaughter (often referred to as 100 percent grass-fed) is at the core of sustainable beef production. What’s good for animal welfare is also good for the environment and for consumers.
• … pastures can only feed herds of a certain size, and in a properly managed pasture, the stressful and crowded disease-promoting conditions of the feedlot are eliminated. Healthier, less stressed animals need fewer antibiotics and other drugs to stay healthy.
• Soils of grazing land can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Managing cattle carefully to ensure that pastures are grazed moderately means restoring soil quality and cutting greenhouse gases by keeping carbon in the soil as organic matter rather than releasing it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
• More water is conserved in grass-based systems compared with conventional ones.
• Grass-fed beef isn’t just better for animals, public health, and the planet; it may be healthier for individual consumers as well.

If you have followed our past blog posts, the above findings are familiar information.  It is nice to have the credibility of Consumer Reports back up what we know as common sense observations in the natural world.

OK, but what about labels?

The 2015 Beef Report had plenty to say about labels.  From “Highly Meaningful” labels to labels that have no meaning at all.  Please refer to the full report for all the label categories.  A quick look at the first two labels under the “Highly Meaningful Labels” as “Verified” we find:

1. Animal Welfare Approved
2. Certified Grassfed by AWG

In a January 26, 2017 update at http://greenerchoices.org/, Certified Grassfed by AWG, is one of the four “labels to look for” when “choosing grass fed”.

Curious to read more?

Our farm is third party reviewed for Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Grassfed by AWG.  For more information on these specific labels we direct you to these resources:

• A Greener World (AWG) — “North America’s most trusted and transparent farm certifier.”
• Animal Welfare Approved (Program of AWG), remains the only label in the marketplace to ensure the following:
  • Meaningful, verified, outdoor pasture and range based systems–not just a door at the end of a building or an outdoor concrete run
    • No cages, crates or feedlots–ever
    • Verified environmentally sustainable farming and ranching
    • Responsible stewardship of public resources like air, water, soil and antibiotics
    • Independent farms/farmers meeting the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S. and Canada
    • Prohibit the use of hormones (like rBST), animal byproducts or routine antibiotics
    • Industry-leading high welfare handling and management from birth through slaughter
    • Independent standards for the inspection of slaughter plants
      • (January 2017 AWA Press Release)
• Certified Grassfed by AWG
  • Guarantees food products come from animals fed a 100 percent grass and forage diet, raised outdoors on pasture or range, and managed according to the highest welfare and environmental standards on an independent family farm.

This is all good and well, but remember:

We invite you to come see the farm and our animals for yourself.  Join other past visitors of our farm.  We urge you to know your farmer and your food.  We prefer to be certified by YOU, our customer.