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Siblings Erin, Lauren and Matt Williams raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW), Certified Grassfed by AGW beef cattle at River and Rail Farms in Hoosick Falls, New York. The farm was previously owned by the Tilley…
It’s great to see the increased interest in certifying grassfed claims (after all, how else do you know they’re really true?) but it’s important to know which labels mean what. With all the new kids on the block, how does…
Scott Palmer and his daughter, Julia Palmer, raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW), Certified Grassfed by AGW beef cattle on their ranch in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Scott is a fourth-generation rancher. He and his wife, Sybil,…
Grazed and Confused?—the new report from the University of Oxford’s Food Climate Research Network—represents an important step forward in advancing our scientific knowledge on how we might feed ourselves sustainably.
Written by a number of eminent scientists involved in exploring sustainable food production, the report seeks to address a specific—but vital—question in the sustainable food debate: What is the role of grazing ruminants in contributing to or mitigating climate change?
It is therefore extremely disappointing to see this important report being widely misrepresented in the media and misused by those who are calling for an end to food animal production, or to discredit grassfed or pasture-based livestock operations in favor of other species or production models.
Don Jackson, along with his wife, Patsy, and eldest son, Patrick, raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW), Certified Grassfed by AGW Hereford beef cattle and goats outdoors on pasture at their 125-acre property in northwest South…
Mark and Annette Thomas raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW), Certified Grassfed by AGW beef cattle outdoors on pasture at Thomas Land & Cattle near Enid, Oklahoma. Annette grew up on a fifth-generation family farm in…
Mike Sands, along with spouse, Betsy Dietel, and son, Will Sands, raises Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW) and Certified Grassfed by AGW sheep at Bean Hollow Grassfed in Flint Hill, Virginia. He has spent much of…
On January 11, the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it had withdrawn its Grassfed Standard used in livestock and meat marketing due to lack of a clear congressional mandate to maintain it.
At A Greener World, we have long highlighted the major deficiencies in the USDA grassfed label claim (see The Grassfed Primer, page 5). For example, under this standard farmers could confine cattle on dirt feedlots for long periods outside the grass growing season, or use growth hormones and subtherapeutic antibiotics, and still market their beef under the USDA grassfed label claim–just as long as they fed the animals ‘cut grass or forage.’ Yet despite these clear limitations, we recognize the USDA grassfed standard at least provided a minimum baseline in the market.
We therefore believe the removal of the USDA grassfed standard will lead to significant confusion in the marketplace about grassfed label claims, and could allow unscrupulous operations to market meat or dairy products as “grassfed” when their production methods do not even meet the previous low requirements of the USDA standards, potentially eroding consumer trust in all grassfed label claims.
Sue Moore moved to Arkansas as a child in 1974 and joined the 4H program, which introduced her to farming and cattle. She has fond memories of showing cattle and winning blue ribbons at state and local fairs. Throughout her…
