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A “pasture-raised” label claim on meat, dairy or eggs means the animal was raised on pasture, right? Spoiler alert: Not exactly, because it is not always used honestly. So, how can conscientious consumers correctly confirm pasture-raised products in the marketplace?…
Laying hens love to run, dust bathe, peck, scratch and flap their wings. Those are their instinctive behaviors—part of what it means to act like a chicken. When raised in pasture-based systems outdoors on rolling hills, pastures, forests, fields and…
What is “Pasture-Raised”? Pasture-raised means an animal was raised on pasture. But heads up: it’s not always used honestly—we’ll explain later how to know when you can trust this claim. Not to be confused with pasteurized (the process of heating…
Bob and Kim Braun raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW laying hens on pasture at Pigeon River Farm, which is set on the southern branch of the Pigeon River in Waupaca County, Wisconsin. “We’re blessed to have some of…
Here at AWA, we’ve been thinking a lot about this special holiday and how we may have more in common with our ancestors than we think. Upon arriving in America, the early pilgrims ate what was locally available (granted, they didn’t have an alternative!). This happened to be animals that ranged and foraged in the woods and pastures, eating a diet specific to their natural needs and free from non-therapeutic antibiotics or added hormones. Sounds like a Certified AWA farm, doesn’t it? Meat, dairy, and eggs from animals raised outdoors on pasture or range is better for you, better for farmers, and better for the planet all great reasons to give thanks.
Longest Acres Farm is situated near Chelsea, the shire town of Orange County, VT. Owners Nick Zigelbaum and Kate Maclean are relatively new to farming: “We had wanted our own farm ever since we quit our office jobs and our…
This Thanksgiving, give thanks for pasture-raised food. Watch this video to see why pasture-raised products are so special. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JRQuMETZA&feature=youtu.be
Fred Liebl of Wagon Wheel Ranch has been farming since 1970. Although he wasn’t raised on a farm, his grandparents were farmers in New York state where he grew up and worked on a neighbor’s dairy farm. Fred’s work with…
Recently John Stossel of FOX Business Channel has aired a number of segments disparaging sustainable agriculture. His issues have included the use of herbicides and pesticides, grainfed vs. grassfed beef, genetically modified salmon and food safety. Is Stossel going out of his way to be outrageously provocative? To what end? And for whose benefit? Certainly we are not the only ones to condemn these reports as being inaccurate, unbalanced and biased, as the many comments to the reports attest. Stossel would no doubt accuse me of being unrealistic and only supporting small scale farms. However, the reality is that to keep the planet healthy and fed we will need to employ a wide range of solutions. Sadly, the last 40 years of ”big ag’s” version of the solution has shown chronic failure in the form of antibiotic resistance, tainted water and some of the largest food recalls in history. Too bad Stossel doesn’t recognize that we have to stop using the planet – a finite resource – as “big ag’s” test tube.
Not that we like to gloat, but…. Grassfed beef from two Animal Welfare Approved farmers has gone head-to-head with conventional beef in separate taste tests. The results are in and, well, to be modest, SMACKDOWN! This past summer, AWA supporter Chef Bill Telepan issued a challenge to Mark and Dr. Patricia Whisnant of American Grass Fed Beef—bring him some grassfed beef that he deemed worthy of using in his famous burger and he would make the switch from the beef his customers had come to love. And so, on a muggy New York City afternoon, a small crowd gathered to see the gloves come off as 100% grassfed took on heavyweight conventional grain-fed. In a stunning upset, Chef Bill declared the upstart 100% grassfed beef the winner, bestowing the crown of onion rings and French fries that top the famous Telepan burger on the Whisnant’s American Grass Fed Beef.
Ilyssa Berg and Javier Flores raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW, Certified Non-GMO by AGW dairy goats on Painted Goat Farm in Garrattsville, NY. Their herd of goats, including Nubians, Alpines, and a few LaManchas, graze over 100 acres…
Before working with Animal Welfare Approved I had never even heard of the Fancy Food Show. It seems like such a silly name for a tradeshow, but when you get there you realize it describes it perfectly. Essentially it's hundreds, if not thousands of exhibitors that want to connect with retailers, manufacterers, distributors, restaurants and chefs. Most of the exhibitors offer lovely samples of their products to the attendees. Thousands of people were scurrying around the Javits Center tasting all of this exceptionally delicious food. For a sense of what people were saying some of the comments heard over and over were: Have you tried the wine flavored sorbet? Where did you get that HUGE Fave yogurt sample? I'm overwhelmed by all the chocolate! There's so much food here, but I'm still sooo hungry! (referring to the tiny sample sizes this year). While pork may not have been as popular as chocolate this year, pasture-raised, Animal Welfare Approved products were certainly intriguing to many attendees.
