What Pasture-Raised Really Means

Pasture-raised describes an animal’s life on vegetated land. It does not, by itself, mean an all-grass diet. The details depend on the species and the written standard behind the claim.

To understand a particular product, look for a description of the outdoor area, shelter, feeding and daily care. A pasture photograph cannot tell that whole story.

The wording needs a framework

For meat and poultry pasture claims, USDA FSIS’s 2024 guidance encourages documentation that animals spent most of their lives on pasture, with the land mainly covered by rooted vegetation. That guidance concerns meat and poultry labeling; it should not be applied as a blanket rule for shell eggs or dairy. See the guidance.

Four questions worth asking

• What is the outdoor space like, and how is its condition maintained?
• What indoor shelter, shade and water are available?
• What does the animal eat, including feed provided alongside pasture?
• Which written standard applies, and how is compliance checked?

You do not need an answer packed with technical terms. A plain description, a named standard and a way to ask a follow-up question are a good place to start. Look for information that describes a typical day and difficult conditions, not just the best-looking season.

Care includes what happens indoors

For an example of how detailed requirements can work, Humane Farm Animal Care publishes species-specific standards covering feed, water, housing and management. Its laying-hen document includes provisions for both the house and outdoor systems. Those are that certification program’s requirements; Simply Pasture is not claiming that certification. Explore the published standards.

For us, that raises a useful editorial test: does a farm story show enough of daily life to help someone understand the care? We would want to see the practical spaces as well as the pasture: where animals drink, where they rest, and how someone checks on them.

The connection we are building

Simply Pasture is developing a framework around animal care, feed, farm identity and supporting information. Our example farm profiles show how that information could be presented. They are concept demonstrations, not profiles of confirmed suppliers.

Explore them with those four questions in mind. The purpose is to make better questions easier to ask and clearer answers easier to find.

Explore example farm stories →