Pasturebird has successfully petitioned the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update its definition of “pasture-raised” meat and poultry.
After years of advocating for a clear and common-sense definition, Pasturebird and Perdue Farms helped shoppers distinguish “free range” from “pasture-raised” chicken.
The new animal-raising labeling guidelines require that “pasture-raised” animals must be on pasture the majority of their life, where “pasture” is defined as land having rooted vegetative cover, grasses or plants – different from “free-range,” which only requires that the animals have access to the outdoors.
The updated USDA guidelines are a win for consumers seeking pasture-raised products they can trust, as well as poultry farmers who put in the extra time, care and resources to raise their birds on grass.
“For more than seven years we’ve been advocating for distinguishable standards between ‘pasture-raised’ and ‘free-range,’” said Paul Greive, Pasturebird founder and VP of sales and marketing.
“The evolution of these important standards ensures that products with these raising practices will be accurately labeled – especially as consumer interest in pasture-raised chicken is on the rise. This is a victory for animal welfare, pastured poultry farmers and consumers.”
In 2020, Perdue Farms, a fourth-generation, family owned U.S. food and agricultural company, acquired Pasturebird with the goal of scaling regenerative agriculture and making pasture-raised chicken more accessible and affordable for consumers. Since the acquisition, Pasturebird has used the relationships of its parent company to push the poultry industry toward more transparent labeling practices.
On March 16, 2023, Perdue filed a petition with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to define separate “free-range” and “pasture-raised” claims for meat and poultry products and update its guidance related to living/raising condition claims to align with consumer understanding and expectations.
On Aug. 28, 2024, the USDA announced acceptance of Perdue’s petition. With the completion of the 60-day comment period on Nov. 12, 2024, the new USDA guideline revisions take immediate effect, but there is currently a lag in the marketplace.
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“The formal definition for ‘pasture raised’ is going to be a game changer,” said Joe Koopsen, first generation founder/owner at Joe’s Farm in Michigan, raising pasture-raised poultry.
“Even though this change will for sure help pastured poultry producers, the real winner is the consumer who has been lied to for too long by companies saying one thing and doing another.”
During the public comment period, Perdue’s petition received resounding support. Of the nearly 6,500 comments received online, 80 percent were from consumers and 96 percent were in support of a standard definition of “pasture-raised.” Many commenters expressed the belief that this standard would lead to a more accurate and transparent definition of “pasture-raised,” addressing concerns over current misleading labeling.
A common concern expressed is that, under the previous guidelines that considered “pasture-raised” and “free-range” synonymous, chickens may only have “nominal” access to pasture rather than the substantial pasture time consumers expect. With the new standard definition in place, the guidelines take significant steps to protect consumers from false or misleading labels.
In addition to the support from consumers, farmers and sustainability advocates, third-party auditing agencies, such as Certified Humane and Global Animal Partnership, have updated their definition of “pasture-raised” poultry to reflect the new FSIS guidelines. Third-party certification of animal-raising claims helps ensure that such claims are truthful and not misleading by having an independent organization verify that their standards are being met on the farm.
“When shopping for chicken, consumers are asked to take a leap of faith deciphering labels, but the new USDA common-sense definition of ‘pasture-raised’ should make it a little bit easier,” Greive said.