Download a PDF of our store brochure outlining the specifics of each Step for each species.
Meat: The 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating™
We've chosen to partner with the Global Animal Partnership to encourage better animal welfare practices. In fact, we're leading the industry in animal welfare!
The Global Animal Partnership is a non-profit organization dedicated to continually improving the lives of farm animals raised for meat. They have developed the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating™ that rates how pigs, chickens and cattle are raised. Ratings for other species (turkeys, lamb, and others) are in development, so stay tuned.
It's important to note that getting to Step 1 is a huge accomplishment in the industry! The Step-rated farms and ranchers aren't the same folks who provide meat to most conventional markets. The Step ratings are assigned by third-party certifiers using auditors trained by the Global Animal Partnership.
Look for this rating system when you choose our beef, pork or chicken. It's your way of knowing how the animals were raised for the meat you are buying.
Step 1No crates, no cages, no crowding |
Step 2Enriched environment |
Step 3Enhanced outdoor access |
Step 4Pasture centered |
Step 5Animal centered; all physical alterations prohibited |
Step 5+Animal centered; entire life on same farm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Like people, animals need a little "personal space" to be comfortable. | It's the simple things that keep animals active and engaged — like a bale of straw for chickens to hide behind and climb on, a bowling ball for pigs to manipulate and shove around, or a few sturdy objects for cattle to rub against when they need a good scratch. | Pigs and chickens still live in buildings but they all — yes, each and every one of them — have access to outdoor areas where they can catch a few rays. | Chickens need to forage, pigs need to wallow and cattle need to roam. They can do all of these things when they live outdoors and have shelter — and of course, a view! | Animals get to live their lives with all the parts they were born with, and nothing else! No nose rings, no clipping, no snipping and no branding. | Animals are born and live their entire lives on one farm. Pigs and cattle are slaughtered on the farm, and chickens are transported only short distances (because you can't herd chickens!). |
