How to Find
Pasture Raised
Meat, Eggs, and
Dairy
Food labels can be confusing. We're here to make them easier. We'll help you decode labels and find products from animals actually raised outside.
Grocery Stores
We're starting with stores in New York City. More cities coming — sign up to get notified.
Our Standards
Every product below has been vetted to the best of our ability. We recommend products that are marketed as Pasture Raised, 100% grass-fed, or backed by certifications like AWA®, G.A.P.® Step 4+, or Certified Humane® Pasture Raised.
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What to ask
Questions to ask in person:
"Where do you source your [chicken / beef / pork]?"
"Is it pasture raised? Do you know which farm?"
"Do the animals actually spend time outside?
✓ A confident, specific answer is what you're looking for.
✗ A vague answer ("It's all-natural and humanely raised") is a flag to dig deeper.
Or, you can email your local butcher:
Subject: Quick question about your sourcing
Hi [Butcher Name] team,
I'm looking for pasture raised meat and would love to know: do you carry pasture raised poultry, beef, or pork? Are you able to share which farms you source from? And are any products certified (GAP®, AWA®, Certified Humane® Pasture Raised)?
Thanks — looking forward to shopping with you!
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Butchers We Recommend
"Whole-animal butcher"
They buy whole animals from specific farms and break them down in-house.
Named farms
Farm names on signage signal traceability that factory-farmed suppliers can't offer.
"Pasture raised"
Butchers who use this term are making a deliberate sourcing choice.
Butchers
We're starting with butchers in New York City. More cities coming — sign up to get notified.
How to Evaluate
A standalone butcher shop can be one of the best places to find pasture-raised meat. Signs a butcher is worth your trust:
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Online
Ordering meat online is one of the easiest ways to support small farms. Meat freezes beautifully, defrosts quickly, and a stocked freezer makes weeknight cooking easy.
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Restaurants We Recommend
We're starting with New York City. More cities coming — sign up to get notified.
Before You Go
Email before your reservation — you'll get a more informed response than asking mid-service.
Subject: Question about your meat sourcing
Hi [Restaurant Name] team,
I have a reservation coming up and I'm curious about your meat sourcing. I try to eat pasture raised meat — do you source any pasture raised poultry, beef, or pork? Are you able to share which farms or suppliers you work with?
Totally understand if this varies by dish or season. Looking forward to dining with you!
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At Your Meal
If you didn't email ahead, here's what to do at the table:
Questions to ask in person:
"Do you know if any of the meat is pasture raised, or which farms you source from?"
✓ Look for farm names on the menu — restaurants that source well tend to tell you. Google the farm for instant verification.
Restaurants
Restaurants can be the hardest place to find pasture-raised products. Most menus don't list sourcing. But asking makes a difference — every question signals that consumers care.
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Certifications
Certifications are a reliable tool for verifying whether a product is pasture-raised. A third-party certification means an independent organization has audited the farm.
Pasture-raised meat, eggs, and dairy come from animals raised outdoors on pasture for the majority of their lives. These claims can be verified by certifications like Animal Welfare Approved® (AWA), Global Animal Partnership® (G.A.P.®) Step 4+, Certified Humane® Pasture Raised, or Organic and Organic Plus Trust (for dairy only). Here are the certifications we look for, in addition to "Pasture Raised" language on a product.
Animal Welfare Approved® (AWA)
Requires animals to be raised outdoors on pasture for their entire lives.
Find it on: Meat, dairy, eggs at independent retailers, butchers, and specialty grocers. Less common at major chains.
Global Animal Partnership® (G.A.P.®) — Step 4, 5, or 5+
G.A.P.® uses a tiered system (Steps 1–5+). Steps 4 and above mean animals live primarily on pasture.
Find it on: Meat, dairy, and eggs. Whole Foods is the primary retailer for G.A.P.®-rated products. Look for the step rating on the label.
You'll also see Certified Humane® (without "Pasture Raised"), and G.A.P.® Steps 1–3 on labels. These are improvements over standard factory-farming, but none of them guarantee the animal spent any time outdoors. When in doubt, look for the three certifications above, or the language listed below.
It's important to note that certifications can be expensive and many small farms may not have them. At farmers markets and small butchers, a direct conversation with the farmer is as valuable as any certification. These standards exist for when you can't have that conversation.
Certified Humane® + "Pasture Raised" Language
Look for the Certified Humane® certification combined with the words "Pasture Raised" on the packaging. The seal alone doesn't guarantee outdoor access — it's the combo of Certified Humane and Pasture Raised that matters.
Find it on: Eggs. Widely available at major grocery chains.
USDA Organic + OPT Certified Grass-Fed Organic (dairy only)
USDA Organic requires dairy cows to graze on pasture at least 120 days a year; the Organic Plus Trust (OPT) Certified Grass-Fed Organic seal requires 150+ days on pasture, a grain-free diet, and an added welfare verification step beyond organic for dairy cows.
Find it on: Dairy. Widely available at major grocery chains.
Terms to Look For
These phrases are also reliable tools for verifying whether a product is pasture-raised.
Pasture Raised
For meat and poultry, USDA reviews “Pasture Raised” claims and requires documentation showing animals spent most of their lives on pasture, so certification isn’t required. For eggs, look for “Pasture Raised” plus certifications Certified Humane® or G.A.P. Step 4+. For dairy, look for Organic, Pasture Raised, or Grass Fed.
Look for: “Pasture Raised” on packaging.
100% Grass-Fed or Grass-Finished
Used for beef and dairy. Either “100% grass-fed” or “grass-fed and grass-finished” means the animal spent its life on pasture, not in a feedlot. Be cautious of “grass-fed” by itself — that can mean the animal ate grass at some point but may have spent time in a feedlot.
Look for: “100% grass-fed” or “grass-fed and grass-finished” on the label. Either one works.
Whole-Animal Butcher
When a butcher or restaurant uses this term, they're generally sourcing whole animals from specific farms, signaling direct relationships and transparency.
Look for: Butchers who name their farms and can tell you where specific cuts come from.
Misleading Labels
These terms may sound good, but they don't tell you whether the animal was raised outside. See our blog for more information.
Free Range
Defined as “access to the outdoors” — with no requirement for space, time, or pasture type. Many operations meet this with a small door onto concrete, and the animals likely never go outside.
Cage Free
For eggs only. Hens aren't in individual cages, but can still be packed into barns with no outdoor access.
Outdoor Access
The USDA doesn't define what “access” means. A small opening at the end of a warehouse technically counts.
Organic
Organic regulations do include meaningful time on pasture for cows (both beef and dairy), goats, and sheep. For pork and poultry, organic regulations around outdoor access are more limited.
Note: New USDA rules set outdoor space requirements for organic poultry, but the most important provisions don't take effect until January 2029.
Humane / Humanely Raised
Not regulated. Producers can use it without meeting any standard.
Antibiotic Free
Good for public health, but reveals nothing about living conditions. A factory-farmed chicken can be antibiotic free.
Price
Pasture-raised products cost more than what you're used to buying. Here's how we think about it: factory-farmed products are artificially cheap. The price at the register doesn't reflect the actual cost — it shifts that cost to the workers, the environment, and the animals.
Pasture-raised food costs more because it costs more to raise animals well.
Pasture raised means the food comes from animals that actually live outdoors, on real land, the way farming used to work. On a pasture-based farm, animals spend the majority of their lives outside on “vegetative cover” (plants!), free to do what they're built for – chickens scratch in the dirt and forage for insects, cattle graze across open fields, and pigs root in the soil and roam.
This is the opposite of how most farm animals in the US are raised. The vast majority live in factory farms: confined in extremely crowded conditions with no outdoor access. An estimated 99% of chickens raised for meat are kept in enclosed indoor facilities. Pasture raised is an alternative system that prioritizes natural behavior and a more humane life for the animal. We think eating pasture raised meat is a great way to be an ethical, conscious consumer.Pasture-raised meat matters for three reasons: how the animals live, what it does for the land, and how it tastes. Animals on pasture live the lives they're built for instead of being confined indoors. Well-managed grazing builds soil health and stores carbon rather than depleting it. And a better life and diet produce food with more flavor and more nutrition.
When you buy pasture raised, you're choosing a system that treats animals as living creatures rather than production units, and voting with your wallet for a different kind of agriculture.Look for the words “Pasture Raised” on the label, or a certification that supports pasture-based living.
For eggs, look for any carton marked with the “Certified Humane®” certification, and the words “Pasture Raised”.
For poultry, look for the words Pasture Raised, G.A.P.® Step 4 or higher, or the “Animal Welfare Approved” certification.
For beef, look for “100% grass-fed”, “grass-fed and grass-finished”, or G.A.P.® Step 4 or higher.
For pork, look for the words Pasture Raised, G.A.P.® Step 4 or higher, or the “Animal Welfare Approved” certification.
In addition to “Pasture Raised” language, the certifications we trust most are Certified Humane® + Pasture Raised, Animal Welfare Approved® (AWA), and Global Animal Partnership® (G.A.P.®) Step 4 and above, each backed by on-farm inspection.For beef and lamb, these products are common and easy to find; pasture-raised pork and chicken can take a little more hunting. Pasture-raised dairy and eggs are also common and easy to find. See our Shopping Guide for recommendations.
Marketing around animal products is designed to be confusing, but the term “pasture raised” isn't a free-for-all. Any meat or poultry company putting “pasture raised” on a label has to file a sworn affidavit with the USDA stating the animals were raised outside.
We also look for certifications like Organic (for dairy), Certified Humane® Pasture Raised (for eggs), AWA, or G.A.P.® Step 4+ that verify conditions with on-farm inspection.
Every product we recommend has been vetted to the best of our ability. And our Shopping Guide walks you through reading labels, the questions to ask a butcher, and more information on how to decide which products to purchase.You can find pasture-raised meat, eggs, and dairy at grocery stores, standalone butcher shops, online farms and delivery services, as well as from restaurants that provide their sourcing info. Our Shopping Guide breaks down each one — what to look for on labels and at the meat counter, the questions to ask before you buy, and which trusted farms ship nationwide. We're starting in New York City, with more cities coming.
At the grocery store, brands like Vital Farms, Organic Valley, Stonyfield, Maple Hill are widely available. For chicken, you can often find Labelle Patrimoine. Beef and lamb are often raised on pasture and even small grocery stores can have different brands of 100% grass-fed (i.e. pasture-raised) beef. For harder-to-find items like pasture-raised pork, a local butcher who sources whole animals from small farms is usually your best bet, or via a few smaller, independent brands.An animal's diet and living conditions directly shape the nutrition of the food it produces, and the scientific evidence supports real nutritional differences. Pasture-raised eggs have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin A, and beta-carotene than conventional eggs. 100% grass-fed beef carries higher omega-3s and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and pasture-raised dairy shows the same kind of improvement.
The flavor difference is even more noticeable than the nutrition. Chefs who cook with pasture raised consistently describe it as significantly better: meat with better fat, more depth, and more character.
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