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Antibiotic Free / Raised without antibiotics: No antibiotics were administered to the animal during its lifetime. Since the mid 1940s, antibiotics have been routinely mixed into many livestock feed products to promote growth and prevent sickness. This practice is referred to as non-therapeutic or sub-therapeutic antibiotic use. The other commonly used term raised without sub-therapeutic antibiotics distinguishes between non/sub-therapeutic antibiotic use and therapeutic use, or using antibiotics only when needed to cure illness or infection. No organization or government entity certifies any of these claims.
Cage Free: Cage Free applies to eggs and indicates that the hens are raised without cages. What this doesn’t explain is if the birds were raised outdoors on pasture (pastured / pasture raised), if they had access to outside (free range), or if they were raised indoors in what may still be overcrowded conditions (free run).
Country of Origin Labeling: If approved, this initiative would require beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts to be labeled with the country in which they were produced. For processed / value added products – country of origin labeling is not as straightforward. Up until recently for example, Made In Canada did not mean that the ingredients in a product would be from Canada only that over 51% of the value was added in Canada, so a supplier could import concentrated apple juice, add 2/3 water and bottle the product and label it “Product of Canada”. However, changes are underway that will help consumers better identify products that are made in Canada with Canadian ingredients vs. those that are simply packaged or processed in Canada. New labeling will indicate if products are either a Product of Canada or Made in Canada with Imported or Imported & Canadian ingredients.
Eco-labeling / Eco Labels: A method of identifying products that cause less damage to the environment than other products (such as Fair Trade, organic, Food Alliance certified, raised without antibiotics, Ecologo, etc.). There exists a wide selection of eco-labels with different criteria and varying degrees of legitimacy. While some labels indicate that a food product (or other product) was produced according to strict guidelines enforced and verified by third-party certifying agencies, other labels are self-awarded by producers. For additional information about eco-labels, visit the Consumers Union Guide to Environmental Labels.
Fair Trade: Fair trade certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace. Fair trade principles include fair prices, fair labor conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, community development and environmental sustainability. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit and flowers.
Free Range / Free Run: These terms refer usually to poultry, and the eggs that they produce, that are not confined to a cage. Free-range means that the chicken has access to nesting boxes, open floor space, perches and the outdoors. Even still the degree and quality of outdoor access are not specified (the USDA considers five minutes of open-air access each day to be adequate). Free-run means that the chicken can run around freely in an enclosed facility (barn). Neither term necessarily means that the products are cruelty-free or antibiotic-free. All chicken raised for human consumption in Canada are free-run; however in the case of eggs, the majority of those produced in Canada are from hens that are caged and not free to run / roam inside or outside. Many advocacy groups consider free range and free run animals to be more humanely and ecologically raised.
Grass-fed: Animals graze on pasture and eat grasses. They should not be supplemented with grain, animal by-products, synthetic hormones, or be given antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease (though they might be given antibiotics to treat disease). This is the same as pastured or pasture raised.
Hormone free / No Hormones Administered: The term “Hormone Free” is prohibited, but meats can be labeled “No Hormones Administered” / “No added Hormones.” This means that animals were raised without added artificial growth hormones. The most commonly used hormones in production are Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rGBH) / Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST), which promote animal growth and increase milk production. These hormones are permitted for sale and use in the United States, but NOT in Canada. By law, hogs and poultry cannot be given any hormones - so the use of the label on these meats is misleading!
Humanely Raised: Humanely raised animals receive diets without antibiotics or hormones, and are raised with shelter, resting areas, and sufficient space to engage in natural animal behaviors. Humanely raised claims are certified by the Humane Farm Animal Care Program.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach to pest control that minimizes synthetic pesticide applications by emphasizing natural pest control methods. Practices include strategic combinations of crop rotation, crop planning according to pest life cycles, strategic timing of pesticide applications, use of pest-resistant plants, and constant field monitoring and response. Pesticides are used in small quantities and as a last resort. While responsible pest management is part of the Fair Trade, Food Alliance and Local Food Plus labels, IPM is not currently certified by any agency.
Local: There is no set definition for the term “local” as it relates to food… It may be within 100 miles or within a particular province or region. Essentially - local food is produced and/or processed as close as possible to where it is consumed. Purchasing locally grown foods gives consumers access to fresh, flavorful foods harvested at peak ripeness and abundance, supports the area’s agriculture economy and helps to preserve local farmland.
Monoculture: Monoculture is the destruction of a diverse ecosystem and replacement with a single species or crop. This is common practice in modern agriculture, where large acreages of crops are grown for sale to other regions or countries. Monocultures typically deplete the soil, and fruits and vegetables become more susceptible to pests and disease than those grown in a diverse crop environment, thus requiring larger amounts of chemical sprays.
Natural: Currently, no standards exist for this label except when used on meat and poultry products and no organization certifies this claim. USDA guidelines describe “Natural” meat and poultry products as those that only undergo minimal processing and do not contain artificial / synthetic colors, flavors, preservatives, or ingredients. “Natural” foods are not necessarily sustainable, organic, humanely raised, or free of hormones and antibiotics. No official definition or standards exist for this term, except in the categories of meat and poultry. No organization certifies this claim. The label “natural” is virtually meaningless.
Organic: In order to be labeled “organic,” a product, its producer, and the farmer must meet organic standards and must be certified by an approved food-certifying agency (e.g. USDA certified and soon to be introduced Canada Organic certified). Organic foods are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, or sewage sludge, cannot be genetically modified, and cannot be irradiated. Organic meat and poultry must be fed only organically-grown feed (without any animal byproducts) and cannot be treated with hormones or antibiotics. Furthermore, the animals must have access to the outdoors, and ruminants must have access to pasture (which doesn’t mean they actually have to go outdoors and graze on pasture to be considered organic).
Organic Labeling:
- “100% Organic” – May use USDA Organic Seal or new Canada Organic Seal
- “Organic” – At least 95% of content is organic by weight and may carry the USDA Organic Seal or Canada Organic Seal
- “Made With Organic” – At least 70% of content is organic. With this you are not able to have the USDA Organic Seal or Canada Organic Seal.
Pastured / Pasture raised / Grass Fed: Indicates the animal was raised on a pasture and that it ate grasses and food found in a pasture, rather than being fattened on grain in a feedlot or barn or confined animal feeding operations (CAFO). Pasturing livestock and poultry is a traditional farming technique that allows animals to be raised in a humane, ecologically sustainable manner. This is basically the same as grass-fed, though the term pasture-raised indicates more clearly that the animal was raised outdoors on pasture. The term is not certified.
Rainforest Alliance: www.rainforest-alliance.org
The Rainforest Alliance and its partner organizations work with farmers to bring their operations up to carefully developed standards for protecting wildlife, wild lands, workers’ rights and local communities. The Sustainable Agricultural Network awards the Rainforest Alliance Certified eco-label to farms, not to companies or products.
Small farm/Family farm: Farm that earns no more than $250,000 per year and on which the day-to-day labor and management is provided by the farmer and/or farm family that owns or leases the production or production equipment. This does not necessarily mean that the farm is organic or cruelty free, or even that it is not controlled by a major agricultural company. Many family farmers have become contract growers.
Sustainable Agriculture: Sustainable agriculture refers to a farm’s ability to produce food indefinitely, without causing irreversible damage to the earth’s ecosystem. Sustainable agriculture principles integrate productive agriculture methods, conservation of biodiversity, animal welfare and human development, including the long-term ability of farmers to profitably run their businesses.
Sustainable Seafood: Sustainable seafood refers to fish or shellfish caught or farmed in a manner that does not risk the species’ future or harm the environment. Factors that influence seafood sustainability include overfishing; “by-catch” (species that are caught in the harvest process other than the targeted catch); and the environmentally destructive impacts of trawl nets, fish farming pollution, and the escape of genetically altered species from controlled farms into the wild. Currently, the most commonly used sustainable seafood criteria are those of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) which oversees sustainable fishery certifications as well as a labeling system for over 850 seafood products; as well as certification programs through the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood WATCH program, Canada’s SeaChoice Seafood Guide, the Vancouver Aquarium’s OceanWise program; and the World Wildlife Fund initiated Aquaculture Dialogues.
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