The One Label to Look for When Buying Meat, Dairy, or Eggs

  • Are your meat selections ruining the environment? Find out more…
  • Don’t settle for anything less than the “gold standard”!
  • Discover one easy way to make sure your groceries are healthy, sustainable, and humane. 

Dear Living Well Daily Reader,

“All the arguments to prove man’s superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: In suffering, the animals are our equals.” — Peter Singer, Animal Liberation

In a time of factory farming, this couldn’t be a more relevant thought.

And since the horrors of these crowded and filthy farms often make the evening news, you don’t have to look too far to see our food system is in a sad state.

While seeing these distrubing and often gut-wrenching stories makes buying humane meat, dairy, and eggs a desirable option, it’s hard to know if your dinner is coming from an animal that enjoyed a life of eating fresh grass in an open pasture or spent its days locked in a manure-filled pen being pumped full of antibiotics and chemicals.

Labels are supposed to help, but sometimes they can just make the decision more confusing…

Grass-fed, grass-finished, antibiotic-free, pasture-raised, free-range, etc.… all these choices can be overwhelming!

At times, you may even find yourself just staring deep into the meat cooler or at the egg section paralyzed by confusion and wondering how to make the best choice for you, your family, farm animals, and the environment.

Sound familiar?

Well, it doesn’t have to be this way…

There is one label that you can depend on to ensure your meat and dairy products come from animals raised on farms with the highest animal welfare and environmental standards. We will discuss it in just a bit.

First, let’s discuss why purchasing humanely raised meat, dairy, and eggs is so important.

--Fractured Farming

Factory farms, also called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) or industrial farm animal productions (IFAPs), can hold more than 125,000 animals under one roof.1 These humongous animal houses offer the highest outputs at the lowest costs for the operators.

Unfortunately, this comes at a cost to the animals and the environment.

Animals can experience emotions like joy and often have complex social structures. Being forced into a contained area without the ability to interact or engage with each other in an outdoor pasture setting can have negative effects on the animal’s health.

Not to mention, the crowded quarters can lead to serious health issues for the animals and sometimes the people eating them.

Some of these public health dangers include E. coli, salmonella, and even antibiotic resistance.

Often, factory farms routinely give animals low levels of antibiotics even if they aren’t showing any signs of illness. When this unwarranted dosing happens, it creates ideal conditions for the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and can even reduce the efficacy of antibiotics in humans.2

Another serious issue associated with factory farming is water pollution. Many factory farms collect, store, and then spread millions of gallons of animal waste to land adjacent to the farm.

When this happens, nutrients, fertilizers, bacteria, viruses, and antibiotics can be washed into local watersheds or seep into ground water systems. This can result in the contamination of public drinking waters or recreational areas. 3

And while the detriments of factory farming are clear, being sure you aren’t buying products that support it isn’t.

--Make Your Purchases With Peace Of Mind

That’s why this label is so important:

Animal Welfare Approved

Animal Welfare Approved (AWA), sometimes referred to as the “gold standard” for independent family famers, audits and certifies farming operations for animal welfare, sustainability, and pasture-based farming.

With the help of scientists, researchers, veterinarians, and farmers, the AWA created standards to increase high-welfare farm management.

Through this set of standards, AWA is the only label that ensures eggs, meat, and dairy are produced by animals raised with uninterrupted access to pastures that have the ability to enjoy instinctive behaviors, which encourage health and well-being.

In addition, AWA requires high-welfare slaughter practices.

Plus, they are a third-party certifier, which means their audits are separate from any conducted by the UDSA or FDA.

And to ensure access to farmers, AWA does not charge farmers to join their program. Since they don’t rely on certification fees, AWA can conduct impartial audits and provide consumers with humanely raised, quality products.

To find out more about AWA and if their products are in your area, click here.

If AWA products aren’t available in your area, be sure to purchase meat, eggs, and dairy products with a third-party auditor’s label on them.

If you are a Living Well Daily Insider, you can find out more about food labels in your How to Survive the Supermarket: Your Guide to Buying Safe, Healthy Foods With Confidence report.

If you’re not an Insider yet, click here to learn more.

Live well,

Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily


Sources

[1] Producer’s Compliance Guide for CAFOs

[2] What’s Wrong With Factory Farms?

[3] Factory Farming Impacts

[4] About Animal Welware

Natalie Moore

Written By Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore is a dedicated health researcher with a passion for finding healthy, natural, and science-based solutions. After a decade of direct healthcare experience in western and natural medicine, she was involved in public health research before joining Living Well Daily.

View More Free Articles

Do THIS Every 20 Minutes to STOP Digital Eye Strain

Our eyes are under assault—they are the true victims of our current digital age. And it’s because we are constantly glued to screens… phones, tablets, computers, TVs—you name it. Unfortunately, that screen time is taking a serious toll. Digital eye strain affects millions worldwide. In fact, up to 50 percent of computer users could develop...

Read This

Mailbag: The Calcium Mistake That's Hardening Your Arteries

“What type of calcium is best to take with bisphosphonates for osteoporosis? I know some varieties can build up in arteries. Thanks for the help.” —Bone Builder Hi Builder, When a patient asks me about calcium, I ask them a peculiar question in return… “Ever wonder how elephants and giraffes build and maintain their massive...

Read This

Doctor-Approved Method to Ditch Blood Pressure Meds

In a world where drug solutions dominate healthcare, it’s refreshing to discover that best remedies sometimes don’t involve a single pill. A groundbreaking study shows simple relaxation techniques could be your secret weapon against one of America’s deadliest health conditions. Best of all? It’s free, easy to start right away—and your results are bound to...

Read This

Trouble Hearing? Your Heart Could Be at Risk

With research exploding and data pouring in, scientists are uncovering some weird (and surprisingly helpful) health connections. Today’s odd couple? Hearing loss and heart failure. Turns out your ears and your ticker are more connected than you ever imagined. A major study published in the journal Heart looked at over 164,000 people for nearly a...

Read This

Stay Up Late? It Could Destroy Your Mental Health

If you dread mornings but come alive at night, there’s concerning new research you need to know about. A recent study found that “night owls” are at higher risk for depression. But before you rush to set your alarm to get up with the sun tomorrow, there’s more to the story… Chronotypes are essentially your...

Read This

Go from Flabby to Fit with this Common Vitamin

If you’re like many of us, you woke up one day, looked in the mirror, and realized you’re no spring chicken anymore. Even worse—when you weren’t paying attention—it seems you somehow misplaced the muscles of your youth and have gone from fit to flabby. Aging has a way of humbling us like that. But scientists...

Read This

Seasonal Allergy “Off Switch” Discovered in the GUT

“Doc, why am I suddenly suffering from seasonal allergies when I’ve never had them before?” It’s a question I get all the time—and my answer might surprise you. Stop looking up at the trees—and start looking down at your gut… Your sneezing fits, itchy eyes, and runny nose might have more to do with what’s...

Read This

“Canary in the Coal Mine” Test Sniffs Out Brain Issues Early

One of the most common questions I get is how to tell if you’re starting to experience cognitive decline. I get it—losing your memory is scary, especially when it sneaks up on you. But here’s some exciting news that might put your mind at ease. A fascinating new study suggests that your nose might be...

Read This

BEAT Stubborn Leg Swelling Without Dangerous Diuretics

“I need help with edema.” —Swollen Hi Swollen, When patients complain of edema—fluid retention that causes feet, ankles, and legs to swell—I explain that, while conventional medicine immediately prescribes diuretic drugs, nature offers us effective solutions we can try first. I’ll share those in just a moment, but first, let’s take a quick look at...

Read This

Mental Health Linked to 30% FASTER Aging [6-Step FIX]

Your mind and body are more connected than you might realize—and a groundbreaking new study proves just how profound that connection really is. In fact, it’s this mind-body link that helps explain why battling depression can put you on the fast track to physical decline. Depression is the most common mental health condition worldwide. We’ve...

Read This