Sources:

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/how-decipher-food-labels

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/29/consumers-love-chickens-that-are-vegetarian-fed-never-mind-what-the-birds-want-to-eat/

https://epicprovisions.com/blogs/land-livestock/bird-brained-why-vegetarian-fed-chickens-are-unhealthy-unnatural-and-just-plain-wrong

Claim: 6. Heritage Pork: Refers to traditional pig breeds with centuries-old lineage, like Berkshires. Despite misconceptions associating it with pasture or humane raising, heritage designation solely denotes genetic heritage, offering no insight into diet, drug use, or living conditions. Factory farming of heritage pork is possible but not common.(Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2019)

Sources:

https://awionline.org/content/consumers-guide-food-labels-and-animal-welfare

original: The USDA does not define “crate free” and typically, it's used to mean the animal was not housed—and is not the offspring of an animal so housed—at any time in a gestation crate (used to confine sows during pregnancy) or a farrowing crate (used to confine sows from just before birth until the piglets are weaned). However, it is possible that some producers are using the claim to signify avoidance of gestation crates only, while still using farrowing crates

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-02/RaisingClaims.pdf

Highlight:

Breed claims refer to the declaration of a specific breed of livestock or poultry. Examples of this type of claim include, but are not limited to: Angus, Wagyu (American Kobe), Hereford, Berkshire, Duroc, Muscovy, Silkie, and heritage poultry, pork or beef breeds.

Claim: Organic: This label is often perceived as superior because organic certification assures third-party inspection and prohibits antibiotics, growth promoters, GMO feed, and synthetic fertilizers. However, it doesn't guarantee grass feeding or continuous pasture access. Organic animals may still consume organic corn and soy treated with approved pesticides, with cows mandated only 120 days of pasture per year by USDA regulations (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013).

Animal care standards such as weaning, space requirements, transport and slaughter (which varies widely from producer to producer) are also not defined and according to the Animal Welfare Institute, the USDA has allowed screened porches to qualify as outdoor access for birds (Animal Welfare Institute, 2019).

Sources:

https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/products/FA-AWI-Food-Label-Guide-Full.pdf

Highlight:

They don’t address many animal care issues such as weaning, physical alterations, minimum space requirements, handling, transport, or slaughter.

However, the USDA has allowed screened porches to qualify as outdoor access for birds

https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/products/FA-AWI-Food-Label-Guide-Full.pdf

Claim: GRASS FED: The misuse of the "Grass Fed" label drove us to establish Wild Pastures, an ethical meat delivery service. According to the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, the "grass fed" label lacks clear definition and is prone to abuse (Stone barns Center for Food and Agriculture, 2017).

Sources:

https://www.stonebarnscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Grassfed_Full_v2.pdf

Claim: Given that most livestock consume grass at some point, many meat producers exploit this label to inflate prices.(Animal Welfare Institute, 2019)

Source:

https://www.awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/FA-AWI-Food-Label-Guide-Full.pdf

Claim: Research by Dr. Rowntree revealed wide variations in the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in American grass-fed beef, ranging from 2:1 to 28:1, indicating significant grain consumption despite the label.

Source: As we have learned, cows fed grain will have a higher 06:03 ratio and this research by Dr. Rowntree demonstrated this ratio for American grass fed varied widely from 2:1 to 28:1, while the BNDP showed grain fed at 7:1 which means many of these cows consumed large amounts of grain despite this label.

Claim: Some cattle are also kept in confined factory farming conditions and fed grass pellets (Holden, 2018).

Sources:

Forbes article:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronaldholden/2018/01/13/grass-fed-beef-loses-its-luster/?sh=5cf4560614dd

Highlight: "Pasture is out there. In here, in the barns, they use grass pellets. Pellets that don't have anywhere near the right kind of nutrition.":

https://www.animallaw.info/article/you-are-what-your-food-eats-how-regulation-factory-farm-conditions-could-improve-human

Claim: Whenever possible look for pastured chicken and pork and 100% grass fed and finished beef from regenerative farms and look for The American Grassfed Association (AGA) which performs in-farm visits to make sure products are: (Our Standards, n.d.)

Source: https://www.americangrassfed.org/about-us/our-standards/