What Meat Labels Like ‘Organic’ and ‘Grass Fed’ Actually Mean – and Whether You Should Care
Over the last few years, you may have begun to notice more than a few extra labels on the packaged products you purchase at your favorite neighborhood grocer. Labels that identify the products as grass fed, natural, naturally raised, organic, pasture raised, raised without antibiotics, raised without hormones, and similar labels are becoming more and more prevalent.
What exactly do these stickers mean though? What’s the difference between “naturally raised” and “pasture raised”? What qualifies as “organic”? Why is it important that the products we purchase are “raised without antibiotics”? Self.com has a brief breakdown of what some of today’s most popular new labels mean, and how important their designations are. We’ll outline a couple of the most important ones below, but you can click on over to read the full article yourself.
Organic – Legally speaking, to be considered “organic”, the animals had to have been raised on “certified organic land”. This is land that hasn’t been treated with “synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, sewage sludge, or genetic engineering.”
Raised Without Antibiotics and Hormones – These two labels are pretty straight forward. The animals were raised without the use of antibiotics and hormones.
Why these labels can be comforting to those that want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to know that relying on these kinds of meats isn’t a requirement, as “All meat sold in the U.S. has been inspected and deemed safe to eat by the FSIS…”
To learn more about what all those little stickers on your meats mean, click here: http://bit.ly/2i5G1Da