Is Whole Foods Grass Fed Beef Also Grass Finished?

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Traceable to farm or ranch. No antibiotics, ever, and no added growth hormones. Because better meat is our commitment to you.

Whether it’s grass-fed beef or air-chilled chicken, you deserve to feel good about the meat you’re buying. We know where the meat and poultry in our Meat department came from because we have high standards and good relationships with farmers and ranchers. You should know that we also care about how animals are raised, which is why we set such high standards.

As someone who cares about the health and environmental impacts of the food I eat, I often get questions from friends about grass fed beef. One common question is: “Is the grass fed beef sold at Whole Foods also grass finished?” As a regular shopper at Whole Foods, I decided to do some digging on this topic.

Whole Foods made big headlines back in 2010 when they announced they would start selling grass fed beef nationwide in all of their stores. This was great news for consumers who wanted access to beef from cattle raised more naturally. Most cattle out there are grain finished – meaning they are fed grains like corn in the months before slaughter to fatten them up. Grass finished cattle on the other hand eat only grass and forage throughout their whole lives. This is the way cattle evolved to eat.

I checked out the Whole Foods website to learn more about their grass fed beef program. They state clearly that their grass fed beef must meet strict standards. The cattle are raised on a vegetarian diet with no antibiotics or added hormones. Whole Foods requires that all of their producers meet animal welfare standards too.

When describing their partnership with grass fed cattle ranches around the country, Whole Foods talks about the benefits of “grass finished” beef. For example, they work with White Oak Pastures in Georgia, where the cattle “graze on 100% Georgia native sweet grasses.” They also partner with Circle N Ranch in Oklahoma that uses a “pasture based system” for their cattle. It’s clear that Whole Foods upholds the grass finished standard for their grass fed beef.

You might be wondering – what’s the big deal between grass fed and grass finished? For me, I like that grass finished cattle get to live in their natural environment and eat the food they evolved to eat their whole lives. Since they don’t eat grain, the meat has a different nutritional profile than conventional beef – often with more omega-3s. And grass finished beef tends to have a richer, beefier taste in my opinion. Plus, it supports small-scale ranchers who are raising cattle in a sustainable way.

is whole foods grass fed beef grass finished

Bacon, Ham, Sausage, Hot Dogs and Frozen Foods

No synthetic nitrates or nitrites are used in the making of our bacon, hot dogs, and sausages. They meet the basic standards of our Meat department. For the same reason, all of our frozen meats, like breaded chicken nuggets, breakfast sausages, and more, must also meet our standards.

Animal Welfare Certified Meats

The Global Animal Partnership says that all of our fresh beef, pork, chicken, turkey, goat, and lamb (except kosher turkey and kosher chicken, which are killed in different ways) must be certified to meet 100 standards for animal welfare.

In 2024, we raised our standards for animal welfare so that all of our meat products had to be certified. This gave our customers even more options that were certified for animal welfare. All fresh meat and poultry from all species, as well as frozen and prepackaged items like heat-and-eat, ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, smoked, and cured/uncured meats, will be covered by the change when it’s done.

We also started accepting more certifications for animal welfare. To give customers the honesty they deserve, we made sure the certification seal was on all product packaging. By giving our suppliers a choice of several animal welfare certification programs, we let farmers of all sizes and types pick the one that works best for their farm.

These third-party certifications, which are approved by Whole Foods Market, have strict rules about animal welfare that apply to the animal’s whole life. Each certification has 100 rules about animal welfare: ⒁ G A. P. Certified by Animal Welfare (AW) Approved by Animal Welfare (AGW) Certified Humane Raised

is whole foods grass fed beef grass finished

Founded in 2008, Global Animal Partnership is a nonprofit organization of farmers, scientists, retailers, manufacturers and animal advocates. The G. A. P. The tiered Animal Welfare Certified system helps shoppers make smart food choices and shows farmers and ranchers how to improve their animal welfare practices.

Below are the descriptions you’ll find on Animal Welfare Certified items. Each step, from Base Certification to Step 5, has its own rules that must be followed before an authorized, third-party certifier can give a level of certification.

is whole foods grass fed beef grass finished

Costco Ground Beef – Grass-Fed, Grain-Fed and Organic Explained

FAQ

How do you know if beef is grass fed and finished?

In order to differentiate what is truly grass fed beef from this less authentic product, consumers interested in truly grass fed beef should look for beef labeled 100% grass fed, as this indicates that these animals were raised on grass for their entire life after they were weaned from their mother.

Does 100% grass fed beef mean grass finished?

Simply put, grass-finished beef comes from cattle that ate nothing but grass and forage for their entire lives. Grass-fed, on the other hand, may be used to label meat from cattle that werestartedon a grass diet but have either received supplemental grain feed or are finished on a fully grain-based diet.

Is organic beef grass fed and finished?

Organic beef can be grass-fed or grain-finished. To raise and market “organic beef,” farmers must be certified under Canada’s Organic Products Regulations.

Does Whole Foods sell grass-fed beef?

Like all meat sold at Whole Foods Market, grass-fed beef must meet our strict quality standards, which require that animals are raised on a vegetarian diet with no antibiotics or added growth hormones. In addition, all producers must meet specific and rigorous animal welfare standards that apply to all stages of an animal’s life and environment.

Can Whole Foods bring grass-fed ranching back into the mainstream?

By partnering with producers across the country, Whole Foods Market hopes to help bring grass-fed ranching back into the mainstream because of its positive impact on the cattle, the environment and how it supports local communities. Will Harris is the owner of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, where he raises grass-fed cattle.

Is 100% grass-fed meat organic?

Anyone looking for truly organic, 100% grass-fed meat needs to look carefully at what they’re actually getting. The American Grassfed Association (AGA), which advocates for grass-fed producers and offers a certification program for cattle farmers, assures that beef bearing its seal comes from cattle raised on a 100% grass-fed diet.

Why is grass-finished beef better than grass-fed beef?

Grass-finished beef also contains 2-4 times more Omega 3 fatty acids than grass-fed beef. Omega 3 is essential for hormonal health, cognitive function, healthy skin, cardiovascular health, and keeping the body’s anti-inflammatory response under control [*].

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