Regenerative: the new Sustainable
When you look at trends, buzz words, and labeling claims throughout recent history, raising claims follow a familiar pattern in the meat industry. Organic, Pasture-raised, Anti-biotic & hormone free, Grass-fed, Grass-finished, sustainably raised, and now the latest: Regeneratively Raised all have begun as a niche term applied to only a very small portion of products available to the US consumer market. In all of these instances, it takes years for the USDA’s labeling service to allow these claims to be applied to labels on meat products. It takes a certain amount of momentum and interest by the industry and consumers to force USDA to define these raising standards and approve or deny labeling applications containing them.
For those who are on the cutting edge of animal husbandry in terms of sustainability, and I mean true sustainability, regenerative raising practices is not new. However, consumers are only starting to see this term applied to labels on meat products. For those general consumers, and for those ranchers and farmers who are becoming interested in joining this movement, what does Regenerative even mean? How would a brand get this raising claim approved for their label, and what does that mean for the consumer if it is approved?
The basic definition of Regenerative Agriculture as shown on Wikipedia:
Regenerative Agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity,[1] improving the water cycle,[2] enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration,[3] increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
Basically, in the relation to meat production, it’s a way of using animal agriculture to improve soil health and biodiversity on the farm or ranch. There are specific ways to use livestock to achieve this goal. High-density grazing, tightly grouped paddocks, constant herd movement, and finding the right genetics in your herd to allow for the animals to thrive and fatten in this environment all play key roles in Regenerative Agriculture as it applies to meat production.
Is there a standard a brand needs to meet in order to gain the label claim “regenerative”? Unfortunately, just like with all of the raising claims currently approved by USDA, there is no single standard that must be met. If you have ever applied for label approval through the USDA’s LSAS (Label Submission & Approval System) you know that the approval is up to the individual who is approving your submission. If you can provide an affidavit describing how you raise your animals and that person believes you meet the general requirements to be approved as regenerative, then you will get that approval. And, since this claim is new to the USDA there is still a lot of gray area as to what qualifies a ranch or farm as regenerative.
As a consumer, this unfortunate gray area leads to continued confusion about what they are purchasing and how that animal was raised. As is always the case, the best thing a consumer can do if they’re really interested to know how an animal is raised is to visit the farm or ranch. However, that may not always be possible for the consumer for a number of reasons. Therefore, I encourage consumers to use all available means to learn as much about the source of their meat as they can: visit the brand’s Instagram, shop at farmers markets and meet the people selling the meat, ask questions about raising and where the ranch is located, check out the website, and investigate where the meat is being processed. Many of these sources of information can lead to uncovering the true source of the meat and how the animal is being raised.
Instagram: does the brand show video and photos of the actual animals on the actual ranch? If you see happy cows in lush fields of grass with rolling hills, but the ranch is actually located outside of Wasco, CA, that’s an indication that this brand may not be showing you the actual cattle their sourcing their meat from. Look for authenticity on their Instagram page.
Farmers Markets: are the people selling the meat at the farmers market knowledgeable about the source of the meat? Can they tell you the general location of the ranch, and can they describe how this product is raised regeneratively? If not, it may be a case of poor training on the brand’s part, but it may also be a red flag that they are not being fully truthful about the raising standards and how they can call their meat regeneratively raised.
Website: just like with Instagram, check to see if the imagery on the website are stock photos of happy cows in lush fields, or if there are images and stories about high-density grazing, rotational grazing, and how the cattle are promoting soil health and biodiversity through the raising practices. Again, look for authenticity in the imagery and copy.
Check the bug: I do this with most of the meat I purchase – check the bug number, aka the USDA passed & inspected legend on the package of meat. You can check online or download the USDA’s app to tell you where the meat was processed with that key number inside of the circular legend on the package. If the brand claims to be regenerative, part of that story should include carbon footprint, where the cattle are sourced and raised, and the distribution of the meat. If you’re buying a product in Southern California that claims to be regeneratively raised in CA, but the processor is located in Wisconsin, that’s a pretty big red flag. I would begin asking questions at that point about other aspects of their story.
It's hard being a consumer with the current state of label claims. There are so many terms and claims that we have to learn and just when we find one we’re comfortable with we begin hearing about how it’s been coopted by Big Meat and we have to find the next level up. We could once trust that Grass-fed was going to provide us certainty that the cattle were raised in a field and not a feed lot. That’s no longer the case, so we sought out sustainable farms. Now, the term sustainable has lost all meaning and it seems many farms claim sustainability with little accountability.
Regeneratively Raised seems to fit a gold standard that discerning consumers can get behind. If you’re interested in purchasing meat products that give back to the soil, provide nutrient density to you and your family, and support a system of farming and ranching that is not only sustainable but allows an opportunity to repair the damage done by poor farming practices in the past, Regeneratively Raised is it. Just make sure you’re doing your due diligence to determine if that claim is truthful, because we have learned by now the USDA is not going to.