More Humane Meat, Egg and Dairy Criteria

Chicken

Key issues affecting the welfare of chickens raised for meat

Breed: Few shoppers know that the biggest factor affecting the welfare of chickens raised for meat is the fast and unnatural growth rate of the modern breed. Today more than 99% of the 9 billion chickens raised in the U.S. are Cornish Cross chickens which have been bred to grow so rapidly and disproportionately that they struggle to walk normally and suffer from high rates of illness and injuries. Even if Cornish Cross birds are provided with pasture, farmers report that they struggle to enjoy the environment due to their poor mobility. For this reason, ASPCA^® ShopKind only recommends chicken brands and farms using healthier, higher-welfare breeds. Learn more about how we’re working to end the use of unhealthy chicken breeds, supporting the use of healthier breeds and how you can find better chicken on ASPCA ShopKind.

Access to pasture or the outdoors: Chickens benefit immensely from access to pasture. It provides resources for birds to exhibit their natural behaviors, which improves their health and welfare. Chickens naturally like to peck and forage, dustbathe, stretch their wings and explore. If chickens do not have access to a pasture, the next best option is giving them access to the outdoors where there is some vegetation, plenty of sunlight and fresh air.

To find best choice and second-best choice chicken products, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Chicken certification comparison

Only programs that have certified chicken have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Chickens are healthier breeds (tested for higher welfare attributes or grow less than 45g/day) and raised on pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Global Animal Partnership Steps 4, 5 and 5+ (including products with the Better Chicken Project label on packaging)

Regenerative Organic Certified^® (bronze)

Second best

Chickens are healthier breeds (tested for higher welfare attributes or grow less than 45g/day) and have access to the outdoors.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Global Animal Partnership Step 3, only with a Better Chicken Project label on packaging as well

Third best (not on ASPCA ShopKind)

Farms are not required to use healthier breeds but are raising chickens in improved settings (enriched indoor environments, free-range or pasture-raised).

American Humane Certified™

American Grassfed Association^®

Certified Humane^®

Global Animal Partnership Steps 1-3

Real Organic Project

Regenified™

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic

Or look for claims on chicken products like “pasture-raised” or “free-range.” These are approved by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service but do not require on-farm audits. 

Eggs

Key issues affecting the welfare of egg-laying hens

Cages: The majority of the 300 million egg-laying hens in the U.S. are raised in long, windowless sheds containing rows of stacked cages called battery cages. Up to 10 hens are packed together in one wire cage so small that they cannot spread their wings, and each hen has less floor space than a regular 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of paper. The frustration of living in such unnatural and barren conditions leads to abnormal pecking behavior and cannibalism. Hens cannot experience good welfare in a battery cage, meaning that cage-free egg is the absolute minimum effort to begin providing egg-laying hens a better life.

Provision of nest boxes and perches: Hens want somewhere safe and private to lay their eggs; This is part of their evolutionary instincts that keep themselves and their eggs safe and hidden from potential predators. Nest boxes are provided on higher-welfare farms to allow hens a space to build their nest and lay their eggs. Hens also want to perch, especially at night, just as their ancestors had to perch to keep safe from predators on the ground. Higher-welfare farms provide perches as another way to help hens exhibit their natural behaviors and avoid stress.

Access to pasture or the outdoors: The best environments for the welfare of laying hens are ones that allow them to spend as much time as they want outdoors, doing the things they need to do physically and mentally, like foraging, pecking, perching and dust bathing.

To find best choice and second-best choice eggs, use ASPCA ShopKind.

A key issue affecting the welfare of chicks in the egg industry

Male chick culling: The welfare of hens raised for egg production isn’t the only major animal welfare concern in the egg industry. Baby chicks are affected, too. Every year, the U.S. egg industry continuously hatches new chicks who grow up to become egg-laying hens, providing the eggs you see in grocery stores across the country. Of the 600 million chicks hatched annually, half are female, and the other half are male. Since male chicks will never lay eggs, they are disposed of in mind-bending numbers: Over 300 million newborn chicks are killed each year. This practice is usually referred to by the industry as male chick culling, and these baby chicks are usually gassed or ground up alive in a machine. However, there is a solution: A process called in-ovo sexing is now available in the U.S. and avoids the mass killing of day-old male chicks. In-ovo sexing identifies which chicken embryos are male and which are female while still in the eggs. Once the sex is identified in the early stages of the embryo’s development, the hatchery can choose to continue incubating only the females.

To find better-hatched eggs produced without male chick culling near you, use ASPCA ShopKind and select “Eggs - Better Hatched Only”.

Beef

Key issues affecting the welfare of cattle raised for meat

Diet: Cows are ruminants who are supposed to eat grasses, but on factory farms, they’re often fed large amounts of corn and soy to increase their weight. This kind of diet is very hard on their bodies and can cause illnesses, including ulcers, liver abscesses, bloat and fatty liver disease. Diets with enough roughage and fiber, like grass or hay, are important to minimize digestive upset and keep cattle comfortable and healthy. 

Feedlots: Between the ages of 6 months and 1 year, most beef cattle are sent to live in feedlots with hundreds or thousands of others. Without vegetated pasture and often without shelter, cattle may suffer in muddy or dusty conditions and from heat stress and respiratory issues.

Access to pasture: The best environments for the welfare of beef cattle are those that allow them to spend as much time as they want on pasture. Raising cattle on pasture allows them to have more space, which helps avoid the spread of sickness and infection and is a source of suitable food for beef cattle, as they graze on grass.

To find best choice and second-best choice beef, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Pork

Key issues affecting the welfare of pigs raised for meat

Crates : Most of the near 6 million female breeding pigs in the U.S. spend their reproductive lives confined to gestation crates while they are pregnant and farrowing crates while giving birth and nursing their young. These crates are barely bigger than the pig's body and prohibit her from turning around. Sometimes these crates are called stalls or misleadingly referred to as “maternity pens.” This pregnancy and birthing cycle in extreme confinement continues for several years, until the pigs are no longer as productive and are sent to slaughter.

Access to pasture or foraging area: Nearly all of the near 79 million pigs raised for food in the U.S. every year are kept in barren crates or pens in factory farms without fresh air or sunlight. They live on hard, slatted floors that do not accommodate their natural urge to root. Higher-welfare farms raise pigs with access to pasture, wooded area or range, where they can do things that they naturally like to do to avoid stress, like root and forage.

To find best choice and second-best choice pork, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Pork certification comparison

Only programs that have certified pigs have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Pigs are never confined in crates and are raised on pasture or foraging area.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

American Grassfed Association^®

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Global Animal Partnership Steps 4, 5 and 5+

Real Organic Project

Regenerative Organic Certified^® (bronze)

Second best

Pigs are never confined in crates and are raised with access to the outdoors.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Global Animal Partnership Step 3

USDA Organic

(Note: USDA Organic pork products are not listed on ASPCA ShopKind as there’s no public list of products currently certified as USDA Organic at any given time.)

Third best (not on ASPCA ShopKind)

Outdoor access is not required. Depending on the certification or claim, crate confinement of breeding pigs varies between prohibited to limited use in one or both crate types (gestation and farrowing).

American Humane Certified™

Certified Humane^®

Global Animal Partnership Steps 1 and 2

Or look for claims on packaging like*:

• Crate-free
• Gestation crate-free
• Group housed/group housing
• Prop 12 compliant

*Note: These claims are not well-defined and use of them is not regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Turkey

Key issues affecting the welfare of turkeys

Access to pasture or the outdoors: The approximately 218 million turkeys raised for meat in the U.S. annually are mostly housed inside long sheds where they are denied fresh air, sunshine and pasture. Turkeys develop abnormal behaviors in these barren environments, which can result in aggressive pecking and cannibalism. Turkeys need access to the outdoors and pasture to exhibit their natural behaviors, like foraging, to avoid stress.

To find best choice and second-best choice turkey, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Turkey certification comparison

Only programs that have certified turkeys have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Note: While not addressed by all of the certifications below and not currently a part of the criteria for turkey products listed in ASPCA ShopKind, turkeys suffer from selective breeding by the turkey meat industry like chickens. Between 1930 and 2017, the weight of the average turkey raised for food in the U.S. more than doubled from 13 to 30 pounds. Now, they are disproportionately breast-heavy (a result of this genetic selection by the industry), reflecting a consumer preference for breast meat, and this has a number of welfare implications.

Best

Turkeys are raised on pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Global Animal Partnership Steps 4, 5 and 5+

Regenified™ (tiers 2 through 5 only)

Second best

Turkeys are raised free-range or have access to the outdoors with vegetative cover.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Certified Humane^® with “free-range” on packaging as well

Global Animal Partnership Step 3

USDA Organic

(Note: USDA Organic turkey products are not listed on ASPCA ShopKind as there’s no public list of products currently certified as USDA Organic at any given time.)

Third best (not on ASPCA ShopKind)

Turkeys are raised with access to the outdoors, but vegetation is not required.

There are currently no certifications that verify these specific practices.

Dairy (cow)

Key issues affecting the welfare of cows and calves raised for dairy

Hutches for calves: Just as with humans, cows only produce milk after giving birth. To keep the milk flowing, dairy farms artificially inseminate cows every year. When a calf is born, he or she is removed from the mother — generally that same day — to make the mother’s milk available for collection. Calves are often kept alone in small, enclosed spaces called hutches with only a small window to see out. These hutches don’t allow calves to have any interaction with their mother or other calves. This social isolation causes newborn calves to be more stressed and anxious, less motivated to play, and have cognitive and learning deficits compared to calves housed together with other calves in pairs or groups.

Tie stalls: Over 40% [PDF] of dairy farms tether cows by chains or other material around their necks in what are called “tie stalls.” Tie stalls prevent cows from being able to turn around, and they limit basic natural behaviors and social interactions between animals. This restrictive practice is associated with health issues like higher rates of some types of bacterial infections and developing abnormal behaviors due to their stressful environments.

Access to pasture:  Most of the roughly 9 million cows being used for milk production in the U.S. at any given time are kept indoors, with some having access to outdoor concrete or dirt paddocks. Giving cows access to pasture improves their health by reducing levels of lameness and mortality, and it lets cows be cows: They’re able to spend more time grazing and lying down than cows confined indoors all day.

To find best choice and second-best choice cow dairy products (cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.), use ASPCA ShopKind.

Cow dairy certification comparison

Only programs that have certified dairy cows have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Cows are raised with access to pasture, without tie stalls, and calves are group housed.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Certified Biodynamic^® by Demeter USA

Second best

Cows are raised with outdoor access, without tie stalls, and calves are group housed.

There are currently no certifications that verify these specific practices.

Third best (not on ASPCA ShopKind)

Cows are raised on pasture. There may be seasonal tie-stall use and calves may be housed in individual stalls or hutches as routine practice.

American Grassfed Association^®

Certified Humane^® with “grass-fed” on packaging as well

Real Organic Project

Regenified™ (tiers 4 & 5 only)

Regenerative Organic Certified^® (bronze)

Other

Goat (meat and dairy products)

Key welfare issues affecting the welfare of goats raised for meat or dairy

Feedlots: While it is uncommon for goats to be sent to feedlots, this requirement is to help protect against feedlot finishing becoming mainstream. In feedlots, animals endure additional transport, mixing with unfamiliar animals and typically muddy or dusty conditions and inadequate diets.

Diet: Goats are ruminants who need a diet with enough hay or grass to keep their digestive system functioning and healthy. Diets with enough roughage, like grass or hay, are important to minimize digestive upset and keep goats comfortable and healthy.

Access to pasture or the outdoors: The best environments for the welfare of goats are ones that allow them to spend as much time as they want exploring outdoors. Raising goats on pasture allows them to have more space, which helps avoid the spread of sickness and infection and the grass on pasture is a source of food for grazing goats.

To find best choice and second-best choice goat meat and dairy products, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Goat meat/dairy certification comparison

Only programs that have certified goats have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Goats are never in feedlots, are fed diets with roughage making up the majority of their diets or are grass-finished, and have access to pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

American Grassfed Association^®

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Second best

Goats are never in feedlots and have access to the outdoors with vegetated or soil cover.

There are currently no products with certifications that verify these specific practices.

Sheep (meat and dairy products)

Key welfare issues affecting the welfare of sheep raised for meat or dairy.

Feedlots: Like beef cattle in factory farming systems, sheep may be sent to live their last few months in feedlots. Sheep may suffer from the stress of the unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar animals. Feedlots can be muddy, causing foot problems, and prevent sheep from performing natural behaviors like grazing.

Diet: Sheep are ruminants who need a diet with enough hay or grass to keep their digestive system functioning and healthy. A diet with too much grain is very hard on their bodies and can cause illnesses. Diets with enough roughage, like grass or hay, are important to minimize digestive upset and keep sheep comfortable and healthy.

Access to pasture or the outdoors: Sheep like to be in their social groups, and allowing them access to the outdoors enables them to be with their herd. Raising sheep on pasture means they can have freedom of movement to  forage, explore and eat grass.  

To find best choice and second-best choice sheep meat and dairy products, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Sheep meat/dairy certification comparison

Only programs that have certified sheep or lamb have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Sheep are never in feedlots, are fed diets with roughage making up the majority of their diets or are grass-finished and have access to pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

American Grassfed Association^®

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Regenerative Organic Certified™ (gold and silver tiers)

Second best

Sheep are never in feedlots and have access to the outdoors with vegetated or soil cover.

Global Animal Partnership Steps 4, 5 and 5+

Bison meat

Key welfare issues affecting the welfare of buffalo raised for meat

Feedlots: Like beef cattle in factory farming systems, bison may be sent to live their last few months in feedlots. Feedlots are stressful for bison who are less domesticated than other livestock, and they are susceptible to the same issues feedlots impose on other animals, like fear of unfamiliar environments with unfamiliar animals and muddy, dusty conditions.

Diet: Like cattle and other ruminants, bison need a diet with enough hay or grass to keep their digestive system functioning and healthy. A diet with too much grain, often given to bison on factory farms, is very hard on their bodies. Diets with enough roughage, like grass or hay, are important to minimize digestive upset and keep bison comfortable and healthy.

To find best choice and second-best choice bison, use ASPCA ShopKind.

Bison certification comparison

Only programs that have certified bison have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Bison are never in feedlots, are fed diets with greater than 60% dietary roughage or are grass-finished and have access to pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

American Grassfed Association^®

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Audubon Certified

Certified Humane® with or without a “grass-fed” claim on packaging as well

Regenerative Organic Certified™ (silver)

Second best

Bison are never in feedlots and have access to pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Global Animal Partnership Steps 3, 4, 5 and 5+

Duck (meat and eggs)

Key issues affecting the welfare of ducks raised for meat or eggs

Forced feeding: Forced feeding of ducks and geese is used for the production of foie gras, a meat product that means “fat liver” in French. Ducks are force-fed a volume of high-fat corn mash through a tube multiple times per day. Not only are they forced to eat much more than they would or could eat on their own, this is also associated with terrible welfare outcomes, such as injury and pain from the tube insertion, discomfort due to the expansion of their esophagus from the feeding and increased mortality rates from associated injury, heat stress and liver failure.

Water access and depth: Ducks are water birds, like geese and swans, and provision of water sources is important so that they can bathe. When ducks are provided with water sources deep enough that they can dip their heads in, this often can help them keep their eyes and nostrils cleaner than shallower water.

Access to pasture or the outdoors: In indoor factory farms, ducks often suffer from respiratory diseases from poor air quality. Providing ducks with access to the outdoors can reduce crowding in barns, and more importantly, allow ducks to exhibit their natural behaviors, reducing stress and potentially harmful coping mechanisms, like injurious feather pecking. Outdoors, ducks can forage in the natural environment and be more active and mobile.

Duck certification comparison

Only programs that have certified ducks have been assessed by the ASPCA.

Best

Ducks are never force-fed, have access to water sources deep enough to allow them to dip their heads and are raised on pasture.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World

Certified Humane^® with “pasture-raised” on packaging as well

Global Animal Partnership Steps 4, 5 and 5+

Second best

Ducks are never force-fed, have access to water sources (though these may not be deep enough for bathing) and are free-range or have access to the outdoors.

Certifications that verify these key issues are addressed for a farm or product:

Certified Humane^®  with “free-range” on packaging as well