Few other foods are as fraught with environmental issues as meat. From the treatment of animals, to the environmental impacts of factory farms, to the recalls and health questions, it’s all become a rather meaty issue, pardon the pun.
As consumers demand better choices, those items appear at the market, often with confusing labels and overlapping terms that lead consumers to believe statements that may not be true. Take, for example, cage-free. In one’s mind, there may be visions of happy chickens running free, but in actuality, this only means the chickens were not enclosed in a cage. The birds could still have been raised indoors in overcrowded conditions, with no access to pasture. If you think these labels were designed to confuse you, well, you may be right.
Link to get your own free guide after the jump.
Sustainable Table now offers a handy wallet guide to meat production terms. The Glossary of Meat Production Methods is a free pdf download. Just print, fold and shop in-the-know. The guide covers even terms like irradiation, artisan, and source verified.