Whether it’s grass-fed beef or air-chilled chicken, you deserve to feel good about the meat you’re buying. For meat and poultry throughout our Meat department, our standards and strong relationships with farmers and ranchers mean we know where the animals were raised. We also care about how animals are raised — and we’ve developed our rigorous standards with their welfare in mind.
What Makes Our Meat Different?
Transparency and traceability to farm or ranch.
No antibiotics, ever.
No added hormones through feed, injections, implants or any other method.*
100+ third-party certification animal welfare standards for fresh beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey and goat.
Our Baseline Standards
Our baseline requirements for our Meat department are stronger than most anywhere.
No antibiotics ever. Sick animals must receive treatment as needed, but antibiotic-treated animals must not be sold at Whole Foods Market.
No added hormones through feed, injections implants or any other method. While federal regulations allow the use of hormones when raising cattle and lambs, we do not.
No animal by-products in feed (including feather meal and rendered fat) or supplements.
Animal welfare standards, including no crates, cages or tethers permitted.
A traceable system is required that tracks animals from birth to slaughter.
Required inspections for animal welfare at slaughter, using criteria and areas of evaluation developed by Dr. Temple Grandin.
We do not sell foie gras.
Animal Welfare Certified Meats
In our Meat department, all fresh beef, pork, chicken, turkey, goat and lamb (except kosher turkey and kosher chicken, due to slaughter differences) must be certified to meet 100+ animal welfare standards by the Global Animal Partnership.
In 2024, we expanded our animal welfare standards to require certification across the entire Meat department, offering our shoppers even more animal-welfare certified choices. When the transition is complete it will cover all meat and poultry in the Meat department, including fresh products of all species, as well as frozen and prepackaged items, such as heat-and-eat, ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, smoked and cured/uncured.
We also began accepting additional animal welfare certifications, providing shoppers with the transparency they expect and deserve by requiring that the certification seal appears on product packaging. Offering our suppliers multiple options for animal welfare certification enables producers of differing scale and size to choose the program that best complements their farming system.
These Whole Foods Market approved third-party certifications offer rigorous standards focused on animal welfare that cover the entire life of the animal, with each certification requiring 100+ animal welfare standards:
⦁ G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified
⦁ A Greener World (AGW) Animal Welfare Approved
⦁ Certified Humane Raised & Handled
⦁ Regenerative Organic Certified
Global Animal Partnership
Founded in 2008, Global Animal Partnership is a nonprofit organization of farmers, scientists, retailers, manufacturers and animal advocates. The G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified tiered system gives shoppers the knowledge to make informed food choices, and provides farmers and ranchers with a road map to improve their welfare practices.
Below are the descriptions you’ll find on Animal Welfare Certified items. From Base Certification to Step 5+, each step has its own requirements that must be met before authorized, independent certifiers can assign a level of certification.
Base Level: 100+ standards; no cages, crates or crowding
Enrichments provided to encourage natural behavior
Access to outdoors with environmental enrichments
Raised on pasture; no feedlots
Raised on pasture; no physical alterations
Entire life on same farm
A Greener World (AGW) Animal Welfare Approved
In 2014, A Greener World launched with a mission that includes promoting agricultural systems that can have a positive impact on animals, providing guidance to livestock farmers and ranchers and establishing farm certification programs, including Animal Welfare Approved.
Certified Humane Raised & Handled
Certified Humane Raised and Handled is a farm-animal welfare certification program developed by a 40-member scientific committee of animal scientists and veterinarians. This certification requires farmers and processors to comply with precise, objective standards for humane treatment of animals and traceability.
Regenerative Organic Certified
The Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) is a nonprofit collaboration that seeks to elevate and further regenerative organic agriculture through its Regenerative Organic Certified program, which builds on a baseline requirement of organic certification with additional criteria within three pillars: soil health, animal welfare and social fairness.
Animal-Specific Standards
We hold all of our meat to high standards. But different animals have different welfare needs, and we strive to address those as well. Here are some ways in which the many types of meats we sell are held to specific standards:
Chicken
From organic, kosher or air-chilled fresh chicken to frozen gluten-free chicken nuggets, each of our stores offers its own selection for everyday and special occasions. Our fresh chicken must meet our basic Meat department standards. In addition, it must be G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified (except kosher chicken, which must meet the G.A.P. standards but cannot be certified due to different slaughter requirements).
On poultry products (chicken and turkey) you may see the phrase, “Complete Traceability to Farms.” This means further steps were taken to ensure that specific traceability procedures are in place at each step of the supply chain.
We take the welfare of broiler chickens seriously. Learn more about our commitment to broiler chicken welfare.
Beef
We’re pleased to offer the best selection of beef around with organic, grass-fed, local, dry-aged and grain-finished choices. Every option is high quality with great flavor. All of our fresh beef must meet our basic Meat department standards and be G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified.
No supplemental hormones
Pork
We work with dedicated farms and producers to make sure that our pork is the best, whether it’s for everyday meals or your special celebrations. From thick-cut pork chops to organic ground pork, each of our stores offers its own selection for everyday and special occasions. All of our fresh pork must meet our Meat department standards and be G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified and include the following:
No gestation stalls or farrowing (birthing) crates
Bedding required in housing
No supplemental hormones
Turkey
Heritage, heirloom, organic, kosher — these are just a few words that describe our extensive selection of turkeys. Each of our stores offers its own selection for everyday and special occasions. Our fresh turkey must meet our basic Meat department standards and the birds must be provided with appropriate litter for comfort and to satisfy natural foraging instincts. In addition, it must be G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified (except kosher turkey, which must meet the G.A.P. standards but cannot be certified due to different slaughter requirements).
On poultry products (chicken and turkey) you may see the phrase, “Complete Traceability to Farms.” This means further steps were taken to ensure that specific traceability procedures are in place at each step of the supply chain.
Lamb
Perfect for burgers, oven roasting or grilling — lamb is a versatile meat for everyday and special occasions. From an impressive grass-fed rack of lamb to seasoned lamb sausages, all of our fresh lamb must meet our Meat department standards and be G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified, which includes the following:
No added hormones
Raised on pasture or range for at least two-thirds of the animal's life
Read more about our lamb standards and suppliers.
Veal
From tender cutlets to organic ground veal, each of our stores offers its own selection for everyday and special occasions. Our standards prohibit calves being kept in individual stalls or crates, so they have social interactions with other animals. And the meat is exceptional, tender and versatile. Our veal must meet our Meat department standards and adhere to the following:
No supplemental hormones*
No animal by-products in feed other than cow’s milk
Pasture-raised or group housing only; no tethering or individual crates
Provided with grass/forages and grain.
Bacon, Ham, Sausage, Hot Dogs and Frozen Foods
Our bacon, hot dogs and sausages meet our basic Meat department standards and are made without synthetic nitrates or nitrites. All frozen items in our Meat department, including breaded chicken nuggets, breakfast sausages and more, must meet our standards as well.
Organic Meat and Poultry
Just like any food labeled “organic” in the U.S., meat products have to meet very specific, federally regulated standards, including for organic processing. Meat and poultry labeled organic must come from animals fed organic — which also means non-GMO — feed, given fresh air and outdoor access, and raised without antibiotics or added growth hormones.*
Behind the Scenes: Our Meat Department
Watch this video to learn more about our meat suppliers and products that go above and beyond.
Meet a Pork Supplier: Thompson Farms
Take a tour of Thompson Farms, a family-owned hog farm in Georgia that supplies pork to Whole Foods Market and is G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified to Step 4.
*There are no hormones approved for use in the production of poultry, goat, veal calves, mature sheep or exotic, non-amenable species (such as bison, buffalo, elk and venison).
