Oh, the fun of keeping up with the most recent marketing verbiage! It really could be a full-time job (and probably is for someone behind a computer screen in an office building on some city street in America).
For me, spending my days mostly in the field and squeezing in what screen time is necessary to stay informed? It's nearly maddening.
So, for consumers? I can't even imagine. There is no way the typical consumer stays apprised of the jargon attached to healthy foods and proteins. I mean, life is rather busy - and if you're like me, label reading and ad-watching aren't necessarily a priority in the grand scheme of things.
But that is exactly what is expected of society today! And too many companies are more than willing to take advantage of that fact, throw some environmentally friendly terms or health-related words into their claims, and take your dollars as you believe you're staying healthy and saving the earth.
Greenwashed.
Disclaimer: Let me repeat that we make no claims that we are regenerative...or any of the other fad-terms that might come along in the future. We preach what we practice (as our good friend likes to say). Now, are our practices sustainable? Yep. Do we utilize natural applications? Yessiree! But, we're not jumping on bandwagons to boast our methods of ranching just to draw in customers. You visit the ranch and you see our set-up and our methods. "Walk the walk, ignore the talk" kind of practice.
Okay, with that said -- let's talk about greenwashing in the meat industry. Because I'm going to be the first to admit that we were definitely hoodwinked as consumers before we went all-in to start raising our own bison! And, that's why I like to share our own personal learning curve so that our customers can make the best-informed choices for themselves and their families.
Navigating labels today is so frustrating. And, the longer I raise bison the more personal I take it. Claims of "100% Grass-fed" "Grain-free" and "Pasture-raised" make me shake my head.
Did you know? Because I didn't for the longest time! Any of those claims can be bastardized! In 2016, the USDA loosened the reigns on what constitutes honest grass-fed labeling. Basically, if an animal ever consumed grass, it qualifies as Grass-fed. Even if it lived half, or all, of its life in a feedlot being fed dry matter forages. Even if it never stepped a hoof onto a lush green field it can be labeled Grass-fed.
Same with Grass-finished. It may never have seen a single blade of grass growing in a field during its life, but it can be labeled grass-finished if it had access to hay or chop. A producer can be shoveling grains into feed bins while leaving a bale of hay accessible to meat animals, and upon harvest and processing make the claim it was indeed grass-finished.
Isn't that sneaky?
I'm not slamming anyone, they're in business to stay in business. And, in the Ag world that has challenges that most industries will never face. So, I get it. But I surely disagree with it.
I could literally write a book on the deceptions consumers are handed when we see simple and earthy packaging that proclaims the myriad of healthy and eco-friendly buzzwords on their labels or websites.
So either be an aware buyer, or "Buyer Beware."
We got into bison ranching because I was learning that deception is standard, and clean isn't as easy to come by as I was led to believe. I even see ranchers IN the bison industry today making claims of being something they aren't (and simple scrolls through their social media confirm it...smh).
View the FSIS requirements guide in the below pdf file to be best informed about what claims are regulated and what claims are basically permitted by producer proclamation.
So, we can certainly qualify for any or all of the industry buzzwords and could involve the government to gain permission so we could include it on our labeling. But, the truth is we'd prefer to have a personal relationship with our customers, visits to our place to meet us and our herd and to see our operation with complete transparency. There really is no better advertising, and we aren't interested in getting bigger, we don't want feedlot animals and have no intention of outgrowing our operation.
I'm glad you're calling attention to greenwashing. It seems like everything is labeled "all natural" these days. One of my favorites is "fed an all vegetarian diet" for poultry and eggs; as if that is a good thing.