The Eatwild Criteria

Producers listed on Eatwild.com must meet the following production standards. (Revised 4/2025)

Criteria for Listing on Eatwild

1. Animals are raised outdoors, on pasture, in a low-stress, natural environment and treated humanely from birth to market.
   
   
2. Animals can be confined indoors for brief periods to protect their welfare prior to and during birthing, or during extreme weather conditions. They may also be confined for brief periods to prevent "pugging" of the soil during wet weather. Poultry and other small animals may be confined indoors at night to protect them from predators.
   
   
3. Animal grazing patterns are managed to enhance the growth of the pasture, the health of the animals, and the health of the land.
   
   
4. When high-quality pasture is not available, beef and other ruminants (goats, sheep, bison, deer) may be fed stored grasses—which can include hay, haylage, and grass silage—and vegetable by-products and small amounts of molasses. They are not fed grain, soy, corn silage, or rations/concentrates that include these ingredients.
   
   
5. Animals are not treated with hormones.
   
   
6. Animals are not treated with routine, low-level antibiotics. If animals have health problems or injuries that require treatment with antibiotics, their meat and dairy products are not to be sold until the products are free from the antibiotics.
    
7. Streams and other natural water sources are protected from harmful animal impact.
   
   
8. Dairy animals are raised on pasture with little or no grain or concentrates that include grain, soy or corn. A small percentage of grain is allowed, provided the type and amounts—specified in pounds per day and the conditions under which it is provided­—is included in the listing. Dairy animals sold for meat should meet the same criteria as #4 above.
   
   
9. Poultry is raised outdoors on good-quality pasture as soon as they are old enough to withstand outdoor conditions. Note: Having “access to the outdoors” is not enough. Poultry must be on quality pasture and getting a significant amount of their nourishment from growing plants for at least six hours a day, whether in moveable pens, open fields, or areas fenced off with electric netting or other fences that are moved frequently to maintain a fresh supply of greens. We approve of feeding grains and seeds to poultry because, unlike ruminants, these animals cannot get all the nutrients they need from grass.
   
   
10. Pigs or rabbits are raised outdoors on good pasture that has growing plants at all times. Like poultry, they can receive supplemental grain, nuts, seeds, fruits, and other nutritious foods in addition to grasses.
    
    
11. Organic certification is desirable, but not essential. If certified, specify certifying agency.

Eatwild reserves the right to remove a supplier from the website if there is reason to believe that the supplier does not meet these production standards, or other criteria established by Eatwild, or if for any reason inclusion of the supplier might reflect negatively on Eatwild.

Do you meet these criteria and want to get your farm or ranch listed on Eatwild? See our Request for Inclusion form and additional information about getting listed.