BUTLER, GA. — Pasture-raised chicken brand Pasturebird is celebrating the win of its successful petition alongside parent company Perdue Farms to have the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) distinguish between the definition of “pasture-raised” and “free range.”

Towards the end of 2024, the USDA updated its animal raising labeling guidelines to require that “pasture-raised” animals spend the majority of their life on pasture, which is defined as land having rooted vegetative cover, grasses or plants — different from “free range,” which only requires the animals have access to the outdoors.

“For more than seven years, we’ve been advocating for distinguishable standards between ‘pasture-raised’ and ‘free range,’” said Paul Greive, founder and vice president of sales and marketing at Pasturebird. “The evolution of these important standards ensures that products with these raising practices will be accurately labeled — especially as consumer interest in pasture-raised chicken is on the rise.”

In 2020, Perdue Farms acquired Pasturebird with the goal of scaling regenerative agriculture and bringing more accessible and affordable pasture-raised chicken to consumers.

In March 2023, Perdue filed a petition with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to distinguish between “free range” and “pasture-raised” claims for meat and poultry products so that the definitions align with consumer understanding and expectations.

The USDA acted on Perdue’s petition, and, with the completion of a 60-day comment period, the new guideline revisions took immediate effect on Nov. 12, 2024.

However, according to Pasturebird, there is currently a lag in the marketplace.

“The formal definition for ‘pasture raised’ is going to be a game changer,” said Joe Koopsen, first generation founder and owner of Joe’s Farm in Michigan, producing pasture-raised poultry. “Even though this change will for sure help pastured poultry producers, the real winner is the consumer who has been lied to for too long by companies saying one thing and doing another.”

During the public comment period, nearly 6,500 comments were submitted, with 80% coming from consumers and 96% in support of a standard definition of “pasture-raised.”

Farmers, sustainability advocates and third party auditing agencies, like Certified Humane, and Global Animal Partnership, have updated their definition of “pasture-raised” poultry to reflect the new guidelines.

“Certified Humane has incorporated the new FSIS guidelines into our Broiler Standards,” said Mimi Stein, executive director of Certified Humane. “This will give producers the opportunity to follow these new regulations in tandem with the Certified Humane standard and thus have the USDA’s support for the use of our logo with the addition of a pasture-raised claim on pack. We are aligned with this important update and look forward to supporting consumers through the confidence they have in products with our logo.”