The Eatwild Criteria

Producers listed on Eatwild.com must meet the following production standards.
(Revised 3/08)

Criteria for Listing on Eatwild

1. Animals are raised in a low-stress, natural environment.
2. Streams and other natural water sources are protected from harmful animal impact.
3. Animal grazing patterns are managed to enhance the growth of the pasture, the health of the land, and the nutritional value of products, taking into account the specific soil conditions, vegetation, altitude, growing season, and temperature range of our climate.
4. When high-quality pasture is not available, animals are fed stored grasses, which can include hay, haylage, and grass silage. They are not fed grain, soy, corn silage, or concentrate.
5. Animals are not treated with hormones.
6. Animals are not treated with routine, low-level antibiotics. Animals that do receive antibiotics due to health problems or injury are removed from the program.
7. Animals are not confined except for: 1) brief periods prior to and during birthing, 2) to protect them from extreme weather conditions, or 3) to prevent “pugging” of the soil during wet weather.
8. Dairy animals are raised on pasture with little or no grain or concentrate. (Dairy animals may receive a small percentage of grain—6 pounds or less per day—provided the type and amount is specified and included in the listing.)
9. Poultry are 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. The birds must be getting a significant amount of their nourishment from growing plants. This means that they need to be in a large area of grass, or moved frequently so that they always have a good supply of fresh pasture. Unlike ruminants, poultry can be fed a significant amount of supplemental food, such as grain and seeds.)
10. Pigs or rabbits are raised outdoors on good pasture. (As is true for poultry, pigs and rabbits can be given supplemental grain, nuts, seeds, fruits, and other nutritious foods in addition to grasses.)
11. Organic certification is desirable, but not essential. If certified, certifying agency should be specified.

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