Our standard is simple: No antibiotics, ever.
Animals deserve to be handled with care and respect.
Are GMO ingredients good or bad? The jury is out, so we took them out.
| Practices | Applegate | Typical Industry* |
|---|---|---|
| No antibiotics ever | ||
| No growth hormones or beta agonists** | ||
| 100% vegetarian diet, no animal by-products | ||
| More space to engage in natural behaviors and promote natural growth | ||
| Environmental enrichments (poultry and pigs) |
*Comparison based on practices outlined by industry groups including: National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, National Pork Board, and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
**Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in pigs and poultry. Federal regulations also prohibit the use of beta agonists for poultry.
And it’s actually more like one bad moment. That’s what Applegate strives for when we say humanely raised. It’s a topic that no one really likes to talk about, and it makes some people uncomfortable. But we believe that animals raised for food deserve to be handled with care and respect. We do our best to make sure the animals raised for Applegate are treated that way, from breeding to their final moments.
Raising animals humanely is core to our mission: “Changing The Meat We Eat®.” Below we’ve outlined what we mean by Applegate Humanely Raised. If you have questions, we urge you to go to our help center, or reach out to our team via social media. We want to have these conversations with you because transparency and an open dialogue about food is integral to keeping our mission moving forward.
Developed in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare are widely considered by groups such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as the foundation of humane treatment.
Applegate works with third-party certifiers like Global Animal Partnership® and Certified Humane® to ensure animals are raised and handled in ways that we believe line up with our mission and truly honor the Five Freedoms. The vast majority of our farms are third-party certified, in addition to being verified by our trained animal welfare experts.
More than 80 percent of the antibiotics in the United States are used on farm animals. Much of the time, the antibiotics are used sub-therapeutically – a fancy way of saying to prevent disease from spreading. We believe the overuse of antibiotics isn’t just bad for the animals, but for humans. Studies show it’s contributing to the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or superbugs. That’s why we don’t use them. You’re probably asking, what if an animal gets sick? If animals become ill, they are treated with antibiotics as prescribed by a veterinarian and sold to a supply chain outside of Applegate. But as a result of the superior animal husbandry practices like clean barns, fresh air, and more space, fewer animals need to be treated in the Applegate program.
Applegate does not allow any kind of drug or medication to either speed up an animal’s growth or increase lean muscle mass. We don’t believe it’s natural, and some of the drugs have been shown to put animals under stress.
We prohibit animal by-products in animal feed. The vegetarian diets are specially designed to promote natural growth. Our cattle are raised on pasture their entire lives.
All animals raised for us get more room than animals in other systems. They’re freer to engage in natural behaviors and have less stress.
We require environmental enrichments for all of housed poultry and pigs. Birds and pigs get “toys” and have an atmosphere that allow for normal, natural behaviors, which promote wellbeing.
| Practices | Applegate | Typical Industry* |
|---|---|---|
| No crates ever | ||
| No Ractopamine (banned in 160 countries, used to promote lean muscle growth) | ||
| No tail docking or teeth clipping | ||
| More solid flooring (reduces injury and stress) | ||
| More time with Mom (longer weaning period) |
*Comparison based on practices outlined by National Pork Board.
More than 90 percent of our pork is third-party certified by Global Animal Partnership® (Step 1 or higher) or Certified Humane®. Applegate works with a handful of non-certified farms to transition them to our standards. Here are the highlights:
Watch how Applegate Humanely Raised works at one of our hog suppliers:
| Practices | Applegate | Typical Industry* |
|---|---|---|
| 100% grass-fed and pasture-raised |
*Comparison based on practices outlined by National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Cattle raised for Applegate comes from Australia where ranchers have perfected the art of grass-fed beef. Applegate staff, who are trained through the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO), inspect cattle stations. Applegate also works with Global Animal Partnership® and Australian Certified Organic.
See how our cattle are raised in Australia:
| Practices | Applegate | Typical Industry* |
|---|---|---|
| More space (up to 50% more) and better air quality | ||
| Lighting system designed to reduce stress and promote natural growth | ||
| Minimal beak conditioning and no toe alterations |
*Comparison based on practices outlined by National Turkey Federation.
All the turkey raised for Applegate is third-party certified for animal welfare standards by Global Animal Partnership® Step 1 or higher or Certified Humane.
Hear from some of the farmers that provide Applegate turkeys:
| Practices | Applegate | Typical Industry* |
|---|---|---|
| More space (up to 29% more) and better air quality | ||
| Lighting system designed to reduce stress and promote natural growth | ||
| Environmental Enrichments |
*Comparison based on practices outlined by National Chicken Council.
All of the chickens raised for Applegate meet Global Animal Partnership® (Step 2 or higher) or Certified Humane® standards and are verified.
Hear from some of the farmers that provide Applegate chickens:
