A very interesting and informative piece by Baeside Butchery, breaking down all the common labels and to what they really mean when they place that sticker on your products.So we all know what free range, grass fed, organic, ethically raised, pasture reared means right? Well we would if there weren’t so many retailers trying to secure “premium” prices from us, the conscious consumer, by throwing about these labels without being held accountable. Here is a brief breakdown of what you need to know:FREE RANGE – should mean the unrestricted movement of an animal but doesn’t guarantee what the animal has eaten nor that it is free of routine antibiotics and ionophones, growth stimulants or other chemicals added.ORGANIC – should refer to the feed that an animal is given and can include grains like mielies and soya if they are shown to be organic, but it doesn’t guarantee any level of humane animal practices like allowing an animal unrestricted movement. Also as our consumers know, grains in cattle and sheep are bad and strip the resultant meat of the health benefits of grass fed cattle – like elevated essential fatty acids.ETHICALLY RAISED or HUMANELY REARED – means that there should have been certain basic “rights” afforded to the animal such as access to clean water and sufficient food, humane practices like no farrow stalls used to restrict movement. However this does guarantee that an animal was indeed free range or what diet is was raised on. It also doesn’t speak to the antibiotic or other medicinal practices followed.PASTURE RAISED – should mean animals have been raised on land covered with grass and other low lying plants, where they eat food provided by nature. However it does not guarantee unrestricted movement of an animal or speak to the medicinal practices followed.GRASS FED – should be used for ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, game) and should mean that they have eaten grasses. It does not automatically describe unrestricted movement nor the medicinal regime used.FREE OF ANTIBIOTICS, IONOPHONES & GROWTH STIMULANTS – should mean what it says, which free range and grass fed ruminants usually are.Our last note of caution is that it is easy to put up glossy, pretty pictures of farms near a shop selling meat and say that the meat comes from a farm, or even worse “a family farm”. This means nothing! Some feedlots, like Chalmar Beef and Karan Beef, are strictly speaking “family farms”.So when next you come into Braeside be assured we will proudly let you KNOW THY FARMER of our independently certified free range and grass fed meat – which is indeed free of routine antibiotics, growth stimulants and ionophones and which comes from animals who have been ethically and humanely raised!To celebrate our farmers we are offering this month CLOETE AFRIKANER rump steaks at R105 / kg, CERTIFIED KAROO braai shoulder chops at R98-00 per kilogram and MATT’S CHICKENS at R51-00 / kg. Specials end 19 September 2014!Facebook  & Twitter