sk you may want to look into some of these companies. Many of them are free range or grass fed, some grass finished.
Primal… certified humane with high GAP (Global Animal Partership, same system Whole Food uses) ratings. You can contact certifiedhumane.org to see other pet foods they rate.
Stella and Chewys (grassfed beef and lamb and I think grass finished)
Ziwi Peak, Real Meat Food Company and K9 Natural use grass fed beef and lamb I believe.
Dogs for the Earth says their animals are raised above and beyond humane standards.
Healthy Pet Foods (healthypetdiet.com) raises organic, pasture raised beef. One of my dogs’ favorite foods. Owner is a top cavalier breeder, not doing it for money, sells mostly to breeders. He’s been doing it for over 20 years and says his food has been tweaked to perfection, and his dogs live well beyond breed standard.
Orijen says their food is pasture raised.
Addiction uses a lot of free range but I stopped using when I found out their canola oil is not organic…they said they are trying to change to organic canola oil.
I just added Trudog to their rotation. It’s grass fed but I need to call them to see if it’s grass finished. I’m sure there are more companies out there but haven’t had the time to look into it.
BTW many of these companies use cage free chicken but not range fed so I try to buy chicken from Whole Foods and feed with a premix. The only way to know about travel time to slaughter, conditions and how much time spent in feed lots is to speak with companies directly. This is my understanding anyway.
sk, thank you for pointing out that billions of animals, as deserving of compassion as our pets, are raised in brutal conditions. It would be very helpful to have another section here called ‘HUMANE OPTIONS’. It could also cover the issue of hormones, GMO’s and anti-biotics since the GAP rating from CertifiedHumane.org covers that as well.
I agree with others that best choice for humane is to buy from local farms where you can directly see conditions….kudos to those who do. Not all of us have that option…and the reason a ‘HUMANE OPTIONS’ would be so appreciated.
