Behind the Label: Farmer Focus Chicken
Non-GMO, free-range, gluten-free, organic. With all of the labels on packages today, it’s hard to know what to pick and even harder to know what some of those claims really mean. In order to help consumers find organic products that meet their needs more easily, FreshDirect has partnered with Farmer Focus to provide ethically sourced, Non-GMO chicken.
Farmer Focus is a collective of chicken farmers from the Shenandoah Valley dedicated to helping consumers navigate the flawed and confusing poultry system. Farmer Focus’s highest priority is transparency and giving consumers the power to see exactly how their poultry is raised. With multiple layers of certification and internal accountability, Farmer Focus goes above and beyond to ensure that you get the best chicken possible.
FreshDirect is proud to be their partner and offer a full range of options from thighs to full chickens. However you eat your chicken, Farmer Focus can provide you the best, most strictly regulated chicken possible.
What Does It Mean To Be Certified Organic?
The term “organic” refers to the standards for a chicken’s diet and environment. This means:
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- Diet: Farmer Focus chicken is fed an all-organic, non-GMO diet of corn and soybean meal. This blend is verified by the Non-GMO Project and free of any chemical fertilizers.
- Environment: According to the USDA, organically raised chickens must be given access to the outdoors, weather permitting. However, this standard is vague and means that some companies only provide windows for chickens to peer through instead of space outdoors and enrichments. The USDA’s standard has recently been tightened to erase this loophole, but these changes will not take effect until 2029.
Because this definition of outdoor access is not specific enough, Farmer Focus works with Certified Humane to better specify how their partnering farmers implement outdoor access, or “free range” systems.
What Is Certified Humane and How Does It Define Free-Range?
Created by the Humane Farm Animal Care Standards, the Certified Humane Program sets strict standards for humane animal treatment. These standards are set with the assistance of scientific research, veterinary advice, and farmers’ experience.
The Certified Humane Program is especially unique because it offers strict objectives to achieve the label “free-range.” The USDA does officially certify free-range chickens, but these certifications do not include objective parameters to meet its requirements. Certified Humane provides a more concrete way to define this term for Farmer Focus’s partnering farms.
To raise free-range chickens according to Certified Humane’s standards, Farmer Focus chickens are given a minimum of two square feet of outdoor space with living vegetation and shade structures by the time they reach four weeks old. Access lasts eight hours per day, as long as the weather permits and there is enough daylight — this means that the temperatures should be at least 65°F when the chickens are outdoors, to ensure optimal health.
In addition to Certified Humane standards, Farmer Focus offers a variety of other claims that improve their product and offer further transparency to customers.
What Other Certifications Does Farmer Focus Offer?
Non-GMO Project Verified – This certification ensures that there are no GMO ingredients in anything Farmer Focus does. You can rest assured that all products are GMO-free.- Where Food Comes From Verified – Farmer Focus also partners with Where Food Comes From to audit their farmers. These regular audits ensure that these farms meet the standards required to maintain their other certifications. Where Food Comes From is basically a second opinion, a valuable confirmation that every one of Farmer Focus’s products meet their high certification standards.
- Gluten-free – All chicken sold by Farmer Focus is gluten-free.
- Halal – Every Farmer Focus product is certified halal by the Islamic Services of America (ISA).
- Traceability – Not content to rest on their certifications, Farmer Focus also provides its own internal tracking tools to ensure you have maximum transparency when you buy chicken. Every package comes with a Farm ID that tracks where that chicken came from. You can use that ID on Farmer Focus’s website and see exactly which farm grew the chicken you are buying.
What Is in It for You?
The way chickens are raised directly affects their nutritional value. Studies have shown that organically grown meat contains higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Additionally, the Organic Trade Association has found that organic farms emit 30% less greenhouse gasses than conventional farms.
When you buy Farmer Focus chicken, you know that you are supporting a local farmer, making an environmentally conscious decision, and ensuring a high quality of life for chickens. You can be assured you are also getting the best quality food for your family — food produced as nature intended. And, of course, the chicken is delicious!