Understanding Dairy Labels

Don’t be fooled by food labels that sound like they mean better for dairy cows. Use our guide below to learn how these labels actually impact cow welfare—or how they don’t. Look for the ASPCA recommended labels Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane and Global Animal Partnership (Step 2 or higher), and then sign up to join the Shop With Your Heart movement for the latest info on finding these products and making welfare-conscious choices when you shop.

	Animal welfare certifications			Other independent certifications		Industry certification	Other claims
	Animal Welfare Approved	Certified Humane	American Humane Certified	USDA Organic†	American Grassfed Association	National FARM Program	Grassfed	Free Range	Hormone/ rbST-Free	Natural
Meaningful On-Farm Welfare Standards	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Tethering Prohibited	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Group Housing Required for Calves	Yes > 28 days	Yes > 8 weeks	Yes > 8 weeks	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Pasture Access Required	Yes, “continuous outdoor pasture access”	No, but access to exercise areas for 4 hours per day, weather permitting. If grass-fed, continuous pasture access required after calf-rearing	No	Yes, “free access to certified organic pasture for the entire grazing season” (≥ 120 days/yr)	Yes, “maximum access to pasture” during the grazing season (≥ 150 days/yr)	No	Yes, continuous access to pasture during the growing season	No, but undefined outdoor access for ≥ 120 days/yr	No	No
Diet Requirements	“Must be provided with at least 70% long fiber roughage/ forage in their diet on a daily dry matter basis”	Must be provided with feed or forage containing sufficient fiber to allow rumination. If grass-fed, diet must consist of grass and forage and any feed supplements must not include grain	“Adult cattle must be provided with a supplemental source of fiber as necessary to promote rumination”	“Ruminants’ diets must contain at least 30% dry matter (on average) from certified organic pasture.... The rest of its diet must also be certified organic, including hay, grain, and other agricultural products.”	“Grass and forage, will be the feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant, except for milk consumed prior to weaning”	Not addressed	Ruminants must be fed only grass and forage (unless label indicates other %)	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed
Tail Docking Prohibited	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes, except in extraordinary case of traumatic injury to an animal	No	No	No	No
Routine Dehorning Prohibited	Yes	Yes	No, but pain control is required	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Disbudding Prohibited	No, but pain control is required	No, but pain control is required	No, but pain control is required	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nutritional Weaning Requirements	Calves must be > 6 weeks before weaned	Calves must be > 5 weeks before weaned	Calves must be > 5 weeks before weaned	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed
Calf-Cow Separation	Separation of the calf from its mother must involve methods designed to cause as little stress as possible	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed
Dry Period ¹	Not addressed	> 60 days	25 days	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed
Destination of Male Calves	Cannot be sold to “farms that have confinement, crated or slatted veal systems”	Prohibits on-farm euthanasia of healthy bull and heifer calves	Cannot be moved off-farm until they have received colostrum, can eat/drink unaided, are dry and can walk	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed	Not addressed
Hormone Use Prohibited	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Routine Antibiotic Use Prohibited	Yes	Yes	No, allows nontherapeutic use of ionophores	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
On-Farm Audits of Every Facility	Yes	Generally yes, but not every facility is audited in producer groups	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, but only every three years	No	No	No	No
Timing of Audits	Once every year	Once every year	Once every year	Once every year	Once every 12-15 months	Once every three years for second-party audits and annual third-party audits for a representative percentage of participating farms	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
100% Compliance with Standards	Yes	Yes	No*	Yes	Yes	No (standards are guidelines, not requirements)	No	No	No	No

† Although the USDA Organic program released new, stronger animal welfare standards in January 2017, it delayed their implementation for months. Finally, in December 2017, the USDA announced its intention to withdraw these new standards completely. We are monitoring developments and will keep you updated; be sure to join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade for alerts if you haven’t already.

¹ The dry period is the period of time between when a cow stops being milked and her subsequent calving. It is intended to give the cow time to rest and recoup body condition before calving and the start of her next lactation cycle.

* American Humane Certified standards only require that producers meet 85% of the provided standards. Accordingly, it is possible that a producer might not meet certain requirements (including antibiotic or hormone use) and still receive the American Humane Certified certification.

Help the ASPCA Put a Stop to Animal Cruelty

Donate