What does organic mean?

There are a lot of criteria that must be checked off in order to become organic, but to the gist is: Grown on soil that had no prohibited substances applied for three years prior to harvest. Prohibited substances include most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In instances when a grower has to use a synthetic substance to achieve a specific purpose, the substance must first be approved according to criteria that examine its effects on human health and the environment (USDA).

What does beyond organic mean?

Farmers who use organic practices but don’t have an organic label. In many cases, these farmers even go above and beyond the organic threshold to use more regenerative practices that boost the health of the soil and prevent any sort of degradation. For example, whereas organic growers are permitted to use certain organic-approved pesticides, many beyond organic farmers will stay away from all synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

What does IPM mean?

IPM stands for integrated pest management and is a framework for dealing with pest problems. The framework specifies that, before using any sort of chemical pesticide, a farmer should attempt to treat pest problems with physical/mechanical (ex. barriers to prevent insects from reaching the plant), biological (ex. introducing native predators to prey on the pests), and biorational (ex. organic pesticides and oil sprays) solutions first.

Farmers who leverage IPM aren’t simply solving problems as they arise. Rather, they implement systems and strategies that prevent pest problems from arising in the first place. Examples of these systems and strategies include fostering healthy soil, choosing plants that are adapted to the ecosystem, intercropping, rotating crops, etc. This requires some very intentional thought and planning on the part of the farmer.

What does local mean?

To us, local means produced within 200 miles of St. Louis. You’ll find tons of different definitions for local depending on where you look. The USDA typically uses 400 miles as their threshold which is why we think of ourselves as radically local!

What does pasture-raised mean?

We see a lot of “pasture-raised” labels in the grocery store some of which don’t mean much. Though pasture-raised indicates that an animal had at least some exposure to the outdoors, products labeled with “pasture-raised” in the grocery store may have been confined for the majority of their lives. The animals with pasture-raised icons on our site have ample access to the outdoors and spend most of their lives grazing green Missouri pasture.

What does no antibiotics or hormones mean?

In essence, this designation means that animals are only given antibiotics if they’re sick and need the antibiotics.

What does grain-finished mean?

The grain-finished animals on our site ate grasses for the majority of their lives and were finished on a mixture of grains. Grain-finished cattle gain weight quicker, providing their meat with a marbling and tenderness that you don’t find with grass-finished cattle.

What does small-batch mean?

The small-batch icon indicates that a product was not mass-produced. In other words, it was made by hand rather than manufactured in large quantities by an automated mechanical process.

What does vegan mean?

Does not contain or use any animal products including meat, eggs, dairy, and other animal-derived substances like honey.

What does baked to order mean?

That product finished baking on the morning of your delivery (many products take multiple days to prepare so the leavening process most likely occurred in the days prior to baking).