21 Sustainable & Ethical Food Certifications to Look for on Your Next Grocery Run

Food is such an important part of our lives. For every life milestone, holiday with the family, and stress-induced late-night rendezvous with the fridge, food is pretty much always there for us. (I’m looking at you, Ben & Jerry’s.)

Given the environmental and social impact of food, we should be there for it too. Or rather, we should be there for the farmers, workers, animals, and the land that makes our food possible! One way we can do this is to look for sustainable and ethical food certifications. 

This guide provides a quick glance at the sustainable and ethical food certifications out there and what makes each of them unique in three overarching categories:

  • Worker welfare
  • Sustainable farming
  • Animal welfare

Look for these little seals of sustainable and ethical approval the next time you’re at the grocery store! 

Certifications for Worker Welfare

The Food Justice Certification was created by the Agricultural Justice Project (AJP). Their mission is to bring justice to and empower famers and farm laborers. This ethical food certification means that farmers and workers are paid living wages, work in a safe environment, and a future version of the certification will include protections for indigenous rights. 

Naturland is an international organization committed to supporting organic and ethical farming. Their food certification, Naturland Fair, requires that companies pay workers fair prices and develop long-term relationships with those workers. Consumers can find the Naturland Fair logo on chocolate, sugar, coffee and other food products.  

If you’re reading this article, chances are you’ve already heard of one of the two fair trade certifications! You can find the Fair Trade logo on produce, pantry staples, and even some clothing brands. The Fair Trade seal ensures that farmers and worker receive fair and living wages and have a safe work environment. Also, the premium consumers pay for Fair Trade products goes directly back to workers, which can be used to support local communities. 

Fairtrade International works to provide fair wages to 1.7 million farmers and workers across the globe. Similarly to Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade certified products include a premium cost that is sent directly back to the people who produced your food. This sustainable and ethical certification logo can be found on bananas, chocolate, coffee, honey, grains, and more! 

Fair for Life is another ethical fair wage food certification to look for on tea, almonds, fresh and dried produce, and other products. However, consumers can also find the Fair for Life seal on beauty products, clothing, and ingredients commonly found in household cleaners. 

The Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) combines food safety, fair working conditions, and giving workers a seat at the table to build a more just and sustainable food system. Look for their Responsibly Grown Farmworker Assured label the next time you’re shopping for fruits and veggies. Costco and Whole Foods are a few retailers that carry certified produce. 

Equal Exchange is all about fairly traded coffee, tea, and chocolate — three foods I eat or drink on a near-daily basis! Equal Exchange products (or ingredients) are made by worker-owned co-ops. This means that workers are in the driver’s seat and have full control over making sure working conditions are fair and safe. 

The Small Producer Symbol (SSP) is a fair trade certification that specifically supports small-scale farmers. To be a successful in the agriculture world, farmers often feel the pressure to “get big or go home.” In other words, the biggest farms that grow the most food in the least amount of time are prime candidates for large food companies. However, small producers are equally important! The SSP represents a space for fairly-paid, small producers on our grocery store shelves. 

If you see the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) logo on a product, it means that the entire company that made that product meets WFTO’s standards for fair trade and putting people and planet before profit. Organizations certified to WFTO are also committed to organic agriculture, creating less waste, and championing women’s rights. 

The Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) is a food and farming certification that encompasses social fairness for workers, soil health, and animal welfare. Patagonia Provisions, Dr. Bronner’s, and other mainstream sustainable food brands are at the forefront of this certification. The social fairness aspect of the ROC is focused on fair and living wages, safe working conditions, and ensuring workers are heard if they have any complaints. 

The ROC is still being tested out by a handful of companies (you can find a list of them here). Until the certification is widely available, it’s still handy to know which companies are taking a big leap forward in building a more just and sustainable food system.

Sustainable Farming Certifications

The USDA Organic label is arguably the first widely recognized U.S. standard for a more sustainable way of farming. It’s not perfect, but it does prohibit synthetic fertilizers and encourage practices that promote healthier soil. And healthier  farmland means less forests and habitats will be converted for agricultural use. 

The philosophy of the Demeter Biodynamic standard is that farms should function as living organisms. In other words, a biodynamic farm is one that grows a variety of crops, doesn’t use on synthetic fertilizes and pesticides, and overall has systems in place that mimic what nature would do on its own. 

A few certified brands you might recognize at the grocery store include Guayaki Yerba Mate, Lundberg Family Farms, and The Republic of Tea

13. Rainforest Alliance

Did you know that agriculture drives 80% of global deforestation? Rainforest Alliance is doing something about that through their certification program. The Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard aims to promote biodiversity, conserve natural resources, and create farming systems that both improve livelihoods and protect the environment.  

This sustainable and ethical food certification can be found on brands like Clif Bar, Justin’s, and Yogi tea. 

14. Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

Food from our oceans is just as important as the food we grow on land. While they don’t have a formal food certification program, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has an app you can download to quickly check the sustainability scores of various seafood brands. In general, they recommend looking for these sustainable seafood certifications: Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), Naturland Standards for Organic Aquaculture, and the Marine Stewardship Council

15. Soil Carbon Initiative

The Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI) is focused on getting carbon from the air back into our soils to both mitigate the effects of climate change and promote sustainable farming. The standard hasn’t officially launched yet, but be on the lookout for participating brands like Danone and Ben & Jerry’s when it does!

The ROC‘s social fairness category actually requires brands to have another worker welfare certification in place before they can apply for the program. So, for example, a company would need to be certified by Fair Trade, EFI, or another worker welfare certification before they can come to ROC. This certification ensures fair and living wages, no forced or child labor, and additional requirements that give farmers fair payments for their products. 

Animal Welfare Certifications

The Global Animal Partnership (GAP) created the Animal Welfare Certified standards, which are broken out by species type. Each standard requires the animals have enriched environments, outdoor access, and healthy diets that promote emotional well-being. Farms and brands can be certified on a scale of 1 to 5+. Generally, scores at 4 or above are best since this is where animals are required to be raised on pasture year-round. 

Animal Welfare Approved is another ethical certification that guarantees animals are raised outdoors and with stringent animal welfare requirements. Their standards are broken out by species type to accommodate the varying needs for each and were developed with input from both scientists and veterinarians. . 

Certified Grassfed is a certification made by the same organization as Animal Welfare Approved. This one applies specifically to beef and ensures that animals are raised on 100% grass and forage diets on open pasture. 

The Certified Humane seal means that animals are treated justly at every stage of life, are free-roaming, and are fed a healthy diet. The certification was made in collaboration with animal scientists, veterinarians, and farmers. Look for the Certified Humane logo or search their online directory for brands near you!

Having an animal welfare certification is a necessary prerequisite to ROC‘s certification program. Their animal welfare category does not allow concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), has strict requirements for healthy feeding, and includes a long no-no list to prevent animal abuse. 

Are there other sustainable and ethical food certifications you look for when you shop? Let us know in the comments!

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