Product Rating System

We rate all of our products according to a strict policy. This goes for all farms that we buy from, who we inspect annually.

Most of you know the work that goes into bringing on new suppliers for Home on the Range Organics. We go out of our way to find local, small farms with the ability to raise a limited number of healthy grass-fed and finished animals, pastured in the case of poultry and free from GMO soy or corn where we want to offer the very best product in a product category. It’s a never ending job as we have to add new farms to manage our growth, while losing the occasional farm to conventional farming methods that don’t fit with our stringent requirements.

We have put together a 3-5 star system that explains where we start, and what the very best we can find means within a category. To better understand this model it is important to say that we will never carry any product where animals have been fed growth hormones, or antibiotics. We consider these to be below our three stars (which is our minimum rating for any product we carry). That way you understand that anything you find in your supermarket is likely to be under our three stars, and won’t make it into our product lists.

3 Star Rating:

Animals that fit into this 3 out of 5 rating are:

• free run *(plenty of light and lots of room between animals, cage free)
• may be free of soy or corn, but not guaranteed
• antibiotic and hormone free
• possible access to outdoors during the warmer months…on land that must be herbicide and pesticide free
• humane slaughtering practices

4 Star Rating:

Animals that fit into this 4 out of 5 rating are at least 6 of the following:

• mostly pastured
• organic fed
• antibiotic and hormone free
• herbicide and pesticide free land
• 100 mile diet friendly
• grass fed, grain finished (cattle)
• humane slaughtering practices
• In-house certified including annual land and animal husbandry inspection

For other mixed food products this means minimum 50% organic ingredients

5 Star rating:

This represents the best in class within its category.  Animals that fit into this 5 out of 5 rating are at least 10 of the following:

• 100% pastured
• organic fed
• antibiotic and hormone free
• herbicide and pesticide free land
• GMO free
• soy and corn free
• 100 mile diet friendly
• grass fed and grass finished (cattle)
• humane slaughtering practices
• In-house certified including annual land and animal husbandry inspection
• For other mixed food products this means 100% organic ingredients* (or in-house approved alternative ingredients such as sea salt that is best in class but not necessarily certified organic)
• 100 mile diet friendly** (unless it is a product that cannot naturally be sourced from within our province such as olive oils)

Our mission statement has always been to find local small farms that have the ability to provide us with the best products within their category. Many of these farms are struggling to find city vendors and also may have difficulty sustaining their income for their family. The cost of land and feed are both going through the roof. We are a bridge to offer them sustainability and growth. As we grow, we will work to find new farms to bring online that fit this model. We hope by doing this to provide sustainable living for a network of local farms and fight agri-business one parcel of land at a time. Our new store represents an essential step in this fight as we take city roots and distribute these wonderful local organic foods.

Other Icons Explained:

100 Mile Diet Friendly:

The product has been sourced from within 100 miles of our store or warehouse.

Antibiotic & Hormone Free:

This protein (meat) has been sourced from a farm that does not use antibitoics, or growth hormones on its animals, but uses traditional farming practices that are all natural.

Oceanwise Program in conjunction with Vancouver Aquarium:

The supplier we buy from is part of the Oceanwise program run by the Vancouver Aquarium. The purpose of the program is to protect fishstocks, and to ensure sustainability. Fish are all line caught and 100% wild.

GMO Free:

This product contains no genetically modified ingredients of any kind. Guaranteed certified organic products, or organic practice.

Certified Organic:

This product has been certified organic by the government of Canada.

BC Certified Organic:

This product has been certified organic by the province of British Columbia

Organic Practice:

This product has been inspected by our team, together with the place of origin and has been determined that the practices used by the farm & farmers is modeled on organic, sustainable methods. An inspection has been undertaken to ensure no pesticides are used on the land, and no antibiotics or hormones are used on any animals on the land. Equally all feed provided to the animals is free from genetically modified ingredients, or in the case of red meat animals they are grass fed & finished. No grain is introduced at any point in the lives of any cows, lamb and buffalo. For vegetables no chemicals are used in production or processing (i.e. no waxing of apples or formaldehyde in maple syrup). Wherever possible minimal or no mechanical processes are used for production and processing. For example in olive oil this would mean cold press & stone ground.

All prices are in CAD.