FAT Research
Briefings, verification notes, and original research from Farm Animal Transparency. These summaries help consumers, producers, and policymakers understand meat labeling, origin claims, and self-certification practices.
FAT RESEARCH LIBRARY
FAT Research
Plain-English research on meat label disclosure, verification, origin, and consumer transparency.
Animal Welfare Research Series
- Third-Party Animal Welfare Certification Programs
- Humane Handling Enforcement at U.S. Slaughter
- Animal Welfare Certifiers in the U.S. Meat Supply
- Animal Welfare in U.S. Meat Production
Beef Packers Research Series
- Captive in Practice: Why “Independent” Is the Wrong Word for Most U.S. Cattle Feedlots
- Federal and State Regulation of Large Feedlots in the United States
- Feedlot Pricing Grids
- Overview of the American Beef Industry: Concentration, Foreign Ownership, and Market Structure
Broiler Chicken Industry Research Series
View all →Country of Origin Research Series
- Product of USA: Regulatory Meaning, Trade History, and Structural Labeling Implications
- Farm Animal Transparency: From Retail Demand to Producer Incentives – Can Origin Labels Bridge the Gap?
- Evidence Supporting Reinstatement of COOL for U.S. Beef, Pork, and Chicken
- Evidence That Does Not Support COOL
- Policy & Market Pressures on Transparent Domestic Beef
- From Compliance to Brand: How Retailers Are Turning Verified U.S. Beef Into Consumer Trust
Economic Concentration Research Series
- Captive in Practice: Why “Independent” Is the Wrong Word for Most U.S. Cattle Feedlots
- Economic Concentration in Animal Protein: DOJ Enforcement, FTC Policy, and Federal Case Law (2000–2026)
- How Economic Concentration Shows Up on Meat Labels
- Economic Concentration in U.S. Broiler Chicken Supply Chains
- Economic Concentration in U.S. Pork Supply Chains
- Economic Concentration in U.S. Beef Supply Chains
Food as Medicine Research Series
View all →Food Safety Research Series
View all →FSIS ENFORCEMENT DATA SERIES
View all →Grass-fed Beef Research Series
- Grass-Fed vs. Grass-Finished: What FSIS Actually Recognizes, and What Consumers Don’t Know
- Grass-Fed Beef: The Age and Tenderness Problem Nobody Talks About
- Nutrient Profile of Grass-Fed Beef vs. Grain-Fed Beef: Omega-3, CLA, Vitamin E, and More
- Is Grass-Fed Beef Better For You ?
- Grass-Fed Beef-The Basics
Hormones & Antibiotics
- The 2024 Antibiotic Surge in U.S. Livestock Production
- Is Grass-Fed Beef Better For You ?
- Verification of Vaccination
- What is a “Reputation Cattle Herd” in the Beef Cattle Industry
Pork Industry Research Series
View all →Producer & Rancher Practices
- Animal Welfare Certifiers in the U.S. Meat Supply
- What is a “Reputation Cattle Herd” in the Beef Cattle Industry
Producer Directory Research Series
- What “Animal Welfare Approved” Actually Verifies: Findings from a 21-Producer Audit
- Reading the Directory: How Stream B Differs from a Label Audit
Retail Labels & Grocers
- Consumer Behavior and Food Labels: An Integrative Review of the Academic and Scientific Literature with Particular Emphasis on Meat and Seafood
- EST Number Placement — The Meat Label Disclosure Gap
- “Natural” and “Family Farm”: Two Label Claims, No Real Definitions
- USDA Label Claims and Process Verification
- Farm Animal Transparency: From Retail Demand to Producer Incentives – Can Origin Labels Bridge the Gap?
- Chilling Chicken: Comparing Water Chilled vs. Air Chilled
Seafood Research Series
- Brand Search in Practice: A Seven-Distributor Pilot of the Seafood Label Model
- Scanning the Seafood Label: A Confidence-Graded Brand-Search Model
- How the FDA Enforces Seafood Law
- Catfish Production Overview
- How Imported Fish Is Regulated: FDA’s Import Safety Program, HACCP Equivalence, and the Documented Inspection Gaps
- How Domestic Fish Is Regulated: FDA Authority, HACCP, Voluntary Inspection, and the Gaps That Remain
Traceability & 840 Tags
- Farm Animal Transparency: From Retail Demand to Producer Incentives – Can Origin Labels Bridge the Gap?
- Evidence Supporting Reinstatement of COOL for U.S. Beef, Pork, and Chicken
- Evidence That Does Not Support COOL
- Policy & Market Pressures on Transparent Domestic Beef
- From Compliance to Brand: How Retailers Are Turning Verified U.S. Beef Into Consumer Trust
- Product of USA After FSIS Revisions: What Changed, What It Costs, and Who Bears the Burden
USDA Labeling Rules
- Consumer Behavior and Food Labels: An Integrative Review of the Academic and Scientific Literature with Particular Emphasis on Meat and Seafood
- EST Number Placement — The Meat Label Disclosure Gap
- “Natural” and “Family Farm”: Two Label Claims, No Real Definitions
- What Meat Labels Tell You — And What They Don’t
- Animal Welfare Certifiers in the U.S. Meat Supply
- Animal Welfare in U.S. Meat Production
Verified & Voluntary Claims
View all →Last reviewed: May 2026