The Field Guide Inclusion Criteria

A farm, producer or shop is listed when at least one product it sells meets the criteria for that product. Products from the producer's own animals that don't meet the criteria, or that we haven't checked, are named on the listing with the reason. Resold products with no traceable source aren't shown.

criteria version 24 october 2026 · each listing shows the month we checked it

The criteria in brief

• Meat, milk and eggs come from the producer's own animals, or from named farms, and the animals graze or live free range: cows, sheep and goats on pasture in the grazing season, pigs and poultry outdoors. Certified organic and Demeter farms qualify on their certificate.
• Eggs are code 0 (organic) or code 1 (free range).
• Fruit, vegetables, herbs and mushrooms are grown by the producer without synthetic pesticides or fertiliser (certified or stated by the grower) and sold direct. Bread is sourdough, or made with organic or stone-ground flour.
• Organic claims are checked in the EU organic register (SKAL) and Demeter's register.
• Each product is assessed separately, and for meat, milk and eggs each animal species.
• Organic shops and markets are assessed as a whole and listed in their own categories.

Criteria per product

Each product has its own criteria. For meat, milk and eggs we check each animal species separately, and only the producer's own animals, or named source farms, qualify.

The criteria decide who is on the map. On the map you can then filter further: under each product are the filters that apply to it, such as certified organic or 100% grass-fed. The buying filters (open now, self-service, delivers, pickup points) work for every product. Zero waste appears for any product where a listing sells without packaging.

Meat

EU law bans growth hormones and routine antibiotics for all farm animals, so no farm here uses them.

Dairy

EU law bans growth hormones and routine antibiotics for all farm animals, so no farm here uses them.

Eggs

EU law bans growth hormones and routine antibiotics for all farm animals, so no farm here uses them.

Honey

Fish and shellfish

We use the VISwijzer, the Dutch sustainable fish guide by the Good Fish foundation, which rates each species by where it's caught or farmed and how.

Fruit and vegetables

No genetically modified crops are grown in the Netherlands: the only GM crop allowed to be grown in the EU is one maize variety, grown in Spain and Portugal.

Bread, flour and pantry

Ferments

CSAs and co-ops

Farms you join: members pay ahead, often for a season or a year, and collect a share of the harvest, or a co-op orders for its members direct from named farms.

Food forests and gardens

Places you go to pick, help grow or share food: food forests, city gardens and community pick gardens. Some sell what they grow, some share it with volunteers or give it away.

Organic status

There are three organic filters, from broadest to strictest. Each one includes every listing in the filters below it.

Organic methods

Organic in everything except the certificate. For crops: the producer states that it uses no synthetic pesticides or synthetic fertiliser. For meat, milk and eggs, also: the animals get organic, GM-free or home-grown feed, or only grass. Certified organic producers are included too. On the listing of an uncertified producer this reads "Organic methods: no synthetic pesticides or fertiliser, not certified", with their own statement quoted. Biologisch and "organic" are protected terms under EU Regulation 2018/848, so an uncertified producer is never called organic without "methods" and "not certified".

No synthetic sprays or fertiliser on their land

For meat, milk and eggs: the farm states it uses no synthetic pesticides or fertiliser on its land, but we haven't confirmed its feed. Certified organic farms are included.

Certified organic

Official definition (EU Regulation 2018/848): no synthetic pesticides or fertilisers and no GMOs; animals get organic feed and outdoor access; farms are checked by an inspection body. An issued certificate in the EU organic operator register (SKAL, code NL-BIO-01), matched on the producer's street address. We check the register for every organic claim; the register decides when it disagrees with a website. Shop branches are covered by their head office's certificate. EKO and Demeter are included in certified organic.

Biodynamic

Official definition (Demeter International standard): certified organic, plus the whole farm converted, at least half the animal feed grown on the farm, biodynamic compost and field preparations, and no dehorning of cattle. Listed in Demeter's operator register. A certificate applies only to the business named on it.

Not organic

PlanetProof is not included in any organic filter.

Animal feed

Feed isn't part of the criteria for meat, milk and eggs; grazing and free range are. Two filters show which farms tell us more:

100% grass-fed

Cattle, sheep and goats eat only grass: pasture in the grazing season, hay and silage in winter, with no grain or soy. For meat this includes the last months before slaughter (grass-finished). Only where the farm states it.

Organic or own-grown feed

The farm states its animals get organic, GM-free or home-grown feed, or only grass, and says nothing about bought-in conventional feed.

Most farms don't publish what they feed. We ask them, and add it when they tell us.

Beter Leven

Beter Leven (1 to 3 stars) is the animal welfare label of the Dierenbescherming. It isn't a filter: most farms that sell direct don't have it. Where a producer has the label, the listing shows the stars per animal, checked in the Beter Leven register.

• Eggs in the guide are at least the equivalent of Beter Leven 2 stars for laying hens: the hens have an outdoor run.
• 3 stars qualifies for every animal. 2 stars qualifies for laying hens, chicken, beef and dairy, and not for pork or veal. 1 star never qualifies.
• For beef and dairy we check grazing, not the number of days outside that Beter Leven 2 stars requires (180 for beef, 150 for dairy), so we don't claim a star level for them.

Raw milk and A2 milk

Raw milk

Marked only when the producer states that the milk is raw (rauwe melk). A milk tap (melktap) can sell raw, low-pasteurised or pasteurised milk.

A2 milk

Two filters. A2 cow's milk is marked only when the producer states that the herd is A2 (quote recorded); we don't infer it from breed. All A2 milk adds goat's and sheep's milk, which contain no A1 beta-casein and are A2 by nature. Neither is part of the bar, both are filters.

Labels on a listing

An example listing, with what each part means.

Goes the extra mile

Practices beyond the criteria. A producer gets the solid mark when we find evidence of at least one of these, in its own words or in a register:

The listing names which practice it is, with the source. Regenerative and nature-inclusive are separate filters because they mean different things. Regenerative is soil first: no ploughing, cover crops, a living soil that improves year on year. Agro-ecological farms (agro-ecologisch) are included in the regenerative filter. Nature-inclusive (natuurinclusief) is the Dutch term for biodiversity first: herb-rich grassland, hedgerows, meadow birds, agricultural nature management. Both are the producer's own description of its farming, or named practices on its website. Neither is a certificate, and we don't verify soil or wildlife outcomes.

Other labels

Visited by Moss & Marrow

We have been there ourselves: bought at the shop or stall, ordered from the webshop, or taken part in the garden. It adds nothing to the criteria, which every listing meets the same way. It says we know the place first-hand.

They also make

Non-food products such as salves, candles or wool. Not assessed.

Zero waste

The producer or shop states on its own website that it sells without packaging, lets you bring your own jars, bottles, bags or containers (for example at a milk tap), or uses returnable deposit bottles. Refill bottles sold at a milk tap and chain-wide statements such as "as little packaging as possible" don't count.

Shops and markets

Organic shops and markets are assessed as a whole and listed only under Organic shops or Markets, with no grazing, welfare or raw milk labels. Online farm platforms follow the same rule and appear under "Delivered to your door". Food co-ops are listed with CSAs.

• Organic shops: independent natuurvoedingswinkels and organic chains such as Odin and Ekoplaza.
• Markets: farmers' markets (boerenmarkt, streekmarkt) and organic markets. General weekly markets aren't listed.

What we don't list

• Supermarkets, specialist cheese shops and delicatessens.
• Restaurants, cafés and caterers, unless they also run a farm shop.
• Wholesalers, associations, schools and supply shops.
• Wine and other alcohol.
• Honesty stalls and home sales whose location the owner hasn't published. We ask the owner first.
• Fish that is red in the VISwijzer, including eel, and unlabelled fish with no stated origin or catch method.
• Farms, producers and shops that have closed permanently.

Why these criteria

The criteria follow four rules: animal and plant products are judged on different things, farms that use organic methods are included without certification, organic claims are checked in the register, and each product is assessed on its own.

Animal products and plant products

Synthetic pesticides matter most for plants: they are sprayed on the crop you eat. So fruit and vegetables are judged on how the land is farmed. For meat, milk and eggs, how the animals are kept matters more: whether they graze or live free range, and whose animals they are. That shapes the animals' welfare and the food itself; milk and beef from grazing animals contain more omega-3 fatty acids (Średnicka-Tober et al. 2016, Daley et al. 2010).

So a farm with grazing cattle is listed for its beef whether or not it is certified organic. The Organic methods filter shows which of these farms also farm their land without synthetic pesticides or fertiliser and feed their animals organic, GM-free or home-grown feed, or grass only.

Farms without organic certification

We include farms that use organic methods but aren't certified, because the criteria are about how the food is produced. A certificate is one way to show that; a farm's own clear statement, quoted on its listing, is another. Of the 572 producers listed now, 135 are certified organic and 107 use organic methods without certification.

Certification means registering with SKAL, an annual inspection at €136 an hour and annual contributions of €1,236 in 2026. Fully organic farms with a turnover under €80,000 can ask to be exempted from the contributions (SKAL tariffs 2026).

Register checks

We have looked up 1637 farms, producers and shops in the EU organic register. Some certified farms don't mention their certificate on their website, and some websites use biologisch without one.

Each product separately

One farm shop can sell beef from its own grazing cattle next to cheese bought in from elsewhere. The beef qualifies. Bought-in cheese with no traceable source isn't shown.

What we accept as evidence

We check each listing from published sources, or ask the producer when those are missing.

Accepted

A specific statement on the producer's own website, webshop, social media or packaging (for example "de koeien lopen van april tot november buiten"). An entry in the EU organic operator register (TRACES, where SKAL certificates are published) or in Demeter's operator register. Regional or farming press about that producer.

Leads only

Directories and listing sites. We use them to find producers, then confirm from one of the sources above.

Not accepted

General words such as duurzaam, ambachtelijk or met liefde.

Not a criterion

Growth hormones and preventive antibiotics for groups of animals. Both are banned for all livestock in the EU (antibiotics: Regulation 2019/6, since January 2022), so every Dutch farm complies.

No evidence found

It is not listed. We contact the producer and list it if they confirm.

Corrections

Each listing shows the month we checked it and the source we used. If something has changed, such as opening hours, what is for sale or how the animals are kept, tell us and we will re-check it.

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