The Good Soil Standard
Two tiers
The tier answers one question for a shopper: has this grower's word just been given, or has someone actually seen it? Most growers live happily as Good Soil Pledged — that tier stands on its own.
Self-attested
The grower publicly commits to the Good Soil Standard and states their specific practices openly on their listing — tied to their name, for their neighbors to see. That openness is the verification. Free, no visit required. The front door, and a respectable place to be.
Seen by us
Everything a Pledged grower promises, plus someone from GSS has personally visited and confirmed the practices match the claim. The photos on the listing are real and ours. A premium, earned distinction — not a destination every grower is pushed toward.
*An existing credible certification — ROC, AGW (A Greener World), Real Organic Project, or Demeter Biodynamic — means a reputable third party already checked the grower's practices. It fast-tracks a grower to Verified on opt-in, and appears as plain text on their listing. It never displaces the Good Soil tier or shows another certifier's logo on our map.
The Good Soil Standard, in plain English
Every Good Soil grower commits to these, no matter what they produce. The detail below them — for plants, animals, and prepared food — only matters for what you actually make.
You grew it, raised it, or made it yourself. You don't buy someone else's product and resell it as your own.
No synthetic pesticides, herbicides (including glyphosate), or synthetic fertilizers on the crops, pasture, or animals behind your food. Natural and biological methods instead.
You work with living soil — keeping it covered, feeding it compost or organic matter, disturbing it as little as you reasonably can.
If you raise animals, they live on pasture or range appropriate to their species, with room to move, fresh air, and low-stress handling throughout their lives.
If you make or prepare food, it's built from real ingredients — no industrial seed oils, no high-fructose corn syrup, no synthetic colors, flavors, or preservatives.
Every claim on your label, sign, or listing is something you can stand behind — and you'd happily answer a customer's questions or welcome them to see how you grow.
The full standard — including the per-category practices for growing plants, raising animals, and making food, and what we deliberately don't require — is published in plain language. We don't hide the details.
It starts with getting listed — and that part's free, always. Publicly commit to the Good Soil Standard and your operation goes on the Find a Producer map as Good Soil Pledged. A Verified visit is a recognition that can come later — not a hoop you have to clear first.
Pledge and get listed →