Responding to a growing concern over ethical animal treatment, retailers Whole Foods, Safeway and Supervalu are moving to more clearly define “humane treatment” in the animal products they sell.
Read More:Supermarkets To Offer ‘Humane’ Meat Products
Supermarkets To Offer ‘Humane’ Meat ProductsJanuary 4th, 2011 - Jill EttingerWhole Foods Market Halts Sales of Live LobstersJune 19th, 2006 - Barbara Feiner
“Our commitment to animal-compassionate standards means eliminating unnecessary and avoidable suffering when it is possible for us to do so,” said cofounder and CEO John Mackey at the time. “Given all the work we have done regarding animal welfare in our natural meat and animal-compassionate standards, we decided the sale of live lobsters within our stores and also their procurement conditions were appropriate to question. “We are viewing the lobster as a live creature rather than a commodity that deserves no concern,” he continued. “Just because we sell lobsters and have customers who will buy them is not a compelling argument to maintain status quo.” The company established an internal task force to investigate treatment standards for live lobsters and the supply chain process. Attention focused on how to significantly reduce the time from the lobster boat to the consumer’s shopping cart to avoid the long-term storage many lobsters endure after capture. The task force also looked into more humane shipping methods, as well as in-store tank conditions, aiming to mimic conditions of a lobster’s natural habitat. Now that the June deadline has arrived, Whole Foods has made its decision: The company will stop selling live lobsters, effective immediately. “Although we discovered significant improvements are possible from capture up to in-store tank conditions, we are not yet sufficiently satisfied that the process of selling live lobsters is in line with our commitment to humane treatment and quality of life for animals,” says Margaret Wittenberg, vice president of quality standards. “At this time, we believe it is too difficult to maintain consistent conditions throughout the entire supply chain to ensure the health and well-being of lobsters outside their natural environment for such a long period of time. Many lobsters are held in storage facilities for several months.” For now, Whole Foods will sell only frozen raw and cooked lobster products from suppliers that meet specific quality standards for humane treatment, handling and processing. “If, at some time in the future, we become convinced that sufficient improvements are possible in the handling of live lobsters to ensure humane treatment throughout the supply chain, we will consider resuming the sale of live lobsters at Whole Foods Market,” Wittenberg says. “We place as much emphasis on the importance of humane treatment and quality of life for all animals as we do on the expectations for quality and flavor,” Mackey adds. “It is an integral component of our standards for every species we sell, and lobster cannot be any different. Part of our business is to continually learn and evolve, and while the door is open to new information, we are satisfied with our decision to stop selling live lobsters at this time.” Read More:Whole Foods Market Halts Sales of Live LobstersShop at Whole Foods Market on Jan. 24January 16th, 2006 - Barbara Feiner
USDA Photo: Ken Hammond Mark your calendar so you can shop at your local Whole Foods Market on Tuesday, Jan. 24, when the company will donate 5% of its total global sales to the Animal Compassion Foundation. “The quest for cheap food in our society has created an industrialized model of meat production in which animals are bred and raised in conditions focused on efficiency rather than on the basic needs of the animal,” says Whole Foods CEO and cofounder John Mackey. “As another important milestone on our path to being a responsible tenant of the planet, Whole Foods Market created the Animal Compassion Foundation to act as a forum in which meat producers can learn, share and be inspired to ensure animal welfare as a top priority.” Whole Foods Market has set strict requirements for food safety and high standards for animal welfare in its Natural Meat Program. Last year’s launch of the Animal Compassion Foundation parallels the development of the company’s next generation of meat standards: the Animal Compassionate Standards, which will require farm environments to provide enhanced support of animals’ physical, emotional and behavioral needs. In the future, as specific standards for each species are completed and labeling logistics are finalized, producers who successfully meet the standards will be able to label their products with a distinct designation. “The foundation was created to help producers make the transition to these higher levels of animal welfare that we are encouraging producers throughout the world to achieve,” Mackey says. “Over the long run, with access to the information available through the Animal Compassion Foundation, we hope more producers will see the intrinsic merits of raising animals in a compassionate manner and will be inspired to follow this lead.” The foundation focuses on four primary areas:
|
Last November, 
