My local news station reported today that Whole Foods is working on an Animal Compassion Program. I have mixed feelings about this. What do you think?
On one hand, I applaud them for promoting humane treatment, but on the other, it's just going to give people more peace of mind to keep eating meat. It all looks good on paper but getting the farms they use to actually follow the directives sounds like a lofty goal. Below is a statement about the program from Whole Foods' website http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/prod...standards.html
Animal Compassionate Program
We are currently developing our next generation of Whole Foods Market meat standards, our species-specific Animal Compassionate Standards, which require environments and conditions that support the animal's physical, emotional, and behavioral needs to an even higher level. Producers who successfully meet these additional Standards will be able to label their products with the special "Animal Compassionate" designation. Although no producers have met these standards yet, many are exploring the opportunity.
Whole Foods Market created the non-profit Animal Compassion Foundation as a natural progression of our efforts to help producers evolve their practices for raising farm animals naturally and humanely. Though related, and similarly named, the Animal Compassionate Standards are not created or maintained by the Animal Compassion Foundation. The Foundation is a separate and independent non-profit educational organization created to provide producers and researchers with the opportunity to learn, share ideas, and collaborate on projects.
Species Specific Standards in Detail for Both Programs
As we go through the process of developing our Animal Compassionate Standards, we are also writing more detailed descriptions of the Whole Foods Market Natural Meat Quality Standards for each species reviewed. This more detailed version of the standards, including both Whole Foods Market Natural Standards and Animal Compassionate Standards, will be added here as they are developed.
(Animal Compassionate Standards for other meat species, laying hens and dairy animals are under development)
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