Reply sent January 4, 2010
Jadene,
Thank you so much for contacting us with your questions! We think it’s important that our customers have the resources they need to make informed decisions about the food they purchase. Because we feel so strongly about the farm to table connection we are always happy when our customers take the time to learn more about the foods they purchase and the wide variety of options we as consumers have. It’s one of the reasons we host farmers and ranchers in our stores. We want our customers and ranchers to meet each other and learn more about how each one feels about the animals or plants that eventually end up in our meals. This desire to provide information is also why we enjoy answering emails like this one.
All the meat and poultry in the New Seasons Market Meat Departments comes to us from the partnerships that Alan, our Meat and Seafood Director, has developed over the years (the same is true for our seafood). Alan, our buyer, knows our ranchers and farmers and their operations intimately. Humane animal treatment is an important factor in Alan’s decision to enter into a partnership and to renew it over the years. Alan visits our farm and ranch partners as frequently as possible, and nearly all of our meat department staff have had the chance to stay (and even work) with Country Natural Beef, Pacific Village Beef and/or Umpqua Valley Lamb ranchers.
Food Alliance currently offers certification for Beef, Lamb and Pork. All Country Natural Beef and Pacific Village Beef ranchers are Food Alliance certified, as are the Umpqua Valley Lamb ranchers and the Oregon families who raise our Pacific Village Pork. You can learn more about the farmers and ranchers on our website: click here. The left hand margins contain many videos, interviews, and information about the specific farms and ranchers our meat products come from.
Our Country Natural Beef is raised and finished on a diet of grain and pasture while our Pacific Village Beef is 100% grass fed and never grain finished. We offer the Pacific Village Grass Fed Beef in the spring through the fall, but in the winter we have a limited supply since it’s difficult for cows to sustain themselves entirely on pasture during the cold winter months.
Slaughter is often one of the most difficult aspects of animal farming, and while the question is rare, it is an important one that we are more than happy to discuss with our customers. It is important to New Seasons Market to establish relationships with ranchers and growers who are committed to humane farming practices, and humane slaughter is not the least of the significant criteria that our partnerships require. To our Meat Merchandisers, humane slaughter includes a low stress environment for the animals; a quick and painless kill; and a processing facility that is top quality, USDA certified, and relatively small-scale. None of the animals in our meat cases have been tortured at any time, including the time of their slaughter. If you are interested in further details about the slaughter of our animals, I can provide that for you.
Thanks again for being in touch with us, Jadene, and I hope you won’t hesitate to stay in touch with me if you have any further questions for us!
Warmly,
Chenoa
Chenoa Philabaum
Customer Advocate
New Seasons Market
Inquiry Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 6:56 PM
To: Talk To Us
Subject: inquiry about meat products
hello,
i'm interested in finding out about how animals are treated on farms that new seasons stocks its meat counter from. do new seasons suppliers allow their livestock regular access to fresh outdoor air, green grass, and sunlight? are farm animals that new seasons buys from raised and slaughtered humanely? does new seasons buy from any confined animal feeding operations (cafos)?
thank you,
jadene f
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