Just because something says organic, doesn’t mean it’s treated humanely. Just because something says organic, doesn’t mean it is organic.
I used to say I only drink organic milk. Okay, well, there are a few things wrong here. One, organic used to mean no growth hormones or antibiotics or junk. I have read that it has changed. Now (as of 2004) organic means you can treat your cows with these drugs, and as long as a year has passed before you take the milk, it’s okay. Also, pesticides can be used even if there are unknown ingredients as long as you say you try to identify them… (basically what it says in Skinny Bitch, Pg 102). It also says you can put organic on anything without being monitored by the USDA. What kind of regulations are these? Who makes these rules up?
Two, let’s just say the milk was truly organic… that doesn’t mean the cows weren’t tortured during collection or even just hanging out on the farm. It doesn’t mean they come from a nice, loving place with lots of green pastures, like we all like to think.
I used to eat any kind of meat, no big deal. The other day, something hit me… I was at the grocery store and I wanted some chicken. When I went to grab a package of Tyson boneless skinless thighs, all I could think of was when I read about the chickens getting the ends of their beaks sliced off with a hot knife. Needless to say, I didn’t get the chicken. I look in the meat case and thought about the “You Are What You Eat” chapter in Skinny Bitch and I couldn’t bring myself to buy any of it. I don’t know if the cows, pigs, and chickens in that case went through any of the horrific things I read, but I like to think they probably did. It makes my stomach turn to even think someone could be so cruel to an innocent animal.
I left the large box grocery store and went to Earth Fare. My brother works for them and I have been there several times. I never really asked a lot of questions, I just purchased what I liked. Now keep in mind, Earth Fare is on the far north end of town and it’s about a 20 minute drive, not convenient to get to at all for me, but I really wanted some chicken. I didn’t know if I would buy any meat there, but I had one major question I wanted answered.
The store is very nice. A large front wall, full of windows, lets a great amount of natural light in. It’s an odd layout and very compact. My brother says it’s because you’re supposed to shop the outsides of the store, the departments with all of the “real” food, I suppose. There’s a juice stand, hot and cold food bar, bakery, sandwich, pizza, and sushi stations, prepared foods, specialty (deli), wine, meat, seafood, nuts and dairy, and produce. The internal aisles have all of the “standard” stuff, cereal, pasta, canned veggies, frozen foods, etc. I say “standard” because it’s all organic and they have what they call Food Philosophy. They don’t use artificial sweeteners, artificial fats or artificial trans fats, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, no bleached or bromated flour, and no antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones in their fresh meat or dairy. You can read about all of this in the link above.
I usually walk right to prepared foods. They have a case full of salads that range from meat to vegetarian to vegan. They also have precooked chicken and fish. I purchased a big ‘ole slice of “White Lasagna.” It had cheese, carrots, spinach, and herbs and it was much better than I thought it would be. When asked the woman behind the counter what was in it, she was able to tell me exactly. She warned me about the dairy and wheat. It was really nice she was able to tell me this in the event I had a food allergy or dietary restriction. She didn’t hassle me or make it up. She looked it up and told me the truth. I didn’t do this to be difficult or test her, I just really wanted to know what I was going to eat.
Next, I stopped at the huge case of chilled beverages. I passed through specialty, passed the olives and wine and made my way to the meat counter. When I walked up, the guy behind the counter complimented me on my ring and asked if he could help me. I said, “I have a question and this may seem weird, but when purchasing your meat, does Earth Fare take into consideration the treatment of the animals prior to slaughter?” He said they absolutely do and that’s a primary factor with almost anything in the store. At their core, they really care about where everything comes from and how it’s obtained. I told him I had just been to a big box store and couldn’t help but think about how inhumanely animals are treated at slaughterhouses. He went in search of a book when I brought this up. He told me I HAD to see it. I wasn’t in a hurry so I figured I’d hang around and look at whatever he was going to show me. He finds it behind the counter on a shelf under a box of gloves. It has a brown cover with some words on it. I wish I would have paid more attention to these words so I could share the name of the beef farm. Since I don’t remember, you all have to suffer. Anyway, he hands it over to me and tells me to flip through it, that those are pictures of the farm where all of the cows come from. There are pictures of cows in grassy fields, acres and acres of nothing but farm land. It was beautiful. As I was flipping through it, he continued to tell me that if they ask a supplier for information or pictures, the supplier isn’t normally forthcoming with it. I said it’s because they’re tying to hide something; you say you treat your animals humanely, but you can’t back it up. The book I was looking at was about twelve inches square and a quarter inch thick. There had to have been 50-60 color pages. One picture was a few cows in deep grass with a clear blue stream of water. It made me happy to see this. He told me they don’t carry veal because they can’t find a humane supplier. I told him I don’t eat veal for this exact reason (I also don’t like how it tastes). They do sell lamb though (poor little yummy lamb). I thanked him for the chat and ended up picking up a steak and a couple chicken thighs; I then made a quick pass through produce for some Fuji apples.
After talking to this guy and seeing the book, I really felt like it was okay for me to eat the meat from this store. They care about it just as much as I do. I told him I never cared before I read this book (Skinny Bitch) and now I think about it all the time. I also said I can see why people become vegetarians or vegans. I like beef and chicken too much to not eat it. But I’m less likely to eat it if it’s been tortured and scared before being mangled to death. I’ll drive the 20 extra minutes it takes to get good food.
Another company that I like to visit regularly (not as much as I used to though) is Chipotle. They have very similar values when it comes to the treatment and nutrition of the animals for either the meat they use or the dairy. They believe in allowing the animals to live natural lives and behave naturally, not be controlled in some factory setting. They call it Food With Integrity. It gives me hope that there are companies who care. Those who are willing to make a special trip or pay a little more, eat better food.
Eating well costs money. It’s cheap to kill sick, injured animals full of drugs and chemicals, then distribute it to millions of clueless Americans. It costs money to keep animals healthy with good feed and a nice place to live. It takes time to treat them with love and care. I feel better in my heart knowing the meat and dairy I am eating isn’t full of fear and toxins. Going out to eat is a different story, but I definitely think about it.
Blaire's Journey 