If you act right away you can sign on as an individual to this letter. This come from the Clean Water Network. The email you use for this is [log in to unmask] Peggy Murdock Urge Whole Foods to Increase its Selection of Sustainable, Humanely Raised Meats! Several members of the steering committee of CWN's Feedlot workgroup prepared the letter below, which asks Whole Foods to sell primarily humanely and sustainably raised pork and at least offer humanely and sustainably raised alternatives to its other meats. Diane Halverson of the Animal Welfare Institute has spoken with Whole Foods, and they will be making a nationwide decision on this issue in the next week. Please take the time to sign-on to the letter, all sign-ons must be sent by COB, Friday, February 2. Both organizations and individuals are encouraged to sign-on. To sign on, please a message to [log in to unmask] (NOT [log in to unmask]). It is critical to the continued viability of sustainable family farms that they maintain and increase the markets for their goods. Please sign on to this letter to encourage Whole Foods -- which, as the letter says, advertizes based on the safety and social benefits flowing from buying its products -- to live up to its advertizing and reputation by offering safe, humane, sustainably raised meats. Please call Nancy Stoner with NRDC or Diane Halverson with AWI if you have questions about the letter. Thanks for your help. Nancy Stoner NRDC (202) 289-2394 Diane Halverson AWI (507) 645-2735 Margaret Wittenberg Whole Foods Market, Inc. 601 North Lamar Austin, TX 78703 Dear Ms Wittenberg: As you are aware, the conventional food industry relies on pig factories to supply pork for human consumption. These factories cause unprecedented cruelty in the daily lives of animals, despoil the environment, jeopardize public health, destroy independent family farms and the social fabric of rural communities. We appreciate your company’s leadership in voicing support for family farms, a healthy environment, and humane treatment of animals. We are extremely pleased that the Fresh Fields mid-Atlantic region has made a commitment to carrying pork from humane, sustainable family farms. The mid-Atlantic region’s adherence to the values espoused in the Fresh Fields Statement of Principles is a position that we urge Whole Foods stores throughout the country to emulate. We are deeply concerned that in other regions many of your stores are carrying pork from pig factories such as Smithfield Foods and Pure Farms. Smithfield, for example, is currently facing a major lawsuit by the Water Keeper Alliance for violating federal clean air and water standards. In a suit filed by the U.S. government Smithfield was convicted in 1997 of numerous, egregious violations of the Federal Clean Water Act. Smithfield, Pure Farms and your other animal factory suppliers have displaced tens of thousands of farm families, ripped communities apart, continue to pollute air and water, substitute antibiotics for good husbandry and cause deep suffering to the millions of animals they confine in spaces so cramped that the animals can neither walk nor turn around. We would very much like to point the public to your stores as a nationwide source of pork derived from animals raised in a manner our organizations support. At this time, however, we are unable to do so. We believe that your customers think they are getting products from animals raised on humane, sustainable family farms when they shop at Whole Foods today. Even Whole Foods stores that are not carrying such products benefit from this misperception. Why do we think this? To quote from the Whole Foods web site: Respect For All Forms Of Life We are appalled with the cruelty of traditionally raised veal and, in addition to refusing to sell it, we work with ranchers to develop and support humane methods of meat and poultry production. We educate our customers about the cruelty of animal testing of body-care products, helping to influence the marketplace by taking a clear stance that those types of products will not be tolerated. Healthy Foods and Healthy Products Begin at the Source ….We are advocates and supporters of naturally raised meat and poultry. In addition to telling consumers our concerns about added hormones and antibiotics, we work with ranchers and producers to develop hormone and antibiotic-free alternatives for our customers to buy. To quote from Whole Foods’ annual report: … We continually encourage and challenge conventional farmers to adapt their growing practices to more sustainable methods…. We see ourselves as partners with our family farm sources.… Sustainable farming is not about going back to old ways, it’s about farming with our future at heart.… Whole Foods market takes a leadership role in promoting sustainable agriculture. Your customers believe that this is what you stand for you have told them it is so. Do they realize that you are selling pork raised in shockingly cruel conditions, from industrial facilities that harm public health, pollute the air and water and drive farm families off the land? We urge that Whole Foods take the following steps: 1. Live up to its stated philosophy of cruelty-free, sustainably-raised products. The mid-Atlantic stores have committed to selling only pork raised humanely on sustainable family farms. This is an appropriate commitment for Whole Foods to make on a national basis. To do so, Whole Foods must reject the products of industrialized operations. 2. a) Adopt and publish a policy of buying fresh pork from suppliers who can certify that their animals are 1) raised humanely, according to criteria endorsed by legitimate humane organizations (such as the Animal Welfare Institute Humane On-Farm Pig Husbandry Standards); 2) raised on independent family farms whose owners depend on the farm for their livelihood, work their farms personally and own the animals; 3) raised on farms that use sustainable farming methods and 4) rely on sound husbandry, not routine antibiotic use, to minimize health problems. b) Adopt and publish a policy of buying processed meat products (ham, bacon, sausage, etc.) from suppliers who have purchased their raw pork from such farms. 3. As the policies outlined in 1 and 2 are being instituted, offer a humane, sustainable alternative to every cut of fresh meat from a pork factory, and clearly label the products from these farms as well as from factories in a way that consumers will have no doubt which they are buying. We would also urge that you offer a humane, sustainable alternative in every major processed meat category (ham, chicken and pork sausage, hot dogs, etc.) and clearly label the source of the meat-humane, sustainable family farms or factories. 4. Use only pork from humane, sustainable family farms in your private-labeled products containing pork. We are enclosing the text of a statement of principles which was published by Fresh Fields before you acquired that company, but to our knowledge, has not been published since. It is an excellent starting place for a Whole Foods policy. What we are asking is that Whole Foods return to its roots and fulfill the leadership role it has laid claim to in the retailing of food produced humanely, sustainably and healthfully. We think that this can be a very positive move for your company, your share holders, America’s family farmers, the environment and animals. We look forward to working with you in support of this noble effort and to telling consumers about the positive steps you have taken to set an example of responsible retailing. We look forward to hearing from you. Yours truly, Diane Halverson Nancy Stoner Animal Welfare Institute Natural Resources Defense Council P.O. Box 3650 1200 New York Avenue Washington, D.C. 20007 Washington, D.C. 20005 202-337-2332 202-289-6868 Ken Midkiff Martha Noble Sierra Club Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 1007 North College 110 Maryland Avenue, NE Columbia, Missouri 65201 Suite 211, Box 76 573-815-9250 Washington, D.C. 20002 202-547-5754 Pam Hansen Illinois Stewardship Alliance P.O. 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