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Focus on Co-op
Suppliers: Honest Weight's Meat Standards
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by Suzanne Fisher
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"HWFC will carry meat and
poultry but only when available from local and regional suppliers known
to us to be: certified organic or equivalent, hormone and antibiotic
free, grass fed and free range, minimally processed, and slaughtered in
as humane a manner as possible." (referendum December 2005)
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Honest
Weight has been selling meats raised by local small farms the past few
years. Carrying out its policy has been the prevue of Chris Kemnah,
Honest Weight's meat manager, so I spoke with him about Honest Weight's
practices regarding meat and animal products that the store carries.
Currently, Honest Weight sells beef from three noncertified farms, and
lamb from one. All four raise grass fed, grass finished meat for sale.
The term "grass finished" is what makes the difference here: This means
that the animal ate only grass its entire life, a fact that greatly
affects the health and treatment of any ruminant (animals which
naturally graze and have multiple stomachs for the digestion of grass,
such as goats, sheep, cows, etc.). The meat seen in grocery chains may
be labeled "naturally raised" and "grass-fed," but without the words
"grass finished," those cattle were most likely crammed into a feed lot
and fed only corn for the last few months of their lives. That practice
necessitates the use of antibiotics to keep down disease, causes the
animals stress from overcrowding and discomfort, creates problems with
the disposal of huge amounts of animal waste produced in a small area,
and ultimately causes the meat from these animal to contain unhealthy
types of fats and other toxins. It also promotes the use of chemically
produced GMO corn in our food chain.
Pigs are different from the ruminants in that their stomachs are
similar to humans, and therefore a diet of just grazing is not
sufficient to help them grow to size quickly enough. Whitney Farms, our
current provider, and Tilldale Farm, which is new to Honest Weight,
both produce pasture-raised, certified organic pork. This means that
the pigs are allowed to roam freely in pasture and are also fed
organically grown grains. This is a great improvement over the factory
farms where pigs are kept crowded in deplorable conditions from birth
until death. To learn more about the horrific way pigs are typically
raised in the United States, check out the website farmsanctuary.org,
or any of the many other sites that discuss the treatment of these
sentient (indeed, intelligent) creatures.
Chickens are also different from ruminants, needing grain feed to
achieve a usable size. Honest Weight sells non-organic Misty Knoll
chicken all year round and carries some chicken from other smaller
farms when available in season. Chris explained that he decided to
carry Misty Knoll poultry in part because he is able to sell it for a
much better price, about four dollars a pound, than the chicken from
organic farms, which averages about six dollars a pound, as a result of
the high price of organic chicken feed. Misty Knoll permits their birds
to roam freely within large barns designed for good ventilation, making
their lives more pleasant. Located in nearby Vermont, Misty Knoll is
able to supply Honest Weight with chicken continuously, and also
processes its own products on site, eliminating the stress on the birds
of traveling to a slaughterhouse.
One important aspect of humane treatment of animals being used for
human consumption is the trip to the slaughterhouse and their
subsequent treatment there. The small farms from whom Honest Weight
buys meat send only a few animals at a time to be killed and in many
cases those animals rest for a day in their own pen with others from
their farm before they are slaughtered, allowing them to recover from
the stress of travel and a different environment. Chris told me about
the USDA approved mobile processing unit, or MPU, which is a 33-foot
trailer delivered by truck to the farm. It includes a diesel generator,
water storage, hot water heater, and refrigeration unit. MPU's spare
animals the trauma of travel and changed environment and also help
farmers to process for less cost, keep business more local, and
encourage environmentally friendly disposal of waste. MPUs are being
implemented with poultry currently, but can be used for beef, pork, and
lamb as well.
Chris Kemnah is leaving Honest Weight to devote himself full time to
his Otter Hook Farms in New Baltimore. We will miss his hard work and
expertise, but we hope to continue our affiliation with him by selling
produce from his farm in the future.
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