Jun. 10, 2011
Author: Brandon Colgrove
Have you ever given much thought to where your food comes from? The answers can be surprising. Take meat, for instance. While we might not like to think about it, the reality is that many farm animals today live in filthy and crowded places that run counter to our idyllic visions of farm life.
In many large corporate farms today animals are treated simply as products to be sold rather than as living, thinking and feeling beings that deserve some respect. Breeding sows (pigs) are often kept in gestation stalls so small that they cannot turn around. Veal calves usually spend most of their lives tethered by their neck or legs in small cages. Egg laying hens typically spend their entire lives in cages, with an area smaller than the size of a piece of notebook paper per hen. The biggest problem to overcome may simply be that of ignorance. Many who don’t know that animals are treated like this might like to help if they could.
Thankfully, there are resources available. Certified Humane® is a standard for meat, eggs and dairy products that come from animals that have met standards that include supplying a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, providing animals with shade and shelter, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors (www.certifiedhumane.org). Certified Humane® products feature a label on the product or in packaging. This label is backed by the Humane Society of the U.S., the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals) and 35 other humane organizations throughout the country.
Recently, a group of Richmond High School students and Richmond citizens joined together to meet with representatives from local grocery stores about carrying Certified Humane® products. The effort was launched by Heidi Hisrich, a chemistry and environmental sciences teacher at RHS. Mrs. Hisrich states that her team wants to “demonstrate that consumers want farm animals to be treated more humanely in an effort to get our local grocery stores and restaurants to begin carrying Certified Humane® meat, dairy products, and eggs — not as a replacement to the existing choices that the department stores carry, but to supplement them (similar to how organics are in department stores now) for those who want it.”
Many in Richmond do want these products available in their stores. Heidi and the group collected over 500 signatures on a petition asking for Certified Humane® foods. They have had numerous conversations with the managers of local grocery stores, one of which has already resulted in Meijer beginning to carry its first Certified Humane® product (Smart Chicken). The group doesn’t want people to stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy products — they just want a more humane version of these options available for purchase.
There are several ways to learn more about this issue. A good start is to visit the Certified Humane® website at: http://www.certifiedhumane.org/. Until Certified Humane® products are widely available, there are ways to make food choices that move us in the right direction. World Society for the Protection of Animals (a group that works for the same cause as Certified Humane®) has a website (http://www.eathumane.org/) and an app called Humane Food Guide. Both allow you to search local restaurants and grocery stores for “good, better and best” options. You can also join the Facebook Group “Bring Certified Humane Products to Richmond, IN” to get in touch with other community members interested in this issue.
If you want to see more humane options available locally, buy the most humane options available (organics, Smart Chicken, etc) and tell your cashier that you would like your grocery store to carry Certified Humane® products. Together, we can make a difference.
Brandon Colgrove just finished his sophomore year at RHS. Brandon plans to pursue a career in journalism and will be attending an eight-day broadcast journalism workshop at Georgetown University this summer.
Palladium Newspaper
Posted: June 10, 2011 by Certified Humane
Jun. 10, 2011
Author: Brandon Colgrove
Have you ever given much thought to where your food comes from? The answers can be surprising. Take meat, for instance. While we might not like to think about it, the reality is that many farm animals today live in filthy and crowded places that run counter to our idyllic visions of farm life.
In many large corporate farms today animals are treated simply as products to be sold rather than as living, thinking and feeling beings that deserve some respect. Breeding sows (pigs) are often kept in gestation stalls so small that they cannot turn around. Veal calves usually spend most of their lives tethered by their neck or legs in small cages. Egg laying hens typically spend their entire lives in cages, with an area smaller than the size of a piece of notebook paper per hen. The biggest problem to overcome may simply be that of ignorance. Many who don’t know that animals are treated like this might like to help if they could.
Thankfully, there are resources available. Certified Humane® is a standard for meat, eggs and dairy products that come from animals that have met standards that include supplying a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, providing animals with shade and shelter, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors (www.certifiedhumane.org). Certified Humane® products feature a label on the product or in packaging. This label is backed by the Humane Society of the U.S., the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals) and 35 other humane organizations throughout the country.
Recently, a group of Richmond High School students and Richmond citizens joined together to meet with representatives from local grocery stores about carrying Certified Humane® products. The effort was launched by Heidi Hisrich, a chemistry and environmental sciences teacher at RHS. Mrs. Hisrich states that her team wants to “demonstrate that consumers want farm animals to be treated more humanely in an effort to get our local grocery stores and restaurants to begin carrying Certified Humane® meat, dairy products, and eggs — not as a replacement to the existing choices that the department stores carry, but to supplement them (similar to how organics are in department stores now) for those who want it.”
Many in Richmond do want these products available in their stores. Heidi and the group collected over 500 signatures on a petition asking for Certified Humane® foods. They have had numerous conversations with the managers of local grocery stores, one of which has already resulted in Meijer beginning to carry its first Certified Humane® product (Smart Chicken). The group doesn’t want people to stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy products — they just want a more humane version of these options available for purchase.
There are several ways to learn more about this issue. A good start is to visit the Certified Humane® website at: http://www.certifiedhumane.org/. Until Certified Humane® products are widely available, there are ways to make food choices that move us in the right direction. World Society for the Protection of Animals (a group that works for the same cause as Certified Humane®) has a website (http://www.eathumane.org/) and an app called Humane Food Guide. Both allow you to search local restaurants and grocery stores for “good, better and best” options. You can also join the Facebook Group “Bring Certified Humane Products to Richmond, IN” to get in touch with other community members interested in this issue.
If you want to see more humane options available locally, buy the most humane options available (organics, Smart Chicken, etc) and tell your cashier that you would like your grocery store to carry Certified Humane® products. Together, we can make a difference.
Brandon Colgrove just finished his sophomore year at RHS. Brandon plans to pursue a career in journalism and will be attending an eight-day broadcast journalism workshop at Georgetown University this summer.
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