Whole Story

Hi Whole Foods, Hallelujah! This is a fantastic system, and I am so happy that a big player in the health food market has taken this step to bring back into farming the laws of nature that not only protect the welfare of the animals and their humane treatment and care - but the nutritional balance (including nutrient profile, density, and ratios) that comes from pasture-based animal foods. I frequent Whole Foods each week, spending probably $1000 / month for our family of 5, but also belong to 4 local farm co/ops. Additionally, I am a holistic nutritional consultant (who would be a millionaire if I got kick backs from all the sales I have sent your way with my clients!) and I am now so happy to give my clients information on this rating system, allowing them to understand that they don't necessarily have to join a farm co/op to get highest quality animal foods. Thank-you for this monumental effort. I only hope you don't charge an arm and leg to the little local farmers (and neither do the independent auditors, I can only hope) to be part of the program/rating system. Again, and finally, this is the RIGHT thing to do for animal treatment, increasing nutrition for sick children and adults across this country, and to continue to put nails in the coffin of what I can only hope is a dying institution of factory farming. Kelly Genzlinger, CNC, CMTA www.FoodTherapeutics.com (under construction)

After recently watching Food, INC... This is very refreshing and further instills the confidence that I have in the whole foods brand. Seeing is believing and Im glad that Consumers have access to this information

Brining turkey sounds like a good way to keep it juicier, which is nice especially for white meat, but I'm wondering how much sodium it would add. I try to avoid salt. Thank you.

I am looking forward to the day when these steps will not be needed and all animals will be left alone and not bread and consumed simply to satisfy human's taste buds.

@Kathy: It’s the way their feathers grow in. When chicks first come out of the egg, they covered in a down-type feather (picture those fluffy little chicks). As they mature, those feather fall out as the new feathers come in. There are several layers and types of feathers that grow in as the birds mature. When birds go to market they’re actually quiet young, so all of their feathers haven’t come in yet.

Do they eat genetically modified products? You don't mention that in your advertisement. How can I be assured that I am getting food that has not been contaminated with GMOs?

After watching Food Inc it is to see the clip about your step program for raising animals humanely, but we wonder, just where do you get your chicken, pig and cows processed and how is your processing any differnt than that for all the other markets. Would love to see a video on that.

@JAT: Thank you for recognizing the work that our producers put in to getting their STEP rated meat into our stores. One of our core values is to create a “win-win” with our producers. This includes ensuring a fair price.

The program is great. The video, not-so-much. To be honest, farms that qualify for most of the steps below 4 won't look anything like the farms in the video. Paul Willis and Niman Ranch, for example, is used to illustrate step 1, showing pigs running around outside. But the truth is a lot of industrial farms with giant indoor barns that have access to a small patch of outdoor ground would still qualify. If most consumers visited these farms, they would not be very inspired to buy from them. The idyllic animals-running-around-on-pasture image that most of us get excited about seems to only happen if you hit step 4. So anything in the 1-3 categories really is not that different from confinement in many ways (obviously, they don't have antibiotics and other things, so that's good.) The video cleverly shies away from this fact. The labeling is a good move forward, but it needs to be clearly explained or it will just be another confusing addition to the already-cluttered amount of labels we currently have.

@Brian: Sorry if you found the video confusing. Step 1 pigs are raised indoors however I’m sure you’ll agree they are raised very differently from pigs in a conventional system. Step 1 pigs are not tail docked or tooth clipped, they are raised in groups (no gestation or farrowing crates are allowed) and provided good quality bedding (conventional pigs spend their life on barren, slatted floors). With over 110 requirements for Step 1 farms we are sure you can appreciate that it is quite an achievement to be a Step-certified farm!