The more you know about our meat, the better. That’s just the bottom line around here. Our standards require no added hormones* and no antibiotics, ever. Our true partnerships with farmers and ranchers allow us to offer the highest quality, local and organic choices. And with leading animal welfare standards we’re encouraging a human approach to raising animals. Ultimately, we believe in great-tasting meatfrom healthy animals.
Watch these videos to learn more. This one highlights what makes our meat different:
I’m really excited to announce that we are providing shoppers with a new level of transparency about how farm animals are raised by now offering beef, pork and chicken certified under the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system.
The rating system is the signature program of Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit organization that facilitates and encourages continuous improvement in animal agriculture. Independent, third-party certifiers audit farms and rate animal welfare practices and conditions using a tiered system that ranges from Step 1 (no crates, cages or crowding) to Step 5+ (animals spend their entire lives on one farm). We are proud to adopt this new rating system that helps shoppers make even more informed buying decisions while offering them peace of mind that the animals from our producers are raised with care. Read the rest of this entry »
At this time of year on cold, winter evenings, most people are staying inside and those who are brave enough to venture out are wrapped up in winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves. Rather than ponder on whether you can feel your toes or how many days are left ‘til Spring, why not try a warm and hearty lamb stew to keep spirits high?
The lamb you get year round from Whole Foods Market is raised to our strict quality standards:
Are you interested in trying some new and exciting things in the New Year? If so, give our air-chilled chicken a try. Its tender, has lots of flavor and is very juicy!
As part of processing chicken, the birds have to be cooled to a certain temperature to ensure food safety, and this can be done in one of two ways: immersion in cold water or by air-chilling. The most popular method in the U.S. has been to water-chill birds. However, a handful of chicken processors have recently embraced the air-chilled method, which has been used in Europe for more than 40 years. Each bird is individually chilled over the course of about three hours. Birds are moved into carefully monitored temperature-controlled chambers where cold air is misted on them. The birds move over a mile or more on tracks in these special chambers as they cool down.
Since knowing where your food comes from is as important to you as it is to us, we thought you’d like to meet the families who work year-round to provide the best possible hams for you and yours.
We partner with dedicated family-owned farms and producers to make sure that our hams are the best for your special celebrations. Our hams are from pigs raised to meet our high standards, which means:
Raised with no antibiotics – ever
Raised with no added growth hormones*
No animal byproducts in the feed
No added nitrates or nitrites
Raised without gestation or farrowing crates
*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising pork
In addition, our hams contain no artificial ingredients or preservatives. No water is added, so they are full of flavor. Visit our ham web page to learn how to choose the right ham for you, and get holiday ham cooking tips and recipes — including ideas for what to do with those delicious leftovers.
A tip of the hat to these dedicated farmers and producers.
Have you decided what to serve for your special holiday dinner? Christmas ham is a delicious classic. We know you want your meal to be special and we’ve done the work to make sure it will be with one of our hams. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll have several blog posts introducing you to our ham producers and sharing recipes and cooking tips. But, first, let’s take a quick look at why we think you should get your ham from us instead of somewhere else.
Many Supermarket Hams
Some Supermarket Hams
Whole Foods Market Hams
Raised with no antibiotics — ever
X
X
Raised with no added growth hormones*
X
X
X
No animal byproducts in the feed
X
X
No added nitrates or nitrites
X
* Federal law does not allow the use of supplemental growth hormones in pigs.
Pretty compelling, don’t you think? Lots more reasons to get your ham from us in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned in and we’ll help you make sure your holiday is just right.
Turkey day is almost here! Have you planned what kind of turkey you are serving? We’ve got you covered with your choice of fresh, frozen, value, organic, kosher or heritage. And don’t forget that all of our turkeys are raised to these standards:
No antibiotics — ever
No supplemental growth hormones*
No animal byproducts in feed
Looking for more turkey info? We’ve got you covered with tips and recipes for choosing, brining, cooking, carving and more.
*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones when raising poultry
Choosing a turkey used to be pretty simple. Figure out how many people were coming to dinner and get the biggest bird possible to feed the crowd. Now it can be pretty daunting. Here’s some advice to help you decide what’s the right turkey choice for you.
The biggest difference for almost any turkey you choose at Whole Foods Market is that they are fresh. Our birds are harvested close to the time of being sold. You may not realize that the FDA allows birds to be harvested in February, kept at 27°F for months and then sold as fresh in November. That’s not what we sell here, but people who are buying our fresh birds for the first time aren’t used to getting turkeys that are really fresh.
Continuing in our series on “all things turkey,” this post highlights a handful of our Pennsylvania turkey farmers. Interesting fact: on the East Coast, they call themselves turkey farmers and on the West Coast, it’s turkey ranchers. Share that at Thanksgiving dinner! Whether they are cared for by farmers or ranchers, all of our turkeys are raised to these standards:
No antibiotics – ever
No animal byproducts in feed
No supplemental growth hormones *
Looking for more turkey info? We’ve got you covered with tips and recipes for choosing, brining, cooking, carving and more.
It’s turkey season! Last week I told you why our turkeys are different than a lot of what you’ll find out there at other stores. Stuff like:
No antibiotics — ever
No supplemental growth hormones*
No animal byproducts in feed
The other point I made was that we have complete traceability to the farms and ranches where the turkey was raised. That’s so rare in the industry and it’s one of the things that I really like about working here. Whole Foods Market goes to the effort to know exactly where our turkeys come from. And since we do, I thought you’d like a chance to meet our turkey farmers and ranchers and find out a little bit about the people behind your Thanksgiving dinner.
Welcome to Whole Story, the official blog of Whole Foods Market.
Don’t know us? In a nutshell, we are the world's leading natural and organic grocer and we’re passionate about healthy food and a healthy planet. Learn more about us.
We’re lucky to have a whole bunch of smart, passionate people doing incredible things in areas like organics, supporting local growers, green practices, fair trade, micro-lending and all kinds of food related stuff. We’ll use this blog to share some of the cool things going on around here.
Of course, what makes this blog really exciting is YOU — so join the conversation!
Subscribe via RSS
The other point I made was that we have complete traceability to the farms and ranches where the turkey was raised. That’s so rare in the industry and it’s one of the things that I really like about working here. Whole Foods Market goes to the effort to know exactly where our turkeys come from. And since we do, I thought you’d like a chance to meet our turkey farmers and ranchers and find out a little bit about the people behind your Thanksgiving dinner.
