Park Slope Food Coop Animal Welfare Committee

Are you interested in vegan eating? In the New Year, many Coop members will resolve to change their eating habits. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in vegan eating, with people like Bill Clinton and Ellen DeGeneres touting the benefits of their plant-based diets. Growing evidence shows that vegan diets have positive impacts on human health and are better for the planet. Whether you want to commit to a vegan diet or start eating more plant foods, this workshop will help. Join us Sunday, January 12, at 12:00 p.m. in the PSFC's upstairs meeting room for an introduction to vegan eating. We will discuss recipes, shopping staples, and basic nutrition. Space is limited. Please RSVP now to reserve your seat.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Animal Welfare Committee's 2013 Turkey Guide is here! We contacted the Coop's turkey vendors and interviewed them about  the conditions their birds live in, then organized the information in a handy chart for members. The Guide also explains the labels commonly found on meat products, like free-range and pasture-raised, and describes the festive turkey alternatives that the Coop carries. The Turkey Guide is laminated next to the turkeys, and take-home versions are also available there. You can find a larger version of the Guide online by clicking on the AWC Guides tab at the top of this page, and then clicking on Buying Turkeys at the Coop. Piper on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

Our new milk guide is here! The Members' Guide to Coop Milk provides a wealth of information about the welfare of the cows and goats who produce the milk sold at the coop, along with definitions of the terms on dairy product labels like "Pasture-Raised" and "All Natural." Like all our guides, the milk guide is organized in an easy-to-read chart. You can find it laminated near the dairy case at the coop. Piper on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

This meeting the squad checked in our work calendar for the remainder of 2013. What will we be doing for the rest of 2013?  The Milk Guide is done and will be posted to the blog shortly.  The laminated version is already up in the co-op!   We'll be starting the Chicken Guide next   We're considering whether we have the bandwith to commit to a seasonal Turkey Guide , as we did last year Some items are already in our pipeline for 2014: A workshop for those interested in eating vegan - this was a request from our co-op membership when we hosted the committee info sessions last year.  Scheduled tenatatively for January 2014, we'll be gathering resources for the "Interested in Eating Vegan?" workshop Beef Guide - we're slated to start the Beef Guide in 2014 We also discussed a Communication Checklist for the information guides we produce.  When we come out with  a new info guide, we want you to know!  So we brainstormed the ways we can g

At our end-of-July meeting we discussed the final steps for producing our Dairy Milk Guide and Plant-Based Milks Guide. We brain-stormed ideas for promoting our informative Guides to Coop members, including a link from the Coop’s website to this blog. We also planned subjects and discussed the schedule for upcoming Guides. Piper, for the Animal Welfare Committee 

This month we set up the production schedule for layout of our new Milk Guide, including the plant-based milk alternatives information that will appear at our blog and in a small handout available in print in the Coop. We participated in a brainstorming session about a logo/identity for the committee and will reach out to another Coop committee and discuss their helping with our logo production. We also prepared a preliminary outline and promotion calendar for our January 2014 workshop, "Eating Vegan at the Coop." Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

Further editing of our milk guide continued at this month's squad meeting. Additional areas for research were identified and a plan for where to place the guide in the coop was outlined.   We completed the initial planning of our guide about chicken and research tasks were assigned.   A discussion of branding of our committee took place. A logo will be designed and used in the future so coop members will easily recognize resources produced by our committee.   Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

We spent the majority of this month's meeting focused on the content of our guide to milk at the coop, which will include information about dairy and non-dairy milks. We expect to have this guide completed soon after our June squad meeting.   Feedback was shared about our guides that have already gone to press and now appear in the aisles of the coop. We are pleased to see coop members reading the guides and we welcome your feedback at psfcanimals@gmail.com .   Final edits to a Linewaiter's Gazette article on animal testing were made.     Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee  

Did you know we are publishing and placing our guides in the coop's aisles? The Animal Welfare Committee provides clear, concise, and unbiased information for PSFC members in the following guides, which you can download from our blog or find in print when you next visit the coop. Guide to Animal Testing (last updated April 17, 2013)   Guide to Coop Eggs (last updated March 20, 2013)

We completed the editing of another new guide, Members Guide to Animal Testing. It made its debut at our Earth Day table on April 20th. The committee selected the topic of our next guide and discussed how to keep the guides current as information and product availability changes. Discussion pertaining to a coop-wide product policy continues.  Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

We completed our final edits to the "Members' Guide to Coop Eggs" and established a plan for the layout, review by Coop coordinators, and placement in the Coop’s egg case. Brief discussions were held about our upcoming animal testing article submission to the Linewaiter’s Gazette and establishing an animal-friendly product policy. Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

We reviewed and edited the draft of our March deliverable, "Members' Guide to Coop Eggs" (working title), and identified where additional research is necessary. Housekeeping issues discussed included placing ads in the Linewaiter's Gazette and tracking our communication with Coop employees and the Coop's suppliers. Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee

We planned our 2013 deliverables calendar during our 1/14/13 squad meeting. Deliverables will include pamphlets, guides, Linewaiter’s Gazette articles, workshops, and more, on a variety of topics related to our mission . We continue to expand our lines of communication with the PSFC’s buyers in order to learn more about our suppliers. Deborah, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Committee