Park Slope Food Coop Animal Welfare Committee

[From the December 25, 2014 edition of the Linewaiter's Gazette ] By Kama Einhorn, Animal Welfare Committee The welfare of animals involved in food production has been a major concern for many since the beginning of our industrialized food system. Coop members are, of course, no exception. The Coop’s Animal Welfare Committee seeks to address these concerns by educating and providing facts to our fellow Coop members about what’s happening on the farms from which our animal products originate. In the 1960s, as factory farming became increasingly standard practice in the UK, the British government commissioned an investigation into the welfare of “intensively farmed animals.” Soon after, they created the Farm Animal Welfare Council, which developed a set of guidelines now known in the animal welfare movement as the Five Freedoms: Freedom from thirst and hunger: by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigor. Freedom from discomfort: b...

Two Coop vendors recently went head-to-head in a lawsuit over the meaning of the word "humane." For members who want to know more about the meat they buy, here is the story. In 2003 Coop members voted to stop buying foie gras, which consists of the diseased livers of ducks and geese who were force-fed through long, hard pipes to swell their livers eight or more times their normal size. Before 2003 we bout foie gras from vendor D'Artagnan, which sold foie gras made by Hudson Valley Foie Gras (HVFG). The Coop still sells meat from chickens, pigs, lambs, rabbits, cows, turkeys, wild boars, and ducks from D’Artagnan HVFG has been calling its foie gras humane, which stuck in the craw of another Coop provider, Regal Vegan, which makes Faux Gras. Regal Vegan made an unfair competition claim, arguing that by calling its product humane, Hudson Valley was stealing business from Regal Vegan’s Faux Gras -- which is free of animal products and so indisputably the...

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

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 brainst...

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)