The Organic Consumers Association would like to clarify
information in an alert that was part of Organic Bytes issue
#122 (sent to you on
11/15/2007).
We take great pride in reporting strictly factual information
with each issue of Organic Bytes. That is a major reason why
Organic Bytes has more subscribers than any other email
newsletter focused on organic consumers.
Our alert was based on information provided to us from one of
our trusted allies, United Farmworkers. It stated: "According
to the FDA, the company, Beef Northwest, has been administering
drugs to its livestock above legal limits." It goes on to say
that Beef Northwest's meat is sold under the "Country Natural
Beef" label, which is found at a large number of natural foods
stores, including Whole
Foods Market.
Since the alert went out, we have received FDA documentation
with an update: Beef Northwest did have a one-time FDA
violation, and an employee has now been terminated for the
error. In addition, the beef in question was routed to
conventional outlets NOT packaged under the Country Natural
Beef (CNB) label. Any livestock that require antibiotic
treatment are not packaged under the CNB label.
In addition, Beef Northwest has multiple operations, and only a
portion of its cattle are packaged under the CNB label (those
cattle that are pasture or range fed for 16-18 months and never
treated with hormones or antibiotics). The majority of CNB's
meat is raised by family farmers.
Having clarified that, we would like to note that this story
does bring to light some of the controversial angles of this
issue:
CNB is a co-op of family farmers who do ethically raise their
animals naturally and with open access to pastures for the
first 16-18 months of their lives. These farmers then sell
those animals to CNB who, according to their website, send the
animals to one of Beef Northwest's feedlots that is a CAFO. CNB
is very transparent and open with this information on its
website but not on its packaging. The animals spend the final
three months of their lives fattened at this feedlot with a
diet made-up of 50% potatoes and a 50% mix of corn and
alfalfa. CNB notes that it cannot guarantee the corn is GMO-free.
If an animal falls ill and must be treated with antibiotics, it
is not packaged under the CNB label.
Also, the feedlots where these animals are fattened are under
scrutiny for union busting by United Farmworkers. We encourage
our readers to contact United Farmworkers for more information
on these labor related issues:
http://www.ufwaction.org
FYI -
Here is a letter from Whole Foods Market further articulating
this point:
Dear Concerned Customer,
Thank you for taking time to email us with your concerns.
Whole Foods Market works hard to provide the best tasting, the
freshest and most wholesome, naturally raised meat available. We
are proud of our role as a leader in the natural meat industry
and we have been able to champion innovative production systems
to ensure the quality and the safety of the meat we sell. You
can learn more about our meat program at: <http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/meat-poultry/index.html>http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/meat-poultry/index.html.
We’d like to take this opportunity to address the issues
regarding alleged unsafe residue present in meat supplied to
Whole Foods Market by Country Natural Beef (CNB). The
information contained in the email text you sent to us is
factually inaccurate because no unsafe residue has been reported
to be present in CNB beef. The citations referenced by the
United Farm Workers (UFW) were in no way related to CNB’s herds
or processing plant.
With regard to the unsafe residue issue raised on the UFW
website, the beef provided by CNB to Whole Foods Market comes
from herds that are completely segregated from herds destined
for the conventional market. Further, we have controls in place
to ensure that meat sold in our stores meet our strict quality
standards. These safeguards include an affidavit process
verifying compliance of our standards and on-site visits and
assessments, which allow us to help ensure beef provided by our
suppliers is not commingled with conventional beef.
As for the employment issues you raised in your email, please be
assured that Whole Foods Market works diligently to comply with
all local, state and federal labor laws. We expect our vendors
to do the same and to take this issue as seriously as we do.
Though we work closely with our vendor partners to offer
products of the highest possible quality, we have no practical
or legal authority over their labor practices.
Sincerely,
Your Whole Foods Market Customer Service Team
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New
Seasons Market
November 16th, 2007
Posted by Brian Rohter
Some of you may have heard about the recent dispute between the United Farm Workers and Beef Northwest Feeders. New Seasons Market is not a party in the dispute. We have a great deal of respect for both the United Farm Workers and Beef Northwest Feeders.
Beef Northwest Feeders provides the gathering lot services for several area cattle ranches including Country Natural Beef, the co-op of Eastern Oregon ranch families who supply our stores with some of the beef we sell. The cattle spend about 90 days at a gathering feed lot where they are fed a vegetarian ration of cooked potatoes, alfalfa and corn. Other cows that are not a part of the Country Natural Beef program come to this lot as well, however Country Natural Beef cows are strictly segregated from other cattle.
If a Country Natural Beef animal needs to receive medication, it is removed from the Country Natural Beef program. John Wilson, the managing partner of Beef Northwest Feeders is also a long time member of Country Natural Beef. We’ve known John for many years and have found him to be an honest and honorable man.
The folks at Country Natural Beef (also called Oregon Country Beef) have unequivocally assured us that none of the animals in their care were a part of recent FDA findings associated with Beef Northwest Feeders – please visit the Country Natural Beef website for information about this issue.
The United Farms Workers mission is to “provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society’s bounty.” They were founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez and are the nation’s first successful and largest farm workers union. Over the past 40 years the efforts of the United Farm Workers have made a significant improvement in the lives of many of the families of our nation’s agricultural workers.
In regard to employee relations, the United Farm Workers and Beef Northwest Feeders have different perspectives about what is taking place. We have no way of knowing who is right or wrong and expect that, as is usually the case, there are probably some grades of gray in the argument.
We are hopeful that these two fine organizations will resolve their differences quickly and fairly. For more information please contact Beef Northwest Feeders or the United Farm Workers.
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