HERNDON, Va. — Humane Farm Animal Care officials here have honored four retailers — Safeway, Harris Teeter, Costco and Whole Foods — for their dedication to carrying products that are HFAC Certified Humane.
In the spirit of Oscar weekend, HFAC founder and director Adele Douglass has cited the retailers with “awards” in four different categories.
Safeway has earned recognition for being the first major retailer in the U.S. to require their cage-free and organic egg suppliers to become Certified Humane.
“They took this [humane treatment of farm animals] very seriously, ” Douglass told SN. “They made it very clear to their suppliers that if they did not become Certified Humane, they would stop buying eggs from them.”
Read more: Safeway Organic Eggs 'Certified Humane'
Harris Teeter got HFAC’s award for the variety of Certified Humane products they carry. Their Certified Humane brands include eggs, chicken and bacon.
Costco was cited for its “Growing Commitment to Certified Humane products.”
“They have their own Kirkland brand organic eggs Certified Humane in many regions of the country, and we encourage them to continue that,” Douglass said.
Read more: Harris Teeter Updates Animal Welfare Guidelines
Whole Foods got HFAC recognition for the number of Certified Humane eggs and dairy products they carry.
Earlier this month, HFAC celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The original suppliers that were certified and helped launch HFAC were Echo Farm Puddings, Touchstone Farms, duBreton Natural Pork and Ayrshire Farms, which are still certified.
“At the end of 2012, there were 76.8 million farm animals raised under our standards and 94 companies certified,” Douglass pointed out.
“I wanted to have one percent of farm animals in the United States Certified Humane in the first 10 years. Now my goal is to get to that percentage in 2014.”
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