Letter to the Editor

Humane Standards

To the Editor:

I read with interest Julie Gallagher's recent Viewpoint column about Whole Foods Market's new animal welfare rating program (Animal Welfare Ratings Not Just for Carnivores). I want to highlight another program which has done an amazing job in improving the lives of farm animals in food production, the Certified Humane program.

Since the Certified Humane program was launched in May 2003, products with that label can be found in over 4,200 supermarkets in the U.S. The retailers that carry these products are mainstream supermarkets, and you learn more about this on Certified Humane's website.

The Certified Humane program has had success because of farmers that actually had to make changes to be on the program. Consumers have made this program grow with their support and by asking the supermarkets where they shop to provide products that are Certified Humane. The supermarkets that sell these products should be acknowledged and congratulated.

Our program's animal welfare standards are higher than the new Whole Foods Market program, and if you would like to compare the programs, you do that on our site by choosing Fact Sheets from the About menu, and then going to the Comparison Chart.

You will see that we're still the “Gold Standard” for humane certification.

Adele Douglass, executive director,
Humane Farm Animal Care