Verde Farms is a reseller of organic beef under it’s own name for a few farms based in the US, Australia and Uruguay.  They sell primarily Organic Beef but are continually looking for more sources of organic, grass fed beef.  One of the main sources for grass fed, USDA Organic is Uruguay; and nearby Argentina is where the Verde Farms was born in a sense.  The founder of Verde Farms, Dana Ehrlich, visited a Ranch while living in Argentina and became interested in what kind of beef is bought by consumers in the US; at which point Verde Farms was born to bring high quality, Organic beef to US Consumers.

According to their website Verde Farms currently only supplies to the East Coast in the US; however Top Foods in Washington sells a variety of Verde Farms beef (multiple cuts, sizes, and ground beef).

Products:

• Organic Beef (all cuts and sizes)
• Organic Ground Beef
• Organic, Grass Fed Beef
• Organic, Grass Fed Ground Beef

Standards:

• USDA Certified Organic
• Pasture Raised
• No Antibiotics or Hormones

Misc Info:

• Location: St. Allston, Massachusetts
• NW Farm Review Rating: 4 Star
• NW Farm Review Visit:  None
• Standards Confirmation:  None
• Website:  Verde Farms - http://www.verdefarms.com/

Related Posts:

• N/A

On The Lamb Farm is a relatively young farm (founded in 1998) that produces pasture raised Beef and Lamb.  I like this farm, they are a small operation that go after their passions.  One of the founds even raises, trains and competes cattle dogs.  Price-wise I would say they are average for local, grass fed.  Please note, that their products are not grain finished as many grass-fed cattle are.

Products:

• Beef (Select cuts, ground or all the way up to Whole Cow)
• Lamb (Whole)
• Eggs

Standards:

• Practicing Organic
• Pasture Raised (Beef and Lamb)
• Grass Finished
• No Antibiotics or Hormones

Misc Info:

• Location: Arlington, WA – Google Maps Link
• NW Farm Review Rating: 4 Star
• NW Farm Review Visit:  None
• Standards Confirmation:  None
• Website:  On The Lamb Farm - http://www.onthelambfarm.com/

Related Posts:

• None (yet)

Global Animal Partnership

The 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program

I rarely go to Whole Foods Market.  I haven’t lived near one, nor worked near one and thus never bother to go.  However, things are changing over the next few months and I will soon have access to a Whole Foods Market so I thought it worth looking into.  I was quite pleased to find that Whole Foods has partnered with Global Animal Partnership (GAP) to certify Whole Food’s producer’s practices according to their 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program.

First off, props to Whole Foods.  After looking through the 5-Step Program it seems to be an simple and effective means of getting across to the consumer how the animals that they are consuming are treated and cared for.  I look forward to purchasing some foodstuffs from them once I have better access.

So on the actual 5 Step plan itself, it seems that once in Whole Foods different foodstuffs will have different labels specifying whether the product is a Step 1, Step 2, … Step 5+ with Step 5+ being the max level of care you can have.  In looking at GAP’s website here is a table below that shows how many operations they have for each step; which will probably match the likely hood of finding that particular step in Whole Foods.  Meaning, it may be hard to find Step 5 or 5+ but easy to find Steps 3 and 4 for most animals.

From: Global Animal Partnership; click for source.

Also, check out this short video produced by the Global Animal Partnership.  They go through all the steps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv4bzoEG8Kc

Standards:

• Step 1:  No Cages, Crating or Crowding
• Chickens: Be able to spread their wings and preen without touching other birds
• Pigs: No more than 25% of floor is slatted; bedding required; no Tethers or gestation stalls
• Beef Cattle: 50% Vegetative cover on range/pasture; 2/3min life on pasture
• Step 2:  Enriched Environment
• Chickens: Cover or Blinds in Housing to isolate themselves
• Pigs: Changed limits on allowed lameness, weaning age, and max transport time
• Beef Cattle:  Objects must be provided for grooming/scratching (natural behavior)
• Step 3:  Enhanced Outdoor Access
• Chickens: Shade required; continuous outdoor access; indoor foraging area during harsh seasons
• Pigs: Continuous outdoor access; enrichments required that encourage foraging.
• Beef Cattle: No step 3 for Beef Cattle
• Step 4:  Pasture Centered
  • Chickens:  Access to 50% vegetative cover pasture
  • Pigs: Access to 25% vegetative pasture during allowable seasons; access to wallows
  • Beef Cattle: 3/4min life on pasture;
• Step 5:  Animal Centered, no Physical Alterations
  • Chickens: 75% vegetative pasture; birds must be able to perch
  • Pigs: 50% vegetative pasture; pigs remain with litter mates for entire life
  • Beef Cattle: 75% vegetative pasture; no branding/ear notching
• Step 5+: Lives Entire Life on Same Farm
  • Chickens: Birds must be bred, hatched and raised on the same farm.
  • Pigs: On-farm or local slaughter
  • Beef Cattle: On-farm or local slaughter

Sources:

1. Whole Foods Market - 5 Step Animal Welfare Rating Program Brochure (PDF)
2. Global Animal Partnership – The 5-Step Program
3. Food Link – 5 Step Plan: Veganism, marketing or education?

My local Town and Country Market has the occasional Producer Profile available at the store.  I’ve started picking a few of them up to showcase here on the blog.  See below for the text of the profile and click on the picture to view the original profile that I’ve scanned.  Note that the information available on this post is not NW Farm Review’s opinion or original writing and while it may or may not represent our views it is soley taken from Town and Country Market.

Town and Country Markets Producer Profiles

Twin Brook Creamery, nestled in the shadow of the Cascade Mountain Range in Lynden, WA, is afifth-generation family farm.  The Stap family raises purebred registered Jersey cows because this breed produces milk with a higher protein and butterfat content, which significantly enhances the flavor of the milk.  The cows are pastured for as long as the season allows, and eat grass harvested from the farm during the non-growing season.  To preserve the milk’s rich flavor, it is minimally processed and bottled in glass bottles. Rather than being pasteurized at high temperatures, Twin Brook milk is vat pasteurized at a low temperature. And whereas most milk is homogenized, this cream-at-the-top milk is not so that you can enjoy it in its most natural form.  We offer half-gallons, chocolate milk, half &half and whipping cream from Twin Brook Creamery.  There is a $1.65 deposit on the glass bottles.

Click above for Full Size

My local Town and Country Market has the occasional Producer Profile available at the store.  I’ve started picking a few of them up to showcase here on the blog.  See below for the text of the profile and click on the picture to view the original profile that I’ve scanned.  Note that the information available on this post is not NW Farm Review’s opinion or original writing and while it may or may not represent our views it is soley taken from Town and Country Market.

Town and Country Markets Producer Profiles

Each September we are very pleased to offer our customers fresh Ellensburg Lamb raised by the Martinez family in the Yakima Valley.  With nearly 100 years experience across three generations, the Martinez family knows how to produce naturally raised lamb of excellent quality.  It all began when brothers Simon and Julian Martinez emigrated from Spain in 1917.  They went to work as sheep herders and were eventually able to purchase their own herd.  One summer, while grazing their sheep in Montana, Simon met and later married Kathleen, an Irish farm girl.  They started a family and over the years their four sons were active in the farm operations. Now, Simon and Kathleen’s grandsons run the ranch.  Beginning in mid-January each year, the Martinez family’s lambs are born at their ranch in Mabton, WA. The mother ewes and lambs are sheltered while they bond, assuring that the lambs get used to finding and staying with their mothers. When the lambs are old enough, they and the ewes are trucked to the spring range to graze on new grasses under the watchful care of a sheepherder and dogs.  In early summer, the sheep are taken to the National Forest to graze the lush mountain meadows. The grazing program is beneficial to the forest in that it reduces fuel for wildfires and helps with weed control.  At the end of summer, the lambs are transported to a feedlot where they are finished on a combination of hay and grain. The lambs are never given additives, hormones or growth stimulants.  If you have any questions about preparing lamb, ourMeat Market staff will be happy to help.

Click here for the Full Size Profile

Lummi Island Wild

Summary:

As a summary, if you are interested in Reefnetting in general I would suggest taking a look at their website.  It’s a great website with lots of useful information available, from pictures to movies to text.  I wish more farms had such websites but if that were so I guess I wouldn’t be writing at this site.  Hm, oh well; onwards and upwards!  Looking on Wikipedia it seems that the Reefnetting practice is primarily a north-west ancient innovation.  I find that curious as it is a relatively simple method, but most likely it is just similar to many of the other low-impact fishing methods used by fishers/farms who care about sustainability.

In terms of fish quality, it’s hard to beat these fish.  First off they are caught in the wild; always an important plus.  They are harvested and bled in seawater and put on ice immediately.  Minimal chances of decay or negative nutritional impacts due to handling.  Handling is important as it has been shown with beef.  Killing a cow in a very stressful slaughterhouse negatively impacts the meat due to hormones that are released in the blood to deal with stress levels.  Anyways, back to the fish.  A definite and very important issue with the Reefnet Salmon is the lack of disruption to the marine environment.  While I’m not concerned primarily about the fish’s habitat for purely altruistic or fishy concerns – I’m concerned with long term availability of wild-caught salmon for my family and personal enjoyment – this is still an important point.  Destruction to marine habitat will raise prices on future fish in the long run and decrease supply.  The better the habitat the better the fish quality and quantity; so it is in my interest to stay concerned with the issue.  Reefnet Salmon seems a great way to go in that regard.

Products:

• Wild Salmon (Smoked, Pink, Caviar)
• Alaska Scallops
• Black Cod
• Halibut

Standards:

• Reefnet Catching

Misc Info:

• Location: Bellingham, WA – Google Maps Link
• NW Farm Review Rating: 5 Star
• NW Farm Review Visit:  None
• Standards Confirmation:  None
• Website:  Lummi Island Reefnet Salmon - http://www.lummiislandwild.com

Related Posts:

• Town and Country Producer Profile

My local Town and Country Market has the occasional Producer Profile available at the store.  I’ve started picking a few of them up to showcase here on the blog.  See below for the text of the profile and click on the picture to view the original profile that I’ve scanned.  Note that the information available on this post is not NW Farm Review’s opinion or original writing and while it may or may not represent our views it is soley taken from Town and Country Market.

Town and Country Markets Producer Profiles

Lummi Island, the most northeasterly island of the San Juan archipelago, is home to reef net salmon fishermen. As millions of sockeye and pink salmon return from the Pacific Ocean to the Fraser River, these fishermen harvest them using the ancient art of reef netting – a method used nowhere else in the world.

Native Americans fished this wayfor centuries, using cedar canoes and nets made of cedar bark rope. Although the boats have gotten a littlebigger, and winches are used to pull the nylon nets, the method isfundamentally the same today.  A net issuspended between two stationary boats as “spotters,” standing on towers, watch for schools of salmon to swim along the reef and over the net. When a school is observed, the net is quickly pulled up and the salmon are spilled intoa netted live well to relax.The fish are then sorted and any unwanted and protected speciesare harmlessly diverted backinto the water.

Reef netting often is referred to as the world’s most sustainable method of salmon fishing. In addition to avoiding unwanted bycatch, no fossil fuel is used to chase the fish, and there is very little disruption of marine mammals, birds or the environment. Reef net salmon are among the highest in omega-3 oils because they still have the energy (beneficial fats) they have stored for their long journey. This high fat content, as well as thoughtful, careful processing of the fish when caught, makes for rich, succulent flavor. To learn more about the ecological and historical practice of reef net fishing around Lummi Island, visit www.lummiislandwild.com.

Click for Full-Size Producer Profile

In a very brief summary (it’s a brief article) it discusses some of the issues people are having with the USDA Organic label versus private labeling or just “practicing organic”.  The author briefly discusses a CSA he uses and links to another article about it; though I just glanced at it and didn’t read it fully.  He comes to the conclusion the USDA Organic label could easily be replaced by the variety of private certification labels already around.  I tend to agree.  A lot of good, small farms out there don’t even use the USDA Organic label due to it’s expense but just use the best practices available to them; which tend to be organic anyways.  It’s just the monetary cost and time cost that prevents them from doing so.

Anyways, check it out; decent article and I thought I’d share.

(UEP) United Egg Producers

United Egg Producers Certification

The United Egg Producers (UEP) is large trade association that represents producers.  According to their website they currently represent about 90% of all eggs produced in the United States.  Their currenty Animal Welfare guidelines however states 80% of all eggs, but most likely that’s just an old number and the guidelines haven’t been updated to reflect their growth in certification.

After reviewing their guidelines, is is my opinion that a UEP Certification is the minimum certification a farm should aspire too.  It is also the minimum certification I, as an egg eater, would want to purchase.  If an egg factory can’t meet a UEP Certification, these eggs are truly not something worth considering.  The UEP Certification program ensures reasonable minimum factors in nearly all aspects of production.

On Debeaking
Few things of note on the UEP, they allow beak trimming (which is done to reduce cannibalism and damage done by aggressive behavior).  But don’t let that dissuade you from UEP certified eggs, as beak trimming is a boon to any factory that has hens in close proximity.  If you want factory hens, you want the most humane debeaking you can get.  The UEP states that all beak trimming needs to be done the first time when the chicks are under 10 days old.  According to the references available on wikipedia, trimming prior to 10 days allows for healing and lack of pain in beak when they are older.  Trimming done after 10 days greatly increases the chance of the Hen having acute, chronic pain for her entire life.  So, if you are going to eat eggs from debeaked hens, make sure they are debeaked in accordance with the UEP.

Let it be said however, I am neither encouraging nor approving of debeaking.  I prefer my eggs to come from pastured hens, however that is not always possible.  And IF I am going to purchase factory hens, they need to be debeaked as to be not debeaked in factory conditions increases violent behavior and cannibalism among the chickens.  I prefer non-factory conditions, but given the choice between factory debeaked and factory beaked, I’d go with UEP Certified debeaked.

On Science
The UEP seems intent on letting you know that all their guidelines are scientifically reviewed and scientifically proven.  Statements like “Science has shown…” are commonly used.  I have a disagreement with that as to what they mean by “science”, as even depending on the field of science it can state vastly different findings.  Scientifically according to what?  What is their baseline?  Do they check stress levels of chickens?  Egg Production?  Do they call in a chicken psychologist?  You can’t just say “Science says”, you need to specify what factors you are looking at, especially when it involves animals that can’t tell you their subjective feelings on the matter.

Standards:

• Debeaking in 10 days.
• Outdoor Access: Does not specify required outdoor access on Cage-Free, but stipulates that if provided it must be kept clean.
• Space Per Hen
• Cage-Free Space: 1.5sqr feet per hen
• Caged Space: 67 to 84 sq inches depending on breed (one Sqr foot equals 144 sqr inches)
• Includes general requirements about access to clean feed, clean water, …

Sources:

1. UEP Certified
2. UEP Certified Guidelines
3. Wikipedia: United Egg Producers (UEP)
4. Wikipedia: Debeaking