What sourcing lessons can be learned from HBO?s documentary ?Death on a Factory Farm??
What sourcing lessons can be learned from HBO?s documentary ?Death on a Factory Farm??
This author has to admit that I changed the channel on several occasions last night when watching the above mentioned documentary on HBO. I just could not tolerate or watch the violent behavior and mistreatment of hogs and their piglets on the Wile Hog Farm located in North East Ohio.
It is however part of my job to understand these practices in order to advise retail clients as to better ways to source meat products for their stores and understanding the brutality of this documentary is part of that.
Our SafeSourceIt? Supplier Database with over 300,000 suppliers from around the world holds suppliers accountable to a number of standards that are included in a table in our database, templates library and best practices used in identifying and qualifying new sources of supply. One of those standards is Certified Humane Raised & Handled. The Certified Humane Raised & Handled program is an inspection, certification and labeling program for meat, poultry, egg and dairy products from animals raised to humane care standards. Wile Hog Farms practiced none of these. In fact we go a step further at SafeSourcing. We will not allow Wile Hog Farm or others who treat animals inhumanely to participate in our database. We will also ask processors if they accept Hogs from Wile Hog Farm. If they do, we may recommend to a retailer to not include them in an auction or replenishment event.
The question you are now asking yourself is; what impact will this have? At present, probably not much, but someone has to begin to hold the sources of our food supply accountable. Obviously our law enforcement organizations don?t take this seriously. In fact of the ten criminal counts at the end of 1 1/2 days of testimony, Wayne County Municipal Judge Stuart K. Miller found Joe Wiles guilty on only one count of improperly handling piglets, grabbing them and throwing them by their ears and legs.
I encourage you to watch this documentary if you are in the meat procurement business and then answer the question as to whether you want Safesourcing looking out for your best interests when sourcing safe products or someone else.
We look forward to and appreciate your comments.
