Animal Welfare
5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program
Our 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program enables customers to understand precisely how the meats they are buying have been raised and treated. A team of expert Welfare Auditors will confirm treatment in rigorous third-party audits of individual farms to Whole Foods Market’s exacting standards.
This auditing system is unique to Whole Foods Market and is extremely important to the company. To find out more, enquire at the butcher’s counter for an explanation of our standards.
The system is based on a tier structure. The goal of this program is to create an incentive for farmers to continuously improve their animal welfare practices. While this is an incredibly exciting start, we plan on bringing all producers to the highest level over time.
We have employed a Specialist Welfare Consultant to support us in sourcing our meats. We will continue this proactive approach as we work in partnership with our suppliers to continually improve animal welfare in keeping with the latest information and advice.
