Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is – Literally

• You’re probably already aware of Trader Joes and Whole Foods (there are two in Ann Arbor), as they’ve become trendy specialty stores in the mainstream market.
• And of course, if you’re already in Ann Arbor, you can take advantage of the Farmer’s Market or the Food Co-op.

But for those of us who are big-city challenged here in Jackson, here are a few notes from the event (the panel included Adam Mitchell of Whole Foods and Mike Smith of Polly’s Market amongst others) on choosing the most humanely produced food available in our part of mid-Michigan.


Kroger 
Visit the Natural Food Department and look for the Naturally Preferred brand, whose products are all either “natural” or “organic”. The bigger Kroger stores have “Nature’s Market” or “City Market” sections. And all Kroger’s have over 300 Private Selection Organic products mixed in the regular aisles (btw, you can exchange these for another brand or your money back if dissatisfied).

Kroger’s Private Selection Natural Meat comes from certified small farmers and ranchers that claim to use sustainable land, water and soil conservation. They also don’t use antibiotics, hormones, preservatives or artificial ingredients. The animals are raised on an animal-bi-product-free, vegetarian diet (which obviously some might suggest would be better used to feed hungry human populations) and have open-air access (animal rights’ activists would certainly want this vague term defined as well).


Meijer 
Look for Meijer Organics, a line of products certified by the USDA. These products use no pesticides, antibiotics or hormones. Meat products come from livestock raised on clean water, fresh air, “healthy food” and “room to roam” (again hard to certify terms). In addition, Meijer claims to be the largest purchaser of local produce in the grocery market. You can even check out a seasonal growing chart on their website to see exactly when the foods you love are in season.

Polly’s Market 
Look for organic produce, grown without the use of any herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers, in all Polly’s produce sections. Many of these products are purchased from regional growers like Tom Maceri & Son.  

Polly’s Star Ranch Natural Beef is hormone and antibiotic free, not just for the minimum 120 days required to make that claim, but during the entire lifespan of the livestock. The animals are 100% grass and grain fed (again, some would claim the grain portion would be better distributed to human populations). They also promise to keep production processes to an “absolute minimum” (again, vague terminology). Polly’s also sells Eggland’s organic eggs.

You can also see how the WSPA ranks grocery chains by downloading this adobe document.

Granted, the most stringent animal rights activists would still see “free-range” and “cage-free” practices as abusive.**  


However, no matter where you are on the animal rights spectrum, there are still things you can do to move toward more humane living. Along these lines, the WSPA offers ideas for “where to start,” a category of choices they consider “even better” and lastly, “best” suggestions.


Or, if you are so moved, you may explore vegetarianism or veganism by getting an informational kit from goveg.com.


For the next blog in this series, please click here. 

*See the “Shop Local” category at sarahcunningham.org for purchase options.
**Labels don’t always mean what the buyer assumes, so do your homework by either visiting the comany’s website or checking out printable shopping guides like these by DEFRA or the Center for Food Safety.