'Certified Humane' labeling?

[garybeck]

Anyone know much about the Certified Humane labeling I'm seeing more of on food products?

I like the idea, but my skeptical mind seeks more information. I see it on eggs... some brands say "free range" without the Certified Humane labeling, while another brand says Certified Humane.

this led me to the Certified Humane website where I found that the chickens don't have to be free range in order for the eggs to be labeled Certified Humane.

I would like to have a labeling system I can trust and have confidence in. On the surface this looks good but I'm wondering if other folks have looked into this deeper and what you found?

thanks

[flvegan]

1. I have conflicting thoughts on this.

I'll start off with the obvious: what hypocritical bullshit. There is no "humane" in killing an animal for want, which is all the consumption of animal products is in 90% of food applications (I'm giving an ample 10% for medical reasons that I'm without knowledge of).

That said, I like the idea of the label. If someone is going to eat meat, etc, then at least this is a far sight better than factory farming methods when it comes to animal care. Not everyone is willing nor wanting to go vegetarian or vegan, so this is a good option for them, I think. Additionally, I think that when someone sees the label, having no idea what the hell it means, it might cause them to go research it, which could possibly educate them as to their current purchasing decisions. Which leads me to a true story...

As many of you know, I recently lost my big boy to cancer. During his last months, I fed him all the dead critter under the sun. Yes, I realize the hypocrisy. ANYway, I did so with locally raised or cage-free eggs that were lay by nesting hens. One time, as I was checking out at the supermarket with 6 dozen of these eggs, they drew the eye of the cashier (I think it was the heavy duty plastic egg cartons they came in). She asked about them, and what was so special about those eggs. She got a quick 30 second polite, non graphic education on battery hens. Both she and the bagger were stunned. Absolutely stunned. She actually WROTE DOWN "cage free" and said she wanted to look up more info on it.

Score one for the chickens.

[garybeck]

2. my thoughts ...

one thing is, the labeling is not only for meat eaters. I don't eat meat so I wouldn't know if there is such labeling on it. But I do see it on eggs and I understand it is on milk too. So it could be helpful for vegetarians who eat dairy.

in theory, it helps resolve the problem that without any standards, some factory farm could put a
"free range" sticker on their product just because they let the chickens run around for 5 minutes a day, and then back to the cage. I mean, how do we know they are really "cage free?" I see now, even some of the big grocery stores like Price Chopper, have thier own eggs and some of them say cage free. For whatever reason I don't trust Price Chopper to really do it right and I could see them stretching the definition of "cage free" to make an extra buck. What I like about the labeling is that it imposes some standards and supposedly they have inspections to make sure they are really abiding by the standards.

So my main concern is whether or not it's for real. I've seen big companies do all kinds of nasty things all my life, so I don't know if the whole thing is a scam or not.

After reading thru their website I think it looks pretty legit, but who knows?

If we can trust these folks to do what they say they are doing, then I'm all for it. It gives me some assurance that the label is real. In other words, if I'm looking at two cartons of eggs and one says a generic "free range" on it and another has the Certified Humane label on it, I would be much more inclined to go for the Certified Humane product because I have no idea what the other one means. I think an egg company could slap a "free range" sticker on their product and the FDA isn't going to come knocking on their door to make sure they are really doing it right. But with the Certified Humane label, there's an extra layer, an independent agency, that has taken a look at it. That's what I like about it.

[flvegan]

3. When it comes to "Certified Humane" and my support or lack thereof

I'm always going to come back to one thing...their sponsors and Directors. Now, I know, one can peruse their board and see a who's who of apologists, along with some welfare dog 'n cat folks (sorry Sayres).

Is it for real? Well, it's only as real as the enforcement of the rules goes. And that, to be honest, is anyone's best guess.

Do I "trust these folks to do what they say" I have to say that no, I don't. I admit to being a jaded, sometimes hateful little asshole. However, I support the initiative.

Let me tell you what I DO trust about this. Although I don't agree with HSUS (the Humane Society of the United States) on many things, I do agree with one person on damn near every single thing they do. Wayne Pacelle is the CEO of HSUS and a personal friend of mine. He's a militant vegan, and politically brilliant. If he says that this is a good thing, and HSUS is well behind it, then I say that it gets a pass from me, and only upon its absolute failure will he hear about it from me.

Last time he saw me, he called me "a monster" so I don't think he wants that, either.

[idgiehkt]

4. thanks for sharing that about Wayne Pacelle

that is good to know, it's really comforting to know, in fact.

When it says 'certified humane' I just wonder who is doing the certifying.