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While it's true marketing can impact how your dollars could actually contribute to better living conditions, I'd just it's defeatist to just throw your hands up
by liuxiansheng 2y ago
While it's true marketing can impact how your dollars could actually contribute to better living conditions, I'd just it's defeatist to just throw your hands up and say it doesn't matter.
A consumer can look up certifications like Certified Humane which does audits on farms to ensure they're following the required standards. While I'm sure it's not a perfect system it does hold farms to some accountability.
https://www.aspca.org/shopwithyourheart/consumer-resources/certified-farms-state https://www.aspca.org/shopwithyourheart/consumer-resources/c...
- crazygringo 2y agoBrowsing that page, a state like New Hapshire has one pork farm and one beef farm listed and that's it. These seem like they're more for locals and farm-to-table restaurants? At my local supermarkets, even the nicer ones like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, I don't ever recall seeing any of those logos on eggs, chicken, beef, anything at all. I'd love to know if I just missed them, though.
- liuxiansheng 2y agoI believe Certified Humane has one of the most stringent requirements for animal welfare so there'll be fewer farms. There's other certifications out there such as Animal Welfare Approved. I admit for a welfare-conscious consumer it's not easy to sift through all the noise by doing actual research. Wish things were better but at least it's been trending in the right direction in the last couple of decades.
- alex77456 2y ago> I admit for a welfare-conscious consumer it's not easy to sift through all the noise by doing actual research Case in point, the first result I find on Certified Humane egg brands, is paywalled https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/eggs https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/eg...
- tweetle_beetle 2y agoThat doesn't mean it's not easy - you found it straight away. It means that independent journalism and research cost money.
- gbear605 2y agoCertified Humane is quite likely available for some eggs wherever you’re shopping in the US (maybe not Alaska or Hawaii, and not at convenience stores). I exclusively buy certified eggs, and I’ve never found a normal grocery store that didn’t have them. Trader Joes and Whole Foods definitely do.
- lisper 2y agoIf you think Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are normal grocery stores, then you live a much more privileged life than you realize.
- setopt 2y agoThey only mentioned Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods because they replied to a post specifically mentioning those stores…
- wegfawefgawefg 2y agowhat is with hacker news and comments like this. I once complained about the dmv being innefficient and like ten people came out of the woodwork telling me to check my privelege.
- gbear605 2y agoI was specifying Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods because the parent comment did, not because they’re representative grocery stores. I mostly shop at Kroger’s personally, which is where I buy eggs, but I occasionally go to Trader Joe’s because some products are cheaper there. In fact, in some areas (like Manhattan, where many unprivileged people live), Trader Joe’s is cheaper than the normal grocery stores.
- losvedir 2y agoI get Certified Humane eggs at my random Strack and Van Til (ordinary, non-lux grocery store) here in Indiana. I never thought of it as that rare or crazy. (In fact, I almost reasoned the reverse that if even here of all places, it's got that logo, then it's probably not worth much.)