http://www.peta.org/feat/proggy/2004/winners.html#retailer
Best Animal-Friendly Retailer
Winner: Whole Foods (See article or press release below from unknown source)
Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market is now the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 166 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Celebrating the maxim that variety is the spice of life, Whole Foods offers an impressively wide and tempting selection of healthy vegetarian foods�cereals, snacks, juices, frozen foods, baked goods, convenience foods, soups, produce, and rows of products in bulk bins! The retailer's very own "365" brand delivers quality in grocery products as well as cruelty-free personal care and household products at competitive prices. For people on the go, Whole Foods' deli counter offers a plethora of delectable, mouth-watering vegan choices: sesame-encrusted seitan, roasted asparagus, tofu teriyaki, sweet potato cutlets, and more! No deprivation here.
Whole Foods has consistently done more for animal welfare than any retailer in the industry, requiring that its producers adhere to strict standards. Recently, Whole Foods launched the Animal Compassion Foundation. John Mackey, the chair, CEO, and cofounder of Whole Foods Market, observed, "By creating the Foundation, Whole Foods Market is pioneering an entirely new way for people to relate to farm animals�with the animals' welfare becoming the most important goal."
Runner Up: Albertson's
The country's second-largest grocery-store chain has been working with the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) to develop a comprehensive set of animal welfare guidelines to help protect animals from some of the very worst abuses that they suffer on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. Albertson's has also helped push for the development of the FMI's Animal Welfare Audit Program (AWAP), a system through which food retailers such as Albertson's can monitor their suppliers for compliance with the FMI guidelines. Furthermore, Albertson�s was instrumental in demanding sweeping change and unannounced audits at AgriProcessors, Inc., the world�s largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, where an undercover PETA investigator documented horrendous abuse.
Runner Up: Safeway
Safeway worked with Albertson's to develop the FMI guidelines and to demand changes from AgriProcessors. Safeway also demanded changes and audits of Seaboard Farms after another PETA investigation uncovered horrific cruelty. Seaboard employees ended up receiving the first-ever felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abuse of farmed animals. In Canada, the company demanded the first meaningful animal welfare audits by any corporation. Safeway's commitment to animal welfare goes all the way to the top�the company's CEO, Steve Burd, personally contributes money to the animal protection charity run by Tony La Russa, manager of baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.
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From: "Sisley Aragon-Milroy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 20:08:18 -0700
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [RMAD members] WHOLE FOODS WINS NATIONAL PETA AWARD: 'BEST ANIMAL-FRIENDLY RETAILER'
WHOLE FOODS WINS NATIONAL PETA AWARD:
�BEST ANIMAL-FRIENDLY RETAILER� �Proggy� Goes to Austin-Based Grocery Chain for Catering to Vegans and
Blazing New Trails for Animal Welfare
Austin, Texas � In recognition of its outstanding commitment to raising the bar on farmed-animal welfare and providing consumers with vegetarian and vegan foods, Austin-based mega-grocer Whole Foods Market has been named Best Animal-Friendly Retailer in PETA�s second annual Proggy Awards. Proggys are presented to people, companies, and organizations that exemplify animal-friendly progress in 21st century culture and commerce. Whole Foods will be presented with a plaque to display in its office and will be featured on PETA�s award-winning Web site PETA.org.
Whole Foods has done far more for farmed-animal welfare than any other retailer. �We re-examined [activists�] claims and decided they were basically right,� explains CEO and founder John Mackey. The company recently launched the Animal Compassion Foundation, through which, according to Mackey, Whole Foods will pioneer �an entirely new way for people to relate to farm animals�with the animals� welfare becoming the most important goal.� PETA is among the groups helping Whole Foods develop the new standards.
The best way to help animals is to adopt a vegetarian diet, and Whole Foods has made vegetarianism easier than ever. With a million people adopting a vegetarian diet every year�and one-quarter of college students looking for vegan foods�Whole Foods CEO John Mackey knows that offering an array of vegetarian foods is not just the ethical thing to do, it�s also good for business. And Mackey puts his mouth where his money is: He�s an ethical vegan, explaining, �I came across an argument I could not refuse: Eating animals causes pain and suffering to the animals.�
�Whole Foods� commitment to a humane lifestyle and improved standards of animal welfare places it at the leading edge of the retail food industry,� says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. �The company�s stunning success attests to the fact that adding compassion to the balance sheet is good for business.�
Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Whole Foods Market is now the world�s leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 166 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods offers an impressively wide selection of healthy vegetarian foods�cereals, snacks, juices, frozen foods, baked goods, convenience foods, soups, produce, and rows of products in bulk bins�as well as cruelty-free personal care and household products. The deli counter offers a plethora of delicious vegan snacks, entr�es, and mock meats and dairy-free cheeses.
For more information and to view the entire list of Proggy winners, please visit PETA.org.
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"A single voice may not be heard, but the voices of many
cannot be ignored. " ~ Author Unknown
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