AWI’s Pig Husbandry Program Sets a National Standard

A modest collaboration that began in 1997 between the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and one family farmer has, in 2002, become a national program with nearly 200 farmers adhering to AWI’s Humane On-Farm Pig Husbandry Standards. Although the standards were developed to preserve the welfare of pigs, they appeal to an array of organizations with diverse interests.

Nowhere was this more apparent than in Manhattan, on May 9, 2002, when America’s leading chefs and environmentalists gathered to endorse AWI’s standards. The press event, held at Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard, included an overview of AWI’s standards and footage contrasting sow factories with humane farms. Paul Willis, a farmer from Niman Ranch, one of the nation’s leading purveyors of products from humane family farms, and Bill Niman, co-founder of Niman Ranch, testified that AWI’s standards are the best for both animals and farm families. Leaders from Waterkeeper Alliance, Slow Food USA, Chefs Collaborative, Earth Pledge Foundation and Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) announced why they endorse AWI’s standards. These groups recognize the importance of protecting pig welfare, but they see additional merit in the standards: protecting water quality, revitalizing a culture of traditional, sustainable family farms and protecting the effectiveness of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine. Chef Michael Romano made an impassioned statement:

Michael Romano, chef-partner at Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard in NYC, chooses humane products. Union Square Cafe

“Good morning! I am Michael Romano, one of the proprietors of Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard, and along with my partners, Danny Meyer, David Swinghamer, Paul Bolles-Beaven, Richard Coraine, as well as our Executive Chef Ken Callaghan, please allow me to welcome you wholeheartedly to our new restaurant. We are very pleased to host this breakfast.

“It strikes me that what you all are about here is some terribly important work....I took a wonderful visit to the Iowa home of Paul Willis and his family. I was very impressed not only by the gracious hospitality of my hosts, but also by the pigs we met out in Paul’s fields. And I use the word ‘met’ intentionally because it felt like a genuine meeting, a connection even, with animals living as they were meant to live.

“You know...I decided, and I wish more people would, that if we feel it is our right to raise animals for our consumption, then we are charged with the duty to do so responsibly, humanely, and with respect for the sentient beings that these creatures are. I thank you all for leading this good fight.”

In addition to groups involved in the May 9th event, Public Citizen and New England Livestock Alliance have endorsed AWI’s husbandry standards.

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May 9th Statement Excerpts
“It is a pleasure for us at Earth Pledge to support AWI’s initiative and to endorse the standards that will help consumers know how the animals they are eating have been treated. I applaud AWI and Niman Ranch for offering us opportunities to buy food that is good for us, good for the environment and good for the animals as well.” —Leslie Hoffman, Executive Director, Earth Pledge Foundation
“By signing on to AWI’s standards, GRACE is saying consumers do have a choice. Co-ops and companies like Niman Ranch are springing up all over the country, where independent family farmers are raising animals humanely, respecting the environment, and are offering healthy, high quality meat. GRACE is proud to stand here today with the future of our food.” —Diane Hatz, Communications and Marketing Director, GRACE
“We can’t do this work alone. The issues are very complex and not simply reduced down to easy terms like organic or natural...Busy in our kitchens cooking for our patrons, we look to organizations like the Animal Welfare Institute and Waterkeeper Alliance to provide us with tools upon which to base our purchasing....That is why we are happy to have AWI’s protocols, to endorse them and to distribute them to our members.” —Peter Hoffman, National Chair, Chefs Collaborative
“AWI’s agenda is reasonable and workable—their standards require that pigs be allowed to behave naturally and be raised by independent family farmers. Waterkeeper Alliance is proud to endorse AWI’s humane husbandry standards.” —Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President, Water Keeper Alliance
“...The time has come for people to start demanding information about where their food comes from and how it is raised. AWI standards will help consumers understand more and feel assured that what they are eating deserves the title of nourishment.” —Patrick Martins, President, Slow Food USA