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La Montañita Co-op BlogIn Response: A Meat Sales ManifestoMay 28th, 2010 | 3 CommentsDave Payne, Meat & Cheese Manager at the Valley Store, penned this last night in response to the recent flurry of discussion on facebook. We’d posted information about a beef sale ($3.99/lb. for local, grass-fed ground beef!) to a strong reaction from vegans and vegetarians. We see this post as the opening of discussion among our member-owners, employees, and anyone who falls between, so please jump in. As ever, keep your argument on-point and constructive. –Adam (himself a vegetarian of 15 years)
First: I appreciate & respect the view point of anyone who has made a conscious decision not to eat meat, for any reason. I obviously appreciate the view point of anyone who has made a conscious decision to eat meat. The latter are the people who purchase meat from La Montanita Coop- in fact, they purchase more meat in Santa Fe than either Albuquerque store. La Montanita Coop’s ends policies state that we are “A cooperative community based in the shared benefits of healthy food, sound environmental practices, and a strengthened local economy with results that justify the resources used.” Based on our ends policies, here are two of the biggest reasons we sell meat, and NM Beef in particular: 1. The majority of Americans eat meat, and we want to share the benefits of the healthiest, most environmentally conscious products available. We want the most people possible to shop & become members at our stores- we don’t want to be exclusive in regards to clientele or membership. 2. New Mexico is a ranching state:  A commercial chicken house in Florida a. Environmental Practices: My research has shown that 15% of the state is arable land (land that can be used for growing crops). The remaining land is best suited to ranching. Most NM cattle ranchers raise their animals with love and respect until they have to sell them to CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). CAFO’s are bad for the environment & inhumane to cows. We have provided a market for a new cooperative of ranchers to raise their animals exclusively on grass & native plants, and their stewardship to the land is amazing. b. Strengthened Local Economy: NM Ranchers need to sell their beef to CAFO’s for low prices because there is little market for grass finished local beef in New Mexico. La Montanita is one of the only businesses that will pay a fair price to these ranchers for their grass finished product. Fortunately a great portion of our membership in turn pays fair prices for retail ready cuts of NM beef.  Pollo Real chicken farm in Socorro 3. Results that justify the resources used: La Montanita is competitive and growing as a business. As a result, the company was in the position to hire me as a grocery clerk in 2006, and I was able to apply internally for positions in the meat & cheese departments. I have visited farms & slaughterhouses and have had the opportunity to share the practices I’ve witnessed with our members. La Montanita is also able to help other local businesses create models that will help them be successful, whether it is a beef ranching cooperative or a squash farm. The rest of our staff (many of whom are vegetarians) are also committed to the growth and sustainability of our business, and readily help our meat department, even if they don’t eat meat themselves. Thanks for the opportunity to discuss our product, which I believe is the best available in our state. It has been a great pleasure to assist the folks who want to purchase our sustainably raised products. Sincerely, 3 Responses to “In Response: A Meat Sales Manifesto”Leave a Reply |
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As one of the vegetarians who posted, I just want to say that we were not asking anyone to stop selling meat. We were pointing out that advertising a bag of dead cow on Facebook for $3.99 a pound was gross to many members of the co-op.
No members mind if you advertise veggie sales, but those of us who believe in a better world, which includes solving problems like world hunger, deforestation, clean water, no violence, etc. and choose not to eat meat, would appreciate not having to see such advertisements on facebook.
Namaste.
[...] exactly, the steps that lead from field to plate. I realize many readers might find this offensive (even an ad for a Memorial Day sale on grass-fed ground beef at my local co-op drew criticism from ve…). But the bottom line remains: much of the world eats meat. Yet not everyone has the chance to see [...]
fair enough.
but i wish to point out that seeking to make a better world and eating meat are not mutually exclusive.