The two words “Christmas dinner” evoke memories of happy meals around a large table, with family members not seen all year long. Piles of warm rolls, tender green beans, potatoes dripping with gravy, and the centerpiece ham – my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Ham and turkey are two of the most popular main dishes at Christmastime, thanks to their ability to easily feed a crowd. Now, you can rest easy knowing the turkeys at Whole Foods Market® are step-rated! That means all of our turkey producers have been certified to Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating Program, just like our beef, pork (that means hams!) and chicken suppliers.

The multi-tiered program rates how farm animals are raised using independent, third-party certifiers to audit farms and assess their compliance to the different Step level standards. The higher the Step number, the more interesting their environment, the more time the animals spend outside, and the more natural their life. We recently wrote about the details of each step.

Are you ready to plan your Christmas menu? Try a few of these suggestions!

What are you serving this Christmas? Share in the comments!