Whole Story

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Pork Newsflash!

By Rebecca Joerres, March 4, 2012  |  Meet the Blogger  |  More Posts by Rebecca Joerres

We’ve got some exciting news!

We now have our first 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating System Step 5+ producer — Thompson Farms!

To achieve a Step 5+ rating, a farm’s animals must be born and live their entire lives on one farm, pigs and cattle must be slaughtered on the farm, and chickens can only be transported short distances. Thompson Farms is an all-natural pork producer that raises free-range pigs on 1,000 acres in southern Brooks County, Georgia.

The farm has been in operation since the 1930s, when Raymond Thompson and his father started growing produce for the surrounding community.

Raymond then continued the tradition with his own son, Andrew, when they opened Thompson Farms Smokehouse.

The farm was able to achieve its Step 5+ rating because they built an on-farm processing facility designed according to rigorous humane animal treatment standard, thanks to a loan from the Local Producer Loan Program at Whole Foods Market.

Have you tried Thompson Farms pork? Let us know what you think!

Category: Local Producer Loan Program, Meat, Animal Welfare
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12 Comments

Comments

Janice Gervais says ...
What an excellent example of how farming should be done.
03/05/2012 7:44:28 AM CST
Vladimir says ...
This is amazing I for one will now only buy pork products at Whole Foods from this farm
03/05/2012 10:40:43 AM CST
Chris says ...
Wonderful news, congratulations! This is an exciting step, I hope their success proves to motivate other farms as well.
03/05/2012 4:53:11 PM CST
Karly Topkis says ...
I want to thank Whole Foods for its commitment to making sure they are supplying pork to its customers that has come from an all natural farm. The pigs are treated well and not transported anywhere before being slaughtered. The process can be so grueling but to hear the sanitary precautions that Thompson Farms uses on their pigs is unbelievable. It seems to be a lot more work but well worth it to keep the pigs happy throughout their short lifespan. Thank you Whole Foods for considering the lives on the animals before selling the meet to all of your customers.
03/05/2012 5:25:44 PM CST
janejohnson says ...
@Karly Thank you for your support and loyalty!
03/07/2012 12:26:53 PM CST
debbie boucher says ...
What a blessing ! One can only hope for the standards to be set and met for all animal producing farms ! Thank you Whole Foods !
03/08/2012 4:58:01 AM CST
Elizabeth says ...
Thank you so much Whole Foods for standards that you set.This is truly how farming should be. I will only buy this product from Thompson Farms.
03/10/2012 10:28:38 AM CST
Katie says ...
I'm wondering if they are fed any gmo's. Thank you.
10/16/2012 1:28:42 AM CDT
Nikki - Community Moderator says ...
@KATIE - Thanks for your question. Due to the prevalence of the GMOs in the commodity grain market, and the limited availability of verified non-GMO feed, we cannot require the use of only non- GMO feed for animal products (including meat, dairy and farmed fish) sold in our stores. We encourage shoppers who are looking to avoid products from animals fed GMOs to choose organic meat and dairy products (since organic standards prohibit the intentional use of GMOs).
10/16/2012 3:14:40 PM CDT
Edgar says ...
I lived in the Santa Barbara area and would like to know if the Pork sold at this particular Whole Foods Market sells the Pork that was raised in Georgia; and if so, how were the pigs transported to California? I recently purchased Organic Pork....thanks
12/09/2012 3:54:34 PM CST
Nikki - Community Moderator says ...
@EDGAR - Thanks for your question. Since our products and vendors vary between store locations, I would suggest reaching out to the store in Santa Barbara. They will typically try their best to find vendors that meet our Quality Standards and are more local. They'll be happy to let you know where their organic pork comes from.
12/11/2012 4:57:51 PM CST
Sharon Cunningham says ...
I give products from Thompson Farms for Christmas gifts - always a hit! Great product, great managers, great neighbors.
04/16/2013 5:41:27 PM CDT