Walmart and Sam’s Club in the United States announced today
that they have adopted new positions around animal welfare and antibiotics in
farm animals.
But it seems to be more bluster than real change because it
is basically asking farmers to keep records about what they do and to “adopt
and implement” the antibiotics recommendations of the American Veterinary
Medical Association and not use “medically important” antibiotics.
That’s already being done on most progressive farms, including the vast majority of Canadian farmers who have implemented protocols developed by their marketing associations and commodity organizations.
“Walmart is committed to selling products that sustain
people and the environment,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart
Foundation and senior vice president of Walmart sustainability.
“We have listened to our customers, and are asking our
suppliers to engage in improved reporting standards and transparency measures
regarding the treatment of farm animals.”
Walmart
wants its farm suppliers to “publicly report antibiotic use on an annual basis.”
It’s
not clear how it can enforce those requirements because it rarely buys any meat
or poultry products directly from farmers.
“Our customers want
to know more about how their food is grown and raised and where it comes from.
“As the nation’s largest grocer, Walmart is committed to
using our strengths to drive transparency and improvement across the supply
chain,” McLaughlin said.
“We believe it’s important to promote transparency in this
process, helping to put our customers in charge of their food choices by
providing clear, accurate information about food ingredients.
"We appreciate the
leadership our suppliers have shown to help us accomplish these goals.”
I don't see anything about animal welfare in its publicity. It is, in short, much ado about very little and by inference, it casts stones on the livestock and poultry industry. As may mother often said, " people in glass houses should not throw stones."
