Wolfgang Puck and The Humane Society Work Together
Wolfgang Puck has worked hand-in-hand with the Humane Society of the United States and Farm Sanctuary to develop a 9 point program for his culinary empire. The goal is to not only be more socially conscience, but to also show the culinary world that you can still have excellent cuisine, quality foods that do not brutalize animals and that you can still turn a profit.
Phil Vettel from the Chicago Tribune Food Blog, The Stew, wrote:
The standard response to demands for better treatment of animals raised for food has been an economic one. Yes, we can let all the chickens run free, but guess what that will do to the price of omelets and fried chicken? Puck’s new policy, if he can make it stick throughout his food empire, could punch a big, fat hole through that theory. If Puck can make money with a humane-treatment policy—if customers happily pay a little more for food with a social conscience—dozens of other mid-priced chain restaurants might follow. And if more and more restaurant chains (the ones that feed people coast to coast) demand accountability in the way their meats and fish are raised and harvested, that’s the kind of financial pressure that could force sweeping changes in agribusiness.
To read more of his article click here.
Amazingly there will be some products completely off the menu, such as foie gras, which force feeds ducks and geese until their livers grow up to 10 times their normal size.
The nine point plan will be implemented throughout his empire, beginning with his 14 restaurants. The goal is that all the restaurants will be integrated with the new policies by the end of 2007. He will continue the changes throughout not only his restaurants but his catering company and products.
The Humane Society of the United States sent out a press-release with the plan:
1. Wolfgang Puck has now eliminated foie gras from the menu of all of its dining establishments. Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks or geese to the point where their livers swell up to ten times their normal size.
2. Wolfgang Puck will not use eggs from laying hens confined in battery cages. Caged laying hens are kept in such restrictive conditions, they cannot even spread their wings.
3. Wolfgang Puck will not serve pork from producers who confine breeding sows in gestation crates. These cruel devices restrict animals from even turning around or performing many of their other behaviors for nearly their entire lives.
4. Wolfgang Puck will not serve veal from producers that confine their calves in individual veal crates. This inhumane intensive confinement practice prevents calves from even turning around or walking for months on end.
5. Wolfgang Puck will feature delicious vegetarian options on its menus, as many consumers who want to eat well and humanely look for these selections.
6. Wolfgang Puck will feature Certified Organic selections on its menus, as many consumers concerned for their environment and health look for these options.
7. Wolfgang Puck will send a letter to the companies’ chicken and turkey meat suppliers indicating its interest in Controlled Atmosphere Killing, a slaughter method involving dramatically less suffering than typical methods.
8. Wolfgang Puck will only serve chicken and turkey meat from farms that are third-party-audited for compliance with progressive animal welfare standards.
9. Wolfgang Puck will only serve certified sustainable seafood.
To read more of the press release click here.
Peter Vettel did make the point that Wolfgang Puck is not the first chef to make such changes, including Chicago’s own Rick Bayless, but he is the first who owns such a vast empire that impacts not only all his restaurants, but products and more. Just about every home cook knows the name Wolfgang Puck.
I say good for Wolfgang Puck and good hopefully for us all. It will be harder for some consumers. I am one of those who are on a very tight budget and count every penny when I go to the store, but I also understand what is taking place to animals in this mass-consumer world we live in and it’s time to re-think the budget so that my little home is impacting the world for the better. If each consumer did that, it not only helps animals, but animal farmers would be forced to re-think and re-tool their industry.
It will be interesting to see how all this plays out. Can those in “The Know” who are not used to hearing the words “unavailable” or “can not accommodate you” embrace Chef Puck’s epiphany. My guess is that since it came from him, it will be considered very sheik. My worry is that it will end up only being a fad in the mind of most. No one is asking anyone to stop eating eggs or enjoying a nice piece of veal, but I think most of us can get through life without conumsing foie gras.
You can go to Wolfgang Puck’s Official Website to learn more about his company and this story and to You Tube for a promotional video.
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2 opinions for Wolfgang Puck and The Humane Society Work Together
Wheat Free
Mar 26, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Puck’s sounds like a great goal. I am convinced that the meat from humanely treated animals tastes better, because they experience less stress, can exercise properly, and do not require antibiotics to the same degree.
Min Liu
Apr 23, 2007 at 2:58 am
For more direction on how Wolfgang Puck and his right hand man, Tom Kaplan, run the restaurant business for the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, check out this interview of Tom Kaplan by two Stanford business school students for iinnovate:
http://iinnovate.blogspot.com/2007/04/tom-kaplan-senior-managing-partner-of.html
It might provide some motivations for his collaboration with The Humane Society.
Min, on behalf of the iinnovate team.
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