By the Marketing and
Member Services Department
In April of 2003 GreenStar’s members voted on and passed two referenda
which allowed the sale of previously disallowed meats in the stores.
This month, GreenStar expects to begin selling beef (and some pork)
from Engelbert Farms in Nichols, NY. The new local supplier has been
inspected by GreenStar and conforms to all of the Co-op’s requirements.
 Kevin and Lisa Engelbert have been farming organically since 1981 and
became the first certified organic dairy in New York in 1984. Kevin,
who is of the fifth generation of Engelberts to farm in New York
(fourth at the farm’s current location), helped develop the Northeast
Organic Farming Association’s (NOFA) original organic standards which
were largely based on the Engelberts’ own practices. He is now the only
dairy producer on the National Organic Standards Board and the only
representative of a family-scale farm.
Kevin and Lisa are very proud to run their farm with the help of all
three of their sons Kris, Joe and John. Lisa, who is a Co-administrator
at NOFA-NY Certified Organic, noted that if the farm hadn’t been
organic, the boys may not have returned.
In order to support the extended family, the farm is diversifying.
Primarily, the farm produces organic milk which is sold to the
cooperative distributor Organic Valley. Additionally, as the
Engelbert’s grow all the feed given to their animals, they are starting
to raise extra crops to be sold to other farmers. Their growing beef
and pork operations are also part of their plan for expansion.
The farm is situated on a beautiful stretch of river-bottom land along
the Susquehana and supports a remarkably healthy heard of cattle.
Despite several recent catastrophic floods, the herd hasn’t needed a
visit from a veterinarian for a sick animal in many years.
One of GreenStar’s inspectors, Karma Glos, explained the extraordinary health of the herd.
“All livestock are very healthy and their healthcare is managed with
preventative techniques such as constant access to the outdoors, a very
high plane of nutrition, low stress and [a] natural environment. Cattle
are not pushed on grain and maintain a healthy gut with grazing and
quality forage. If animals do need treatment (which has been extremely
rare) natural remedies and homeopathy are used.”
Kevin Engelbert described his philosophy, “I believe we make a living with the animals and not from them.”
A Bit of History
If only the first referendum (Meat #1) had passed, “red” meats
(including, but not limited to, beef, pork and lamb) that are organic
or “as close as possible to organic” would probably have been sold at
GreenStar starting as soon as May of 2003. However, the second
referendum, which laid out certain requirements for GreenStar’s sale of
these meats, made compliance with the new policy so challenging that it
took GreenStar staff four years to comply with our members wishes and
provide red meats in our stores.
The second referendum (Meat #2) required that “newly allowed” meats
sold at GreenStar be raised on family-owned farmsteads within 40 miles
of Ithaca. This alone created a significant challenge. While Central
New York has many vibrant farms, suppliers were not easily identified.
Further, Meat 2 required the animals’ feed to be grown organically and
either certified or verified by a team of GreenStar member volunteers.
Also, meat vendors needed to agree to be visited and inspected by the
team twice annually. Later in 2003, Council passed an interpretation of
Meat 2 which spelled out more precisely how compliance was to be
evaluated.
In 2004 with the help of local farmer Peter McDonald, Council drafted
and passed the “Policy on Member Volunteer Teams and Criteria for the
Fair Treatment of Animals.” As Meat #1 requires that meat vendors also
comply with existing product line guidelines, this policy spells out
how the team is to evaluate producers. The policy also issues a
clarification on what was meant by the originally vague requirement
that animals be treated fairly.
The task of verifying compliance with all of GreenStar’s policies
regarding the sale of red meat is a daunting one which, over the years,
was not given first priority. However, in August 2006 Interim General
Manager David Scovronick named the first Volunteer Meat Inspection
Team. The Team includes Grocery Department Assistant and refrigerated
foods buyer, Suzanne Johnson; organic farmers and member-owners, Karma
Glos and Laurie Pattington and GreenLeaf editor and Marketing
Department member, Felix Teitelbaum, a strong proponent of grass-based
agriculture.
On April 6, the Team was joined by then General Manager Ken Arnold on
their inspection of Engelbert Farms. The farm met or exceeded every
criteria of the inspection and their products (including steaks, lean
ground beef and summer sausage) should be available in the frozen foods
sections of both GreenStar locations in early May.
As GreenStar’s policies also require that the method of slaughter be
approved by the Team, members Glos and Teitelbaum made a visit to the
certified organic Leona Meat Plant where animals from Engelbert Farms
are processed. The plant passed inspection with flying colors.
 Manager Mike Debach gave the inspectors complete access to the small
plant in Leona, PA as well as its records. Mike practices this openness
with all interested clients. Establishing trust and traceability is
essential especially for organic producers who must be able to track
any cut of meat sold back to the birth of the animal.
GreenStar’s inspectors found that transport to Leona from Engelbert
Farms, holding at the plant and slaughter itself are all handled
quickly and efficiently and stress to the animals is minimized.
Becoming an organic facility represents only part of the forward
thinking that has sustained Leona’s business for over 45 years. Unlike
many slaughterhouses, where waste becomes a liability, at Leona it is
composted every day. Not only does this save tipping fees and protect
the environment, but Mike is hoping to soon sell the finished compost
which should be of exceptional quality. Leona’s composting has the
additional benefit of virtually eliminating the odors considered
unavoidable at other plants. This helps reduce stress for animals being
held as well as for Leona’s neighbors, clients and employees.
GreenStar’s business is guided by the collective voice of its members.
Getting red meats into the stores may have taken longer than it would
have elsewhere, but it has been carefully carried out to express the
wishes and values of the members. Subsequently, the meat itself is more
than a commodity. It represents the healthy lives of the cattle and the
care taken for the soil. It strengthens our local food network and
supports our region’s farming families. If you don’t eat red meat you
may appreciate the care put into the process. If you do eat red meat,
you’ll taste the difference.
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