There are more than a few things wrong with many of the foods we are consuming these days. It seems that while we're more and more interested in food quality and being eco-friendly, we're still stuffing our faces with factory-farmed, chemical-laden meats. The folks from Coleman Natural Foods are trying to change all that (they've been at it for 135 years now) with their eco-conscious, healthy food products. I recently chatted with Coleman COO John Bogert about what's going on with our country's food, and what his company is doing to help.
If you look at one of Coleman's most popular foods, Rosie Organic chicken, you'll notice several different labels on the package. Bogert explained what those labels should mean to the consumer:
Rosie chicken is free-range. This means the chickens have access to the outdoors, plus enough space indoors to move around. This is in stark contrast to typical chicken farms that don't provide their birds with space to move.
You'll also see "sustainably farmed" prominently displayed on the package. Coleman's network of small family farms all focus on sustainable land, water and soil conservation. Bogert explained that taking steps like reusing fecal matter as fertilizer and processing waste water to be reused are ways that Coleman farms use the land without overusing it.
Rosie Organic chicken is also the first chicken in the United States to carry a certified organic label. This means that Rosie chicken meets all of the standards the USDA requires to be "certified organic."
While Coleman has already set these standards in the industry, they haven't stopped evolving and improving. Another way in which Coleman is working to better their company is with their new packaging. "One of the things we're doing now is our tray-less packaging. This 'skin-pack' actually uses 67 percent less plastic than the traditional chicken packages with the Styrofoam trays," says Bogert.
What this really means is that their packages are actually smaller even though their chickens remain the same size. A smaller package means more fit in a box, which means less overall boxes, which means fewer trucks are needed to ship, which then leads to less fuel consumption and fewer carbon emissions. Coleman is reducing its carbon footprint.
"We definitely are looking at the bigger picture. We want to do this because it is what we believe in, but also to lead the industry," Bogert adds.
Want to do your part? When purchasing chicken look for these labels:
- - certified organic or 100% organic
- - free range (or even better, pasture-raised)
- - sustainably farmed
You'll recognize a noticeable improvement in the taste and texture of your bird when you buy quality chickens that have been raised humanely and with our environment in mind.
--Erica
photos: getty images, coleman natural foods
