One of my friends recently went vegetarian, not for health reasons or a dislike of meat, but because she wants to support animal rights. I, too, want to fight for farm animals and get them better lives, but I am a picky eater and could not healthily be a vegetarian or vegan. Plus, I just couldn’t give up some of my favorite foods. I found that there is a way I can support animals while still enjoying my chicken nuggets.
When I go to the store there is one thing I look for on my animal products: the certified humane sticker. I only buy products from companies I can assure treated the animals well. Many companies have tried to market their companies as being cage-free or animal friendly, but they are misleading. By looking for the certified humane label I know the animals were treated right.
Sometimes certified humane products can be hard to find, but you need to know what store to shop at. A store like Walmart, which is focused on trying to get you low prices, is going to have a very limited certified humane selection because of the prices. Personally, I shop at Eatwell here in Columbia.
Another way to get animal products that are humane is to go to the farmer’s market. You can talk to the vendors and see how they treat their animals and what they were fed, and you would also be shopping small and supporting your local community. The Columbia farmer’s market is every Saturday morning at the Clary-Shy Community Park.
Shopping to support animal rights can be more expensive, but even if you get one thing that is certified humane you are making a difference. If you want more information about the certified humane project you can visit their website at: https://certifiedhumane.org.