Bill the Butcher, Seattle’s newest “local and certified organic” butcher shop, doesn’t disclose where it gets most of its meat, as discussed in this week’s feature. “We don’t want to confuse the consumer getting into too many ‘this farm, that farm’ things,” one of the owners told me when I tried to find out the source of the meat I was buying.
There are 18 certified organic beef ranches in Washington state, as detailed here (you have to search the PDF for “cattle” to find the ranches). I hadn’t gotten through to all of them by the time the story went to press. At last, I have gotten ahold of all 18. Not one certified organic beef ranch in Washington state sells beef to Bill the Butcher.
@50 – …or they’ll continue to fleece the 90% of their customers who don’t read The Stranger/Yelp/next big thing in crowdsourced responsibility.
No…there have to be consequences for antisocial behavior. Otherwise, we’d let people post “He’s a dick” on a rapist’s Facebook page and be content with that.
All retailers selling products with an organic label are required to maintain the documents to prove it. Retailers are exempt from having to be certified but not exempt from maintaining the records. This is a requirement of the federal organic labeling laws (1990 Organic Food Production Act and 2002 National Organic Standards). In addition, the retailer must make these records available to accredited certifiers and the National Organic Program. If any customers are concerned about the organic integrity of this retailer’s meats, they can lodge a complaint with the National Orgnaic Program, itself, or with an accredited certifying agency. A complaint always prompts an investigation. The Washington State Dept of Agriculture Organic Program is Washington’s most local certifier. The WSDA Organic Food Program’s # is 360-902-1805
Actually, historically word of mouth has worked quite well to drive marginal characters out of business or correct their practices. No need to be so draconian. It isn’t like he is dropping nuclear weapons on your house.
I attempted to write a Yelp review of Bill’s in Redmond to sum up our feelings on this development and to warn other people. It posted on May 19 and since that time, it has been removed. I find this highly suspect and one more (bad) example of what a poor business model this place has!
Here’s my Yelp review:
My husband and I were initially thrilled to find this place. We are big supporters of local, sustainably-raised, natural, grass-fed beef, chicken, pork, and eggs. But I must admit that the article in the Stranger truly concerned us. Even after reading Bill’s response, I think that we will ultimately take our business elsewhere.
It is simply unacceptable to us to not be able to get the correct information regarding our eggs and meat–where it is from, how it is produced, etc. We feel completely duped and wish we had never given this shop any of our hard-earned money. From the signage in the store, it does seem as though everything is organic and grass-fed and although we, like Bill, do not believe that something necessarily has to be organic to be okay, we do not want to be explicitly lied to by staff members who do not know what they are selling.
I understand that this is a growing business, but I believe that if Bill and the company were as focused upon sustainability and transparency as they claim they are, these are kinks that should have been worked out before such rapid expansion. Accountability and transparency are absolutely key in the local and sustainable foods movement and I don’t think it is wrong to want to know where our food comes from.
Three words: Rain Shadow Meats. Problem solved.
They had a display on the counter yesterday, they had two bowls of toothpicks and no garbage on site, the toothpicks were not clearly marked, I used a USED toothpick…YUCK,
I should contact the board of health ?