Earls Makes the Shift to "Certified Humane" Beef

by

Earls Kitchen + Bar made a “really big” announcement yesterday, when they tweeted their decision to shift to 100% ‘Certified Humane’ beef.

The chain began as a startup in Edmonton, Alberta in 1982, and has since grown to include 66 locations, 59 of which are in Canada. According to the company’s site, their traditions have long been centred around homemade grub and locally-sourced ingredients. But, due to a lack of supply, the chain has moved south to source beef.

As our commitment to Conscious Sourcing grew, we made the decision that Certified Humane beef was important to us and started sourcing in Canada. However, after months of trying, we were unable to source a federally inspected, Certified Humane producer that could consistently meet our large supply needs. We travelled to see the ranches and abattoirs in the US, met with Dr. Temple Grandin…and in this case, Certified Humane was more important to us than origin, so we chose a US supplier for our beef.

Chef Del Diseko, Dave Bursey, Chefs Ryan Stone & Scott Rolfson. Photo via Earls Kitchen + Bar.
Chef Del Diseko, Dave Bursey, Chefs Ryan Stone & Scott Rolfson. Photo via Earls Kitchen + Bar.

With ‘Certified Humane’ designation top of mind, Earls now sources beef from Creekstone Farms in Kansas. According to their website, Creekstone Farms does not use antibiotics, growth promoting drugs or artificial ingredients. Nor do they add hormones. Their black angus cattle are source verified, fed a 100% vegetarian diet, and are humanely handled.

The company still sources pork produced in Canada, cage-free eggs from both Canada and the United States, and local, free-run chicken.

“Earls can definitely affect change because of our decision to take on the initiative to do more with our ingredients, to find a cleaner source,” said Mo Jessa, Earls Restaurants’ president. “The entire industry changes because of it…and not only does it match the expectations of our staff, it matches their values. It’s a proud day for all of us.”

The company says their change to 100% Certified Humane beef is part of their “Commitment to Conscious Sourcing.”

Twitter Responds:

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Subscribe to our daily newsletters to keep you up-to-date with our latest coverage every morning.

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Please register to read and comment.

 

Register for a RealAgriculture account to manage your Shortcut menu instead of the default.

Register