Healthy Food in Health CareJoin the campaign during National Nutrition Month in March 2011 to buy chicken produced without arsenic compounds or antibiotics, and ideally from local farmers. 

To Pledge to Buy Sustainable Chicken:   Click Here 

With recent media attention in Maryland on the use of arsenic compounds in poultry feed, this campaign serves to educate food service professionals and consumers in Maryland and throughout the country about large-scale poultry production practices.  It also provides an opportunity for you to try sustainably produced chicken, support your local farmers if possible, and gives you local and national resources on where to buy sustainably produced chicken.  

To learn more about large-scale poultry production practices and their impact on our health and the environment, see “Tools and Resources” below. 

This campaign is open to institutions and businesses, their employees and students, and to consumers.

There are 2 ways to participate:

1.   Buy chicken produced by a local farmer without arsenic compounds or antibiotics. 
       Purchase directly from a local farmer, a distributor, or any participating retail store.
2.   Buy 3rd party certified chicken that may or may not be produced locally. 

3rd party certifications include:
      •  USDA Certified Organic
      •  Certified Humane Raised and Handled
      •  Animal Welfare Approved
      •  Food Alliance

 Local foods are defined as foods grown or produced within a 200-mile radius.

To Pledge to Buy Sustainable Chicken (at least once in March):   Click Here 

This campaign is the first in a series of 4 campaigns throughout 2011 to go beyond buying local vegetables and fruit to also purchase meat, poultry and other animal protein foods produced by local farmers using sustainable agricultural practices.  These campaigns are being hosted by the Food Leadership Council of Maryland & DC, a project of the Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (MD H2E) initiative of the University of Maryland School of Nursing and by the Healthy Food in Health Care initiative of Health Care Without Harm.

This initiative is being funded by a grant from the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) of the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with generous matching funds from the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers. 

TOOLS & RESOURCES

Health and Environmental Effects of Large-Scale Poultry Producers

     •  Impacts of Large-Scale Poultry Producers
     •  Feeding Arsenic to Poultry:  Is This Good Medicine?
     •  Poison-Free Poultry:  Why Arsenic Doesn’t Belong in Chicken Feed
     •  Eight Reasons to Stop Poisoning Chicken with Arsenic
     •  Poison-Free Poultry in Maryland – Fact Sheet
     •  Antibiotic Resistance and Agricultural Overuse of Antibiotics – Fact Sheet
     •  Protect Antibiotics
     •  Healthy Food in Health Care

Food Service Purchasing Information

     •  To request a List of Local Sustainable Chicken Suppliers in the Mid-Atlantic Region 
         (that meet minimum criteria of producing chicken without arsenic compounds or antibiotics)
     •  Food Eco-Labels:  A Purchasing Guide
     •  Guide to Poultry Applicable Eco-labels  
     •  USDA Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms
     •  Purchaser’s Guide to Sourcing Sustainable Poultry
     •  Sample Poultry Supplier Survey Questions
     •  Food Credits – Green Guide for Health Care
     •  Marketing Tools and Materials – see below

Individual Consumer Information

Where to Find Sustainable Chicken in the Mid-Atlantic Region:
     •  Amazing Grazing Directory
     •  Maryland Niche Meats & Poultry Directory Producers Directory

Where to Find Sustainable Chicken throughout the U.S.:
     •  Local Harvest
     •  Sustainable Table
     •  Eat Wild

What Do the Different Food Labels Mean?
     •  Food Eco-Labels:  A Purchasing Guide
     •  Guide to Poultry Applicable Eco-labels  
     •  USDA Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms
     •  Glossary of Meat Production Methods
     •  Pastured Poultry

Marketing Tools for Hospitals and Other Institutions

Ready to Print:
    •  Cafeteria Signs at Point of Sale (fits Avery postcards)
    •  Patient Tray Bookmarks
    •  Table Tent
    •  Sign Up Sheet for Employees & Community Members
    •  Sign Up Sheet for Students & Community Members 
    •  Buy Local Challenge Logo (to be used if chicken is from a local farmer)

Customizable:
    •  Patient Tray Bookmarks
    •  Table Tent

Coming Soon

Stay tuned for the registration links with tools and resources for the 3 remaining campaigns in 2011.  They will be posted throughout the year as each campaign approaches.

For More Information

Louise Mitchell, PT
Sustainable Foods Program Manager
Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
410-706-1924  office
443-257-3209  cell
Lmitc001@son.umaryland.edu

Priya Saha, RN
Sustainable Foods Coordinator
Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
410-706-3077  office
saha@son.umaryland.edu