Please read the informative article published by The Stranger (link below) regarding one of our most recent retail establishment additions to the neighborhood: Bill the Butcher. It turns out that this establishment states that all of the meat sold is “certified organic” despite the fact that a good portion of it is absolutely not. Further, when questioned about the farms where the “certified organic” meat comes from, Bill the Butcher refuses to disclose the information and cannot prove, as a result, that the claims are correct. This is a marketing scam. I propose a boycott of Bill the Butcher until its management provides a list of all of the farms where the meat sold is purchased, including detailed descriptions of whether or not the meat is USDA certified organic. In the meantime, I plan to report Bill the Butcher to the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/mystery-meat/Content?oid=4040872
but i’m much less inclined to shop there.
they need PR help, and fast.
Disappointing. Why not just label products correctly? While I would prefer to select products that are local and organic the fact that there is a mixture is not going to prevent me from going into the butcher to spend money. The reality is every store has a mixture of organic and non-organic. My gut (pun intended) tells me our neighborhood will support a business such as this and it will be successful but not if we feel like the owners have dishonest business practices. Since when did dishonest business practices become a long term sustainable business model? Unbelievable.
No need for a boycott. There is no mystery. If you have any questions check out http://www.billthebutcher.com and read The Open Letter and Meat Specifications. Bill The Butcher never claimed they were “100 percent certified organic.”
In defense of the fine print? It’s actions such a this company’s that has made organic essentially worthless. It’s ‘organic’ wrapped in a deceptive marketing campaign marked up an additional 15-20%. Did you read the article? Even their suppliers are surprised how they advertise their products and the one which is actually revealed states they are not organic in a direct contradiction to how this store markets their product. They are banking on emotions, good feelings, not honesty.
The “Open Letter” is the beginning of the PR spin. These guys are so corrupt they should think about getting into politics!
Bill the Butcher sold me organic chicken at inflated price. Lied about it. The new marketing discovery seems to be that if you call something organic, sustainable, local, or ethical you can charge more for it. Well, these words mean something and I have no respect for those who cynically cash in on a food movement that many take seriously.
At the same time, on the National Level, organic labeling standards are under continual attack with industry wanting to dilute the meaning of these standards until they truly don’t mean anything. At that point crooks like Bill wouldn’t be lying anymore!
And very well done…it strikes me that Bill and his lover/PR woman are rather smug about fooling some of the people some of the time. Disgusting.
I’ll be checking out Rain Shadow Meats on Melrose across from Bauhaus Books for sure now!
Bummed on a few fronts.
1. It’s Expensive
2. I bought chicken breasts and unwrapped them two days later to bbq and they were rotten
3. I also bought what I was told was a ‘lean’ cut of mean, simular to flank steak. It was the greasiest meat I’d ever partially eaten.