Humane Eating

Back in June I shared my first visit to Panorama on the Peak with you. Located high above Berkeley Springs in the Eastern Panhandle, I knew my next visit would take a while only because my home is located at the opposite corner of West Virginia. In September I traveled to New Jersey and stopped there for lunch on Friday. It takes about 15 minutes to drive from the I-68/I-70 merge location to them and well worth it to one and all!

Back in June Patti Miller and Leslie Hotaling shared  their immense pride in the award from the Certified Humane   organization. Panorama on the Peak is the ONLY restaurant in West Virginia with that designation.  Chef Scott Collinash is featured on the website. They passed their second annual inspection so I thought I would explain what that means.

There are many reasons people decide to become vegetarians or vegans. A large percentage make that decision once they understand the way most commercial operations raise and then process animals for food.  They want no part in being part of a system that treats animals poorly.

The primary goal of the Certified Humane organization is to  improve farm animal welfare. They have standards for the living arrangements and feeding of livestock.  The Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label assures consumers:

• That the producer meets our standards and applies them to animals from birth through slaughter.
• Animals have ample space, shelter and gentle handling to limit stress.
• Ample fresh water and a healthy diet of quality feed, without added antibiotics or hormones.
• Cages, crates and tie stalls are among the forbidden practices, and animals must be free to do what comes naturally. For example, chickens are able to flap their wings and dust bathe, and pigs have the space to move around and root.

Farms that receive the  Certified Humane Raised and Handled® designation can label their meat and consumers can know the animals were treated humanely.

In order for Panorama on the Peak to receive its designation it not only needs to purchase and serve meats from designated farms, but it must keep those meats separate from all others it receives. The restaurant maintains as many as 5 freezers to segregate all its meats by source. 

We had another delightful meal. Chef Scott Collinash changes the menu weekly to use local produce in season. A portion of the menu from September is here for you to review. Not only are the dishes wonderful, you can see that they are affordable.

Additional kudos to the Panorama on the Peak who was just awarded the Slow Food DC 2012 Snail of Approval!