Shaping Costco’s policy

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behave in order to modulate her own behav-
ior accordingly, and that’s the behavior that
makes her work on behalf of people with
autism possible.”
Grandin says that watching the 2010
HBO film on her life was like traveling back in
a time machine. She gave actress Claire Danes
old family tapes and spent half a day with
The film significantly added to
Grandin’s fame—she cuts an equally
distinctive figure in real life, with
her signature cowgirl shirts, blue
jeans and black boots—and she
now speaks at large venues around
the country.

“I’ve gotten moved to basketball stadiums, and that’s all happened since the movie,” she says. “A lot of people who come to events—I estimate 75 or 80 percent of them— are probably interested in autism. But then there is another group interested in animals. One thing I am getting concerned about is I’m seeing too many kids who are considered mildly autistic come up to me and all they want to talk about is their autism. I’d rather have them tell me about their science project

Grandin lectures frequently about autism and animal husbandry around the country. Above, she appears with actress Claire Danes who portrayed Grandin in the 2010 HBO film on Grandin’s life.

or how they are training dogs or that they are in 4-H or they like to write science fiction.

Tell me about what you like to do! Autism would totally take over if I let it, but I am not going to let it.”

For years, Grandin says, she was hypersensitive to sound and touch, What worlds are left for her to conquer? “There are things that would be really fun to do, like go to the Space Station, but I don’t think I will be doing that,” Grandin says. “But if I had a chance to go for a week, I would go. Definitely.” C

Tablet or
smartphone?
Scan or click
here for behind-
the-scenes foot-
age from the
HBO film Temple
Grandin. (See
page 5 for scan-
ning details.)

Richard Deitsch is a freelance writer based in New York City.

WHEN COSTCO SET out a decade ago to adopt a policy for the treatment of cattle being raised for beef, the first person company officials contacted for guidance was Temple Grandin.

Grandin helped Costco formulate animal welfare rules that apply to the operations of all of the companies that supply Costco with beef, veal, pork and poultry—a critical task, given that Costco is one of the world’s largest sellers of meat products. Those policies were extended to companies that raise poultry for eggs and dairy cattle, explains Craig Wilson, Costco vice president of food safety and quality assurance.

“She is a tremendous sounding board and resource for us,” he says.

Costco’s policy addresses animal welfare and husbandry practices, including specific steps to ensure those practices are followed. When it was adopted, it was one of the first such programs among retailers, Craig says. Grandin helped train Costco’s meat-buying staff on animal welfare practices.

One key step was formulat-
ing an animal welfare scoring
system. “Temple helped us
develop it so that all of our sup-
pliers are treated the same to
ensure all animals are being
treated properly,” Craig says.
“That included helping our
employees and our audit compa-
nies fully understand animal
welfare from a very practical
perspective.”
Costco still consults with
Grandin on animal welfare
issues whenever they arise.