Jered Standing dead at 44: Beloved ethical butcher’s suicide death shocks LA’s foodie community

A popular Los Angeles butcher who championed animal welfare and ethical meat sourcing has died at the age of 44, it has emerged.

Jered Standing, owner of Standing’s Butchery in Hancock Park, was found dead in his home on February 22. The Los Angeles Times reported. The newspaper said the LA medical examiner ruled he died by suicide.

The former vegetarian opened his butcher shop in 2017, which has since become one of the most popular butcher shops in LA.

Standing built his company with an emphasis on sustainable sourcing and full butchery. He insisted on limiting waste by using every part of the animal and bought his meat only from California farmers who prioritized “free-range habitats, heritage breeds and all-grass diets.”

The butcher, who also hosted popular burger pop-up Burgers by Standing’s, had recently announced plans to open a second butcher shop and reportedly had ambitions to open a restaurant, including a permanent home for his pop-up up.

His death has shocked the LA foodie community. Many say they have suffered a “tremendous loss” and that Standing will be “deeply missed.” Customers said he was a regular part of their “daily routine” and that his store made me “feel at home” in the city.

Standing will be remembered for its thoughtful meat sourcing, high-quality products and incredible customer service.

All of its products, including grass-fed beef and lamb, heritage-breed pork, pasture-raised chicken and duck, came from California farmers with whom Standing had developed a personal relationship.

His butcher shop operated under a zero-waste policy, with Standing using all parts of the animal, including scraps, bones and other choice by-products. He used the less desirable meat parts in broth, chili, dog food and treats.

“We take great pride in our ability to use every part of the animal that comes in,” he said Travel LA in 2019. ‘We make a wide and ever-changing range of sausages in-house, with unique flavors that you won’t find anywhere else. And no one can come close to our level of service.”

Standing prioritized being a “hospitality company” and did its best to “connect with our guests on a deeper level than just ‘customers,'” he previously said.

He often stood behind the meat counter and interacted directly with his customers, presenting his latest products or sausage flavor, and recommending cooking techniques for each piece of meat he had for sale.

Standing educated its customers on the importance of closed-loop farming – a practice that recycles all nutrients and organic matter back to the soil in which it grew – and other sustainability principles by offering butchery classes in-store and on its social media channels.

The butcher also helped meat buyers debunk industry terminology and better understand what to look for when shopping at larger grocers or supermarket chains.

‘There are so many difficult words these days. ‘Natural’ doesn’t really mean anything, and ‘organic’ really only has to do with the food,” he said Food and wine several years back. ‘All animal welfare aspects have recently been removed from organic certification, so you may still get a real caged animal.’

He added: ‘Natural beef may still be grain-finished rather than completely grass-fed, meaning the animal could also have been sick for the last hundred days of its life. So you may not only be buying a sick animal, but also a weak one.’

Standing’s customers have now taken to Instagram to leave a heartfelt tribute to the butcher in his latest post, which was posted in October 2022, ahead of his store’s five-year anniversary.

‘A huge loss. You will be so confused by so many. Rest in peace my friend,” a well-wisher wrote today.

“Jered, your shop, got me back into the carnivorous game many years ago. You were always so sweet and generous with your time. You will be so missed,” another echoed.

One customer added, “Jered, you were such a bright light for me. Finding your store was one of the first things that made me feel “at home” when I moved to the area. Your store has been part of so many wonderful gatherings with friends and family. Thank you for feeding us, you will be greatly missed.”

“For the past six years, you have been part of my daily routine almost every Sunday. Your insight and tips made me feel more confident in cooking,” echoed another.

‘One of the very best people in the LA food scene, I remember him helping me find fantastic halal goat meat for an event I was having. He went out of his way to help me and I never forgot how sweet he was. Rest in peace, I am shocked by this news,” one mourner added.

Standing moved to Los Angeles in 2012 without a “plan or money,” he previously shared in an Instagram post. He vacillated between sleeping on his friend’s couch or in his $500 Toyota Corolla.

He managed to land a “life-saving” $10-an-hour seasonal part-time job in a meat department, where he was eventually offered a full-time position. The position taught him the basics of the butchery trade.

At the same time, he worked “for free” in a “small, warm restaurant where he learned to dismantle whole animals,” he recalls. He also watched “endless hours of butchery videos” online to learn more about the industry.

About a year after taking on his seasonal role, Standing became head butcher and general manager at another company.

“I was NOT qualified,” he said, adding that he had “so much to learn for this new venture.” During this period he was inspired to start his own company.

“My self-confidence was high, I thought something along the lines of, ‘Hey, I know how to run a butcher shop, I should open one myself,'” he said, noting that developing his own business was difficult and took a lot of effort. work.

Standing, who grew up on free school meals and worked a ‘string of low-paid jobs’ since his teens, eventually ran one of LA’s most popular butchers.

‘I am an ambitious person. That’s why I spend a lot of my time thinking about the future,” he wrote in 2022, a month ahead of Standing’s Butchery’s five-year anniversary.

‘Thinking about everything I want and don’t have yet. But every now and then I give myself time to look back and think. To see how far I’ve come.’

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the Suicide Prevention hotline on 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.