Certified Humane® Recommended on the Dr. Oz Show

Certified Humane® was recently recommended on the Dr. Oz show. Dr. Oz discussed the latest studies on antibiotic resistance in meat along with his guests, Heather White, Executive Director of the Environmental Working Group and Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Consumer Safety and Sustainability for Consumer Reports.

The study’s findings are staggering. Ms. White, explained, “If you are buying meat at the supermarket you are likely exposing yourself and your family to superbugs”.

Dr. Rangan concludes that consumers should avoid antibiotic resistance by purchasing meat products raised without unnecessary antibiotics, like Certified Humane® products. The Certified Humane® label prohibits the use of preventative antibiotics, only allowing them for sick animals.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel and Subscribe to the Certified Humane Youtube channel to see the latest videos from HFAC! Please share this link with your friends and family: protect your loved ones from antibiotic resistance.

We often ask our supporters to request that their supermarkets carry Certified Humane® products.  We know this may seem like a small action, but one person’s efforts can truly make a difference. We’re sharing an email that we received recently in hopes that more people will see the change that one person can make, and decide to do something about it themselves.

Dear Adele and all:

 I was THRILLED yesterday, when I found a new brand of cage-free eggs on the shelves at my local Giant Food store (North Point Village, Reston). The brand is “Nellie’s”.  I was pleasantly surprised at how competitively priced they were.  (I *think* they were less expensive than Giant’s store brand.)  So this was the whole package for me — cage-free, competitively priced — and THEN seeing the Certified Humane® seal on them.  I was thrilled!  I’ve never seen any Certified Humane® items at Giant Food before.

When I got home, I called Giant’s corporate offices in Landover, MD, to tell them how thrilled I was to see the Certified Humane® seal in their store.  And to encourage Giant to stock MORE items with the Certified Human®e seal.  The lady I spoke with didn’t know about the Certified Humane® seal, so I explained.  I told her other stores, such as Whole Foods, Safeway, Harris Teeter, DO stock products with the Certified Humane® seal — and that if Giant Food would stock products with the CH seal, I could do all my shopping in one store:  Giant Food.  I explained that, until now, I’ve had to go to these other stores for meat, poultry, dairy bearing the CH® seal …. I also told her that I normally spend a substantial amount of money each week in grocery stores (which is true), hoping I was adding incentive by saying that.

The lady I spoke with sounded truly interested and enthusiastic — and said she was going to pass the information along IMMEDIATELY, that she was typing it up as we spoke, because it sounds like something Giant should be doing.

I can only hope….

~ Robyn Berry

Reston, VA

We hope that Ms. Berry’s experience will encourage others to contact supermarkets as well. If you would like to do your part to fight cruelty in the raising and handling of farm animals, visit our “Take Action” page on our website, found at the following link: 
http://www.certifiedhumane.org/index.php?page=take-action

Our “Take Action” page has forms available for download which you can give to your grocer, requesting them to carry additional Certified Humane® products or to thank them for already stocking them. We also suggest that you try contact food companies directly to ask them to become Certified Humane®, or to contact your supermarket’s corporate headquarters, as Robyn did.

It is so important that supermarkets hear from you, because they are the largest purchasers from suppliers. If more supermarkets are demanding more Certified Humane® products, more farms will have to change their practices in order to meet the demand, and more animals will be raised and handled humanely.

If you would like to volunteer to help spread the news about Certified Humane®, please send an email to info@certifiedhumane.org, including your mailing address, and Humane Farm Animal Care will send you information and request forms to share with your friends and neighbors.

HFAC Celebrates Ten Years of Improving the Lives of Farm Animals

In the late 1990’s and early part of this new century, as I worked in Congress and lobbied Congress on animal issues, it was clear that farm animal welfare was a huge issue and not being addressed by anyone.  There were some organizations that promoted not eating animals at all, and some that were supporting legislation to change practices of farm animal housing.  There were also commodity groups who were not interested in changing anything.  Having worked in the Congress, and researched the history of animal welfare legislation, it was clear to me that if I wanted to see change in the way farm animals were raised in the US it would have to be through a market solution and not a legislative solution.  It took almost 100 years to get the national “Humane Slaughter Act” passed. I wanted to see change in my lifetime.

My background was public policy and legislation.  I wanted to do something for farm animals and didn’t have any idea of what to do.  The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in England, which was the first humane society in the world, had a program that I had heard about for farm animals and I wanted to see what that was about.  I went to England and met with the Freedom Foods people and the Farm Animals division of the RSPCA to learn about their program.  The RSPCA had written standards for farm animals and had created a separate organization, Freedom Foods to find farmers who would meet those standards, then label the product “Freedom Foods” and sell the product at retailers in the UK.  At that time Tesco, a major supermarket in the UK was the primary retailer that sold Freedom Foods products.   When I looked at that program I realized that if I wanted to change an industry, I couldn’t do it by competing, it had to be a program where everyone in that industry could participate.  I came home and decided to start a certification and labeling program to do just that.

The process began with the first animal scientists, Dr. Carolyn Stull, Dr. Janice Swanson, Dr. Joy Mench and the late Dr. Julie Morrow Tesch and the help of the RSPCA farm animals division, Dr. Martin Potter, Dr. Julia Wrathall and John Avizienious, and the staff at Freedom Foods.  It was a long learning process.

On February 20, 2003, Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) was incorporated in the District of Columbia by our attorney, Beth Kingsley, with Dr. Joanne Irving’s name as the first director, and HFAC was officially founded!  Today is our tenth anniversary.  We started with a staff of two, my daughter, Holly Bridges and I.  We involved all the family in helping: my son Brian Douglass, my other daughter, Meredith Berger and a large group of friends and colleagues without whom this program would not exist.  We sought advice from Dr. Kathleen Merrigan, Barry Carpenter, James Riva, and Tammy Ballard of USDA who guided us to make sure we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, and Lynn Coody, who helped us ensure that our program met international standards.  Andrew Kimbrell and Michael Selmi, who made sure everything was legal.  Patti Higgenbotham and Theresa Hutchison, who made sure our accounting was accurate.  The late Linda Konstan who helped with our personnel policies, Maureen K. Robinson who offered guidance on how to move the organization forward.  Gini Barrett, Margaret Moran, Mary Geraghty, Jack and Ann Sparks, Jane Quilter, who helped with outreach and PR.   Sandy Lerner and Lynn Marachario, early believers and supporters, and the incredible Caryn Ginsburg, whose marketing research, planning, and implementation of marketing outreach enabled us to recruit producers and engage consumers in order to get the spectacular results we have gotten over the years.   Victoria Foulides, Paula Barrett and Gita McCutcheon, who have helped us with fundraising, outreach and public relations.

A special thanks to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) and the other early supporters of the Certified Humane® program.

The original four companies that were certified and launched with us were Echo Farm Puddings, Touchstone Farms, Ayrshire Farm, and duBreton Natural Pork, and are still with us today.  During that year, Prather Ranch Beef, Meyer Natural Angus Beef and Pete and Gerry’s eggs came on to the program.  They are all still certified and part of the program.  At the end of 2003, there were 143,000 animals raised under our standards.

At the end of 2012, there were 76.8 million farm animals raised under our standards and 94 companies certified.

My goal was to have 1% of the farm animals raised for food, raised under our standards in 10 years.  We have fallen short by 23.2 million farm animals. I would like to reach this goal by 2014.   We need your help to reach this goal; please keep promoting the program, and keep asking your supermarkets for products that are Certified Humane® so we can meet this goal and keep moving forward.

Thanks for all your support,
Adele

Finally, the milk producers are following our lead

One of the most egregious welfare issues in dairy production is the practice of tail docking. The practice of tail docking started in New Zealand in the 1980’s and soon spread to North America. The reason it gained in popularity was farmers claimed it improved their ease of milking the cows, their ability to keep cows clean and their ability to keep the cow’s udder’s healthy.  This made managing dairy cows easier for the farmers.

Unfortunately, no one thought of the impact on the cows.  Cows use their tails for many purposes, including swatting flies, and to communicate with other cows.  When a cow’s tail is docked, it is painful.  There is no welfare benefit to the cow for undergoing this painful procedure, and when her tail is docked she can’t swat flies and she can’t use it to communicate with her herd mates.

Tail docking has never been allowed for dairy cattle in the Certified Humane® program.  The decision to prohibit tail docking was made by our scientific committee, led by Dr. Carolyn Stull.  Dr. Stull was one of four animal scientists that helped write the original HFAC Animal Care Standards, and is the Chair of our Scientific Committee.  Dr. Stull has conducted numerous research projects assessing the issues around tail docking, and her results have shown that tail docking is a painful procedure, and that the theoretical benefits of tail docking do not actually exist.  Thanks to Dr. Stull’s work, it is now known that there is no benefit to the farmer to dock their cows’ tails, and it is an unnecessary and painful procedure.

Unfortunately, tail docking has been a widespread practice in the US commercial dairy industry.  The dairy industry trade association, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), has never prohibited tail docking. However, on July 23, 2012 the NMPF Board of Directors approved a resolution to oppose tail docking of dairy cows in their industry guidelines, the Dairy FARM program.  Their decision also aligns their FARM program with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP).  The Board voted to approve the following language:

“NMPF’s National Dairy FARM Animal Care Program opposes the routine tail docking of dairy animals, except in the case of traumatic injury to an animal. This practice is recommended to be phased out by 2022. Switch trimming is recommended as a preferred alternative. Acknowledging existing animal cruelty laws, NMPF opposes efforts to prescribe specific on-farm animal care practices through federal, state, or local legislative or regulatory action.”

Dr. Stull has been instrumental in getting the industry group to change their position.  We congratulate Dr. Stull on this achievement.

While we commend the NMPF on opposing tail docking in dairy cows, we feel that ten years is far too long to wait for implementing this policy.    When a farmer wants to become Certified Humane® and has practiced tail docking in the past, they must immediately cease all tail docking on their cows, or we will not certify them.  We have not found that any dairy farm which immediately ceased tail docking has had problems. We would urge the NMPF to change the phase out period to two years instead of ten years.

Help us get Fresh Direct to Carry Certified Humane® products!

We’ve received some exciting news from one of our supporters.  She recently contacted FreshDirect, an online grocery company that delivers groceries in the New York City area, and asked them to carry Certified Humane® meat, eggs and dairy products.  She told us that their response was, “if more people ask for Certified Humane® products, we will consider carrying them.”  

So, we need your help!  Anyone living in the New York City area, where Fresh Direct delivers … Can you contact Fresh Direct at service@freshdirect.com and ask them to carry Certified Humane® products?  By making your voice heard, you will be doing your part to spread the word about Certified Humane® products and make them even more widely available to consumers.  Below is a sample email you can send to Fresh Direct.  Tell your friends to contact them too!  Together, we can make a difference for farm animals.

Dear Fresh Direct,

I’m writing to ask you to carry products that are Certified Humane Raised and Handled®.  I know that products with this specific certification come from animals that were raised with strict humane standards from birth through the slaughter process.

The nation’s leading humane organizations back the Certified Humane® program and USAToday called Certified Humane® a gold standard.

This is a label that I trust and I would like to purchase Certified Humane® products from your website.  I ask that you start selling products that are Certified Humane®.  You can find more information on the Certified Humane® program at CertifiedHumane.org.

Sincerely,

Your name
Your address
City, State, Zip

Dairy Cows need your help…

Look carefully in the dairy area of your supermarkets and  you are likely to see many different egg products that are Certified Humane®.   Being Certified Humane® is a badge of honor for farmers and the grocers who sell their products.  They recognize it’s the right thing to do…. it’s also good business.

Two of the most common products in the supermarket dairy aisle are eggs and milk.  Despite the public’s increasing demand for animal products coming from animals produced humanely,  the vast majority of dairy farmers  have not felt the need to become Certified Humane®.  As a result, there are very few Certified Humane® dairy products and NO Certified Humane® milk products available in your grocer’s fridge.  Indeed, there are less than 25  cow dairy farms in the US that are certified by either Certified Humane® or Animal Welfare Approved®, the two animal welfare certification programs that have the highest standards and most rigorous and comprehensive inspection programs.

The most common explanation we’ve heard for the lack of Certified Humane® dairies is the belief of dairy farmers that the public doesn’t care.  “Where’s the demand?” we’ve heard from countless dairy farmers; supermarkets, too, are not hearing from consumers like you asking for them to supply Certified Humane® dairy products.

And they’re right – not enough consumers are making their voices heard about their desire for humanely raised dairy products.

I know that if milk producers thought the public wanted proof that they take proper care of their dairy cows and produce milk products under humane conditions — they would apply for certification.
Informed consumers want to know that the milk they provide for  their family came from cows which are not constrained in tie stalls and are free to move about,  are provided a healthy diet free from antibiotics and growth hormones like rBST,  and  are required to have access to the outdoors.  That’s what is required to be Certified Humane®.

So go to our Take Action Page to see all the ways you can help us get more dairy farmers on the program – you can download a dairy product request form here. When you go to your supermarket, hand in the request form to the grocery manager, or customer service desk.  Ask your friends and neighbors to do the same.   Let’s work together to let dairy farmers know that you do care about how dairy cows are treated.

We have revised our Animal Care Standards for Beef Cattle and Dairy Cows

For many years, we have worked with our farmers and ranchers to identify practical ways to reduce the stress and sometimes pain that beef cattle and dairy cows experience after routine husbandry practices such as castration.  Previously, there were no medications available to farmers which could be easily used in the field, or that provided effective pain control to the animals.

In June of 2011, we initiated the review and revision process of our beef cattle, dairy cattle and young dairy beef standards with a week-long meeting of dairy and beef science members of our  Scientific Committee (you can see a complete listing of the members here).  The focus of the meeting was to review and evaluate the farm animal welfare research that had been done since the last revision of the standards, and to incorporate the new findings into the standards.  When we learned of new, safer and easier to administer methods of providing animals with the needed analgesia, it was important to integrate them into the HFAC standards.

There is now an effective painkiller that can be easily administered by a farmer during routine handling, and that provides relief to the animal from the pain of procedures such as castration.  Due to this new finding, HFAC standards now require cattle to receive pain control when undergoing painful procedures.

The revised standards, which became effective January 15,  2012 are the end product of that review and revision process. The revised standards require that cattle must receive pain control when undergoing painful husbandry procedures

HFAC is the only national animal welfare organization to make pain control a key component of farm animal welfare certification standards.  We have been working to educate farmers and ranchers on how to implement the new standards and meet the requirements for providing pain control.  Our commitment is to maintain the nation’s strongest farm animal welfare standards, and the introduction of new pain control requirements illustrates that fact.

Ed Sayres, President and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and a member of the HFAC Board of Directors, notes that “once again, Certified Humane® is tackling the big issues and helping to redefine what it means to promote animal welfare, especially the humane treatment of farm animals.”

The revised standards also clarify the importance of maintaining safe and humane conditions in the transportation of animals, and prohibit the use of genetically modified or cloned animals. Additionally, the standards now include a series of scientific appendices that provide critical information to farms on topics such as temperature/humidity indexes, methods of weaning, lameness scoring for dairy cows, and body condition scoring.