Shanen and Beau Ebersole moved to Kellerton, a small town “down in the hills,” 80 miles south of Des Moines, Iowa in 1999 to raise a family. Although Shanen had raised horses, she was a city girl who says she never would have considered eating an animal she had known—until she married a cattleman. After five years of raising a small herd and selling their calves in the conventional market, the Ebersoles began finishing their cattle on the farm in a rotational grazing system. This allowed them to focus on what Shanen says is “truly the most important thing—how we handle and care for the cattle.” Ensuring high-welfare husbandry practices for their cattle also ensures better quality beef that results in better tasting steak, she believes.

After relocating to Alabama from Gulfport, MS in 2007 following Hurricane Katrina, Cricket and Kim began farming just one acre with the intention of producing enough food for their family to be self-sufficient. When they realized their little acre was producing far more than they could eat, the Adams started selling their excess produce at farmers markets. Now, they are growing produce on 10 acres and raising their AWA-certified laying hens on 16 acres of pasture for local farmers’ markets, stores and their CSA.

Anna-Maria Nicolov raises Animal Welfare Approved laying hens at Pine Hill Farm in Hemmingford, Quebec. Over the last ten years organic egg production has been one of Pine Hill’s main focuses along with learning to make their own hay, a satisfying and cost saving activity for the farm.

Ever heard of the term “you are what you eat?” Well, no one takes this more seriously than today’s top athletes. They need to ensure that their bodies receive the correct balance of nutrients and energy and avoid potentially harmful additives. So it’s no surprise to find that top athletes are turning to sustainably produced foods to ensure their success.

I know this first-hand from conversations I have had with Will Witherspoon, linebacker for the Tennessee Titans – and sustainable farmer. Will is a unique human being; a gentle, humble and quiet spoken man whose day job is making the quarterback’s life as uncomfortable as possible. He’s also passionate about producing sustainable, healthy and nutritious food on his family farm, Shire Gate Farm, near Owensville, Missouri.

Through our farming connection, I have been very fortunate to have got to know Will and he’s become a family friend. On several occasions, he has given both my sons one of those talks that only a true sportsman can. As any dad knows, we can talk until we are blue in the face about the need to eat well and look after yourself, and to dedicate yourself to your sport. Yet after one minute chat with Will, my boys are immediately re-energized and focused.

In the summer of 2009, Daniel and Laurie Brooks made the decision to leave the family farm in New York state where Daniel was raised and the couple had lived for 28 years. After many months of searching, their daughter Margot, who manages Consider Bardwell Farm in West Pawlet, Vermont, sent home some photos of an old blind African Grey goose that had wandered into her yard mourning the death of its mate. When she found the goose’s owner down the road, she learned that he was planning to sell. This neighborly visit led to the purchase, in January 2011 of the Brooks’ new family home, and its name, Wayward Goose Farm, as well as a lasting partnership between the new farm and Consider Bardwell Farm.

Jessi Maurer always wanted to be involved in farming, so when she turned 20 and moved to the country, she started buying livestock. More than 30 years later, Jessi and her husband Dennis raise 100 Alpine and Saanen dairy goats on Lucky Hook Dairy in Moses Lake, Washington. Their dairy operation has always been pasture-based and animal health has always been central to their business.

Mark and Debbie Millsaps began their small farm with just enough laying chickens to produce eggs for their family and friends in 2004. Then, with more interest, they added a few more chickens and then a few more. Now they are raising 100 Animal Welfare Approved laying hens. AWA certified Boer meat goats were later added to their five acre family farm to rotationally graze with their chickens.

How many more lives must be lost or irreversibly damaged before we finally accept the fact that industrialized farming is killing us? So far, the contamination from a new strain of Salmonella (Salmonella Heidelberg) has resulted in one death in California and at least 79 illnesses across 26 states. According to reports, it appears the outbreak “officially” began in March 2011, when a growing number of cases of Salmonella Heidelberg were noted. However, the FSIS didn’t issue a public warning until July 29, and even then this was a broad statement about potential links with ground turkey. Questions are already being asked about the significant time lag between the March detection of the spike in cases, the FSIS announcement in late July, and Cargill’s voluntary withdrawal in early August. But I have far graver concerns about this outbreak.

While any outbreak of food poisoning is horrific, and the immediate focus must be to treat those affected and identify the source, few people seem to be discussing the larger public health issue: this particular strain of Salmonella is resistant to multiple antibiotics. Scientists around the world link this resistance to years of misuse of medicinally important antibiotics by the intensive farming industry. Virtually all intensively farmed animals in the U.S. receive low levels of antibiotics throughout their lives as growth promoters to help maximize production. While this lowers the price tag on industrial protein, the practice encourages bacteria to quickly become resistant to antibiotics – the same antibiotics we use to treat ourselves. In fact, some dangerous bacteria are now resistant to multiple antibiotics. This means that when we get infected, there are fewer and fewer options for treatment. And we are fast running out of options altogether.