Salmonella is an unintended consequence of industrialized food production. No one set out to design a system that promotes disease; they just wanted to produce cheap food. However, it is a biological fact that if you keep animals in large numbers in a confined environment then pests and diseases will inevitably spread. Recent research has shown a direct correlation between flock size and confinement and the presence of salmonella. The bigger the flock and the more confined, the greater the risk of infection.

On the farm, salmonella generally passes from bird to bird through manure and dust. Because hens are so closely confined in cage systems the risk of cross-contamination is very high. And despite claims of high biosecurity and basic hygiene practices, scientists have also found extensive salmonella contamination on walls, feeders, drinkers, floors, and feed. Stress has been cited in many studies as a precursor to or promoter of disease and this is certainly the case for intensive production, where overcrowded and unhygienic conditions and poor air quality only heighten the risks of disease outbreaks.

If someone put a deadly bacterium in the water supply or if there were a flu outbreak that crossed state borders and imperiled millions of people, we’d see a massive response on every level. This recall now stands at 550 million eggs, most of them sold to consumers unaware of the owner of the egg operation’s (Jack DeCoster) history and without much chance of finding an alternative.

Part of the problem with the industrial farming model is that big agribusiness puts consumer safety in the hands of very small group of producers, leaving consumers vulnerable because of lack of alternative sources for products. The farms are owned by DeCoster “Family” Farms. One of the things I dislike is the imaginative use of the term “family farm/er.” Jack DeCoster definitely does not meet the Animal Welfare Approved definition of a family farmer. He owns multiple facilities in multiple states and his operations confine millions of hens. He’s been cited numerous times as a repeat violator of environmental laws; he’s been fined for violations in the workplace, and cited and fined for animal cruelty. Not the behavior of any family farmers we know.

You don’t allow rodents in your kitchen, but you are allowed to buy eggs from a producer who is on record as having them in his chicken houses. You wouldn’t go out and buy a nicely sealed package with a skull and cross bones on it, keep it in your refrigerator to give to your children, would you? Why on earth are we accepting this product into our homes when we could be using sustainable, traceable systems that work with nature rather than unsuccessfully fighting against it?

Science tells us to eat eggs as a source of nutrition. That same type of science tells us that eating eggs from flocks kept outside on true pasture-based systems – note I’m saying ”true pasture- based” and not necessarily organic–-massively reduces our risk of food borne illnesses. I’ve read the statements that in order to protect ourselves against salmonella and of course E coli O157 we should boil and bake our pathogen-laden food. These kinds of suggestions put the burden on consumers to take extra precautions against diseases that could otherwise be avoided by appropriately designed systems, operated by professional farmers with a focus on animal welfare, environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Profit has a much broader definition than simply percentage return to the business producing the eggs.

Am I saying all eggs have salmonella in them? Absolutely not. Many great farmers work to ensure safe food makes it to our tables. But, the system the vast majority of us rely on for our food is broken and it needs more than just a band aid – it needs major surgery. The reality is that, by their very nature, intensive farming systems are actually more likely to make animals and humans sick. Is there any other business that would be allowed to continue to play Russian roulette with people’s health and well-being?

Not sure if I’ll be having eggs with my bacon today unless I know they came from a truly pasture-based system.

More than just an excuse for the author to eat a variety of steaks of varying degrees of fabulousness, Steak is an exhaustive, highly entertaining study of the traditions and science of steak. In America, steak has a cultural reputation as weighty as Tiffany’s: both are symbols of prosperity and opulence. But like so many once-revered emblems of the good life, the quality of steak in the United States has steadily diminished, even if its reputation hasn’t.

Determined to get to the bottom of this increasing deterioration of his favorite food (“What makes the meat so bland?” Schatzker asks.  “And what could account for those rare standout steaks?”) Schatzker travels the globe to talk genetics, grass and marbling. Along the way he buys and slaughters his own cow, visits the vast feedlots of the United States, eats the closest thing possible to an ancient aurochs (the wild precursor to domesticated cattle, now extinct), and samples steak from six different countries.

Tellingly, Schatzer’s research tells us that most of the farmers producing steaks that can make a man cry are raising their cattle in a way familiar to AWA supporters. They limit transportation to reduce stress on the animals. They keep the herds intact. They don’t confine their herds to feedlots. They believe in pasture rotation. They feed grass not grain. They believe breeding cattle for faster weight gain is negatively affecting quality and taste. They respect their land and their animals. They let cows be cows. Steak reinforces farming practices based on animal welfare and health of the land as the best way to raise cattle and produce great beef—something that comes as no surprise to AWA or its farmers.

Schatzker’s experiences with American feedlot steak are uniformly bland and uninspired. It’s not until he reaches Idaho’s Pahsimeroi Valley, and the family owned and operated Alderspring Ranch, that he reaches the meaty holy grail of his quest. There, from a cow raised on grass grown in the mineral rich soil of the American West, a cow who would never see a feedlot, Schatzker experienced beef nirvana—a steak with flavor that “reached deep into my subcortex and uncorked a sensation that bubbled up and drowned out every other thought, concern, and anxiety….”

Steak is a book for anyone who reveres great steak—that most quintessential of American foods—and for anyone who cares about our food system in general.  Schatzker is a witty and engaging writer, but he never lets his storytelling instincts overshadow the basic truth of his mission: the American obsession with cheap steak has led to an overall deterioration in quality of life for cattle and quality of taste for steak eaters. Luckily, Schatzker’s travels show that while the feedlot system still has the upper hand in the United States, there are those who know that  an authentic pasture-based, grassfed system for raising cattle will be the way to return steak to its original beefy glory. And they are gaining in number every year.

To solve the modern “omnivore’s dilemma” (we can eat anything, but how do we know what to eat?), Pollan investigates four meals representative of four different food chains – the system for growing, making and delivery food. He wants to share with us where our food comes from and what exactly it is we are eating. So, he starts in the farms and fields where our food is grown and personably chronicles its creation and consumption.

First, Pollan documents the “industrial” food chain, which is where most of our food comes from today. This chain starts in giant fields of single crops and ends up in a supermarket or fast-food restaurant. Here we learn that corn is ubiquitous. More than a quarter of the forty-five thousand items in the average American supermarket contain corn. We also learn that “industrial” is synonymous with genetically modified food (food created by changing plant DNA in the laboratory), feeding animals antibiotics, and CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). It is here that Pollan documents the life of a steer traveling through the meat-making branch of the industrial food chain. After witnessing not only toxic pollution but the steer’s confinement and unnatural consumption of corn (not grazing grass as nature intended), he concludes that most people eat feedlot meat because they just don’t know where it comes from.

The second meal is the “industrial organic” meal in which food is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides on industrial, monoculture farms (farms growing only one crop) far from the people who eat it. This food chain is an improvement over industrial agriculture because it helps keep more land free from pesticides and chemical fertilizer, but it is neither local nor seasonal and like industrial food it uses a tremendous amount of fossil fuel for refrigeration and delivery.

Next is “local and sustainable,” food grown on small farms that raise lots of different kinds of crops and animals. Food from this system doesn’t need to be processed, and it travels a short distance before it reaches the table. Unlike industrial production, local and sustainable does not contribute to water pollution, antibiotic resistance, foodbourne illnesses and higher taxes in the form of crop, oil and water subsidies. This type of production holds a lot of hope, but for it to be the best answer to the dilemma, it is essential that all aspects of animal production including breeds and slaughter methods are thoughtfully considered to ensure animal welfare.

Finally, the oldest type of food chain, “hunter-gatherer,” is explored.  Here Pollan hunts, grows and finds his own food, and the account is educational even if the production itself is not sustainable. Undoubtedly, Pollan’s adventures mushroom hunting will create unlikely enthusiasts.

Pollan wants us to rediscover the pleasures of food and learn to enjoy meals in a new way. To this end, he exposes the impact different methods of food production have on animals, workers, the environment, food quality, and ultimately us. The knowledge he imparts enables us to be thoughtful eaters who actively support food production that is ethical and healthful, thereby nourishing a compassionate society.

More than 83% of the wild canola tested by researchers traveling through North Dakota tested positive for GM genes. But this is what’s really terrifying: some of the plants tested positive for resistance to both glyphosphate (Roundup) and glusfosinate (Liberty). Commercial GM canola is resistant to either Roundup or Liberty, not both. The dual resistance evolved in the wild, after the plants had escaped. The wild canola is doing what living things do—mutating and selecting for traits that will best ensure its survival.  And all without our help.

I’ve been blogging about the known and unknown risks of GM crops for awhile. But what we are now witnessing is true escape-from-the-test-tube science, and it could be devastating. The escaped GM canola, bred to be herbicide-resistant, is now in danger of transferring those genes to other wild plants. According to Scientific American there are eight species of wild weeds GM canola is most likely capable of hybridizing. According to an interview with Meredith Schafer, from the University of Arkansas, who presented the report, “We really don’t know what the consequences of the gene escape [are]. We don’t know what these plants are going to do.”

It’s not hard, though, to see the potential consequences. The consequences are that, sooner or later, as GM evolves and genes are swapped between GM and non-GM plants, GM and wild will be one in the same—there could be virtually no such thing as a non-GM food plant or food crop. There will be no more choice between eating GM and non-GM food crops. And if GM canola can establish itself in the wild, evolve and potentially cross-pollinate with other plants, what about the other experiments lying in wait at the lab?

According to Dr. Cynthia Sagers, associate professor at the University of Arkansas and one of the two researchers who discovered the wild GM canola, other GM traits could raise different concerns, including human health risks, she added. “There have been 1,100 plants approved for field trials and who knows what those are — pharmaceutical proteins, drought-resistant crops? Herbicide-resistances are very simple traits. Products in development are more complicated.”

Do we want them running wild, too? Can we be sure it can be prevented?

I guess the best we can hope is that we can trust the claims Big Ag has been making that GM crops, even those that escape into the wild, present little to no risk. Although with the timely reminder of Jeffery Smith’s recent Anniversary of a Whistleblowing Hero Huffington Post blog, I am not convinced.

It all started innocently enough. Meredith Schafer and her colleague, Dr. Cynthia Sagers, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas, spotted some pretty yellow flowers near a parking lot in North Dakota. They happened to have with them a test strip very similar to a pregnancy test. Using it, they were able to determine within minutes if the plant was carrying one or both of the two most commonly introduced genes in GM canola.  It was. “Immediately we knew we needed to investigate it further,” Sagers said.

They traveled throughout North Dakota, taking multiple samples, often from roadsides sprayed with herbicides where the only weed still surviving was wild canola. The duo speculated that a number of the plants were found on roads where they might have fallen off during transport. But some sites had no link to the transport routes at all, which points to the plants having established wild populations. According to Schafer, that’s not supposed to happen.

I am not someone who advocates turning our backs on science and returning to the 13^th century. Science has a crucial role to play as society progresses. What bothers me is the lack of oversight, caution and vigilance when science and business, in this case Big Ag, intersect. I’ve seen the damaging consequences over and over in farming—sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals leading to deadly antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Industrial chicken production leading to polluted and dying waterways. Massive animal warehouse operations, leading to the decline of pastured farming and family farms and an acceptance of inhumane conditions. Monster GM farmed salmon.

These, however, are all circumstances that we can still control and are trying to reverse. But in our arrogance that we are masters of all we survey, it seems we’ve gone one step too far. In an interview with Discovery News, Sagers said, “I think the herbicide resistance is going to be a very serious problem for agronomists and farmers in the near future. I think it could be an environmental problem if we find we’ve created these herbicide-resistant weeds.”

We are playing Russian roulette with our future and our children’s future. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the consequences of trying to remake the natural world so it can turn a tidy profit for a privileged few. Nature has a way of showing us who’s really the boss.

On the face of it, the NRC’s report, “Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century,” might not seem like headline-grabbing stuff. But this report really is big news for anyone interested in a sustainable future for farming—and not just because its conclusions represent another damning indictment of industrialized farming.

You see, the NRC is a prestigious, independent U.S. scientific body, established in 1916 “to provide elected leaders, policy makers, and the public with expert advice based on sound scientific evidence.” And in publishing this report, the NRC joins a growing number of leading global scientific organizations in effectively throwing down the gauntlet to Big Ag, publicly criticizing the negative consequences of industrialized farming and calling for a more holistic approach to food production in the face of increasingly scarce natural resources and the growing threat of climate change.

In the past, government agricultural policy encouraged farmers to produce as much food as possible, as cheaply as possible. And we all know that the agricultural industry has been hugely successful in doing so. But while acknowledging that U.S. farm output in 2008 was 158 percent higher than it was in 1948, the NRC report contends that the drive to maximize farm productivity has brought with it significant unintended—and unaccounted for—costs.

“Many modern agricultural practices have unintended negative consequences, such as decreased water and air quality, and farmers have to consider these consequences while trying to increase production,” said Julia Kornegay, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and professor and head of the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. “If farmers are going to meet future demands, the U.S. agriculture system has to evolve to become sustainable and think broadly – past the bottom line of producing the most possible.”

The authors cite the negative impact on water tables in some agricultural areas and the significant pollution problems associated with nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizers and pesticides which “have infiltrated surface water and rivers, creating oxygen-starved zones in waterways.” The report also highlights the shameful fact that industrial agriculture is the largest contributor of nitrous oxide and methane, both greenhouse gasses, in the United States.

But it is not just the immense environmental costs that come under the spotlight. The report also recognizes growing consumer concern about farm animal welfare and food safety issues associated with our increasingly centralized food production systems. Similarly, the impact of rising production costs on farmers and rural communities—primarily associated with the ever-increasing prices charged by Big Ag for its seed, synthetic pesticides, and fertilizers—do not go unnoticed. “More than half of U.S. farm operators work off the farm to supplement their income and to obtain health care and retirement benefit plans,” according to the authors.

This report doesn’t come from the so-called partisan Organic Consumers Association or the National Family Farm Coalition: this is an official consensus report from a highly regarded and world-renowned scientific establishment. While I would be the first to agree that the NRC report doesn’t go far enough in its recommendations, we all have to remember that what this report might lack in radical zeal will be more than compensated for by the authority it will command among U.S. policy makers and Big Ag boardrooms alike.

But above all, this report is further evidence that the world’s scientific establishment is at last recognizing that we have been speaking the truth. For years Animal Welfare Approved has been calling for truly sustainable farming systems which protect our environment and natural resources, which promote the highest standards of animal welfare, and which improve the quality of life for farmers, farm workers and society as a whole. And now, the scientific consensus is with us.

One can no longer dismiss or belittle the sustainable farming community as unscientific or claim that we don’t have sound science on our side. And this report further strengthens our resolve to expose peddlers of bad science masquerading as real science in the arena of sustainable farming and our demands for a more holistic approach to agricultural research.

Industrialized agriculture is on the ropes and the NRC’s report represents yet another embarrassing body blow for the likes of Monsanto and Cargill. This report isn’t something that Big Ag’s PR machine can simply brush under the carpet, and I can promise you that we certainly haven’t heard the last of it. But the real question is: when will our political leaders take heed and stop turning a blind eye to the havoc Big Ag is wreaking.

Unfortunately, Superior Midwest Foods said they wouldn’t be able to tell us the names of the bison farms for their burgers.   They said they get the bison meat from several different farms, make it into burgers and ship them off to the retailers. This means the bison could have been raised on pasture or on a feedlot, no one really knows.

Regarding Certified Organic, sadly, this certification does not guarantee that the animals didn’t come from feedlots.  While certified organic does require that the animals have access to the outdoors, and ruminants must have access to pasture with exception of the “finishing phase”, this doesn’t mean they actually have to go outdoors and graze on pasture to be considered organic or not be on a feedlot. To avoid this issue buy only from AWA or AGA farms as they are the only two labels that prohibit feedlots. A good source of advice would be http://www.organicconsumers.org/.

Here’s the excerpt and link for the USDA document “Access to Pasture (Livestock) Final Rule“:

We have accepted the first version, which incorporates the suggestions of the second and third versions. The prohibition on feedlots in the proposed rule has been stricken from this final rule due to comments received asserting that feedlots can be compatible with organic livestock production. Accordingly, the definition of “feedlot” has been amended to clarify the characteristics by which a “feedlot” would be acceptable for organic ruminant livestock. This final rule contains requirements for the size of a feedlot relative to the number of animals at §205.239(a)(1), and that feedlots are well maintained and do not contribute to waste runoff and contaminated waters at § 205.239(a)(5). We believe that the definition of “feedlot” describes an acceptable area for providing outdoor access when pasture is not available and a location for supplemental feeding. The definition of “feedlot” reads: “A dry lot for the controlled feeding of livestock.”

Earlier this year, we wrote a blog about the lack of oversight within the National Organic Program.  Here is an excerpt and a link regarding the pasture requirements:

The NOP has drawn significant criticism on its lax pasture requirements – 80,000 public comments to be exact. However, even adequate standards are only as good as the enforcement behind them. Schweigert reports a startlingly low number of citations in the first seven years of the program – only $20,000 for three fraudulent operators in a $23 billion U.S. organic food industry. Click here to read the full blog post.

Please let us know if you have any more questions that we can help you with.  And, also, please keep up the good work by asking questions about where your food comes from!

Thanks very much,

Animal Welfare Approved

To read the original article that started the discussion please visit Andrew’s Huffington Post article.

“I was first approached at the Union Square farmer’s market,” Gibson says of the New York City farmer’s market where he sells his 100% AWA grassfed beef and prominently displays his “Proud to be Animal Welfare Approved” sign. “A customer I hadn’t worked with in the past said he was looking for humane, local, grassfed beef for a large event. He asked me if I could supply short ribs for 350 people. At first I said no, but I went back and crunched the numbers and said yes. There are so many events in New York—from charity galas to company dinners—that I really didn’t think anything about it.”

“We’re committed to sourcing locally and sustainably,” Rob Cano says. “Especially for this event, we wanted to make sure that the beef the couple requested came from the most humane, local farm we could find. Grazin’ Angus Acres met all our requirements. And because we ordered months in advance and couldn’t tell Dan anything about the event, he had to trust us and take a leap of faith that we were who we said we were and wouldn’t run out on the check.”

Animal Welfare Approved Program Director Andrew Gunther is pleased that the bride and groom chose their menu with care. “Whether or not they wanted it to be this way, Chelsea and Marc’s wedding was the social event of the season. In the midst of all the publicity, pressure and planning, they cared enough to make thoughtful choices about their menu—what could they offer their guests that aligned with their values? Choosing Animal Welfare Approved sustainable, 100% grassfed beef was a great choice and one that will resonate with other couples planning a wedding.”

Grazin’ Angus Acres is euphoric to be associated with a happy event. “Food is an integral part of everybody’s heritage. We’re proud that the Clintons chose our beef for the big day. They raised a great daughter—one who made sure “her” day reflected her values. We wish Chelsea and Marc all the best and hope that they will accept our open invitation to visit Grazin’ Angus Acres in the near future.”

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Animal Welfare Approved audits and certifies family farms that raise their animals with the highest animal welfare standards, outdoors, on pasture or range. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has lauded these standards for two years running as being the most stringent when compared to other third-party certification programs. Visit www.AnimalWelfareApproved.org for a searchable database of approved farms and restaurants, shops and markets where our farmers’ products are sold. Choose the one independent food label that means healthy, safe, environmentally responsible and humanely raised.

Probably 200 bison forded that stream as they moved to new grazing lands, and witnessing it was an unparalleled experience. Despite their powerful size, bison are graceful creatures and move almost daintily, but with speed and purpose. And they really do thunder.

In 1800, it was estimated that more than 40 million bison roamed the United States; by 1900, after an unprecedented and sustained massacre, fewer than 600 bison remained. Most of the bison you see today are descendents of a ragtag group of several dozen bison who had been saved by conservationists dedicated to their survival.

Historically, bison were the lifeblood of a number of Native American tribes, providing meat, skins, and other important supplies.  Indeed, bison meat has fed humans for thousands of years.  Six years ago was the first time I saw bison being farmed for meat. The animals were being raised on 13,000 acres in Texas and were roaming their homelands in family groups, just as nature intended. They were carefully overseen by skilled stockmen who knew that the best management for these magnificent creatures was to ensure that they had the space and freedom to utilize the land to their own advantage. The animals had no parasites and were totally in harmony with their environment – their only feed was grass and forage, the true and proper diet of a ruminant. At slaughter, selected animals, carefully chosen to be the least disruptive to herd structure, were taken for meat with a single, immediately fatal shot delivered under the supervision of the USDA inspector.

Shortly thereafter I saw the antithesis of that thoughtful, holistic system as I walked among bison on feedlots. Bison are wild animals; they have not been domesticated by man like cattle and sheep. That day, I saw thousands of these undomesticated animals react as their natural behavior dictated they should to any threat. They stood unmoving in defensive circles. When they did move, only to eat and drink, the closely packed feedlot left them unable to fight off any parasitic challenges and many required pharmaceutical treatments. They were fed an unnatural corn- and grain-based diet that is not only alien to them but which leads to unbalanced conditions in their digestive systems, which then acts as a haven for E. Coli O157:H7.  They looked neither strong nor majestic, but confused and defeated.

Must we continue to dominate and control and force our will on everything we see and touch? Must we now subject bison—wild animals—to a system that has already proven inhumane and unsafe?

Given the documented problems with the feedlot system, I wasn’t surprised to read about the recall of bison meat due to E. Coli that has caused the illness of five people in Colorado and one in New York. Although Rocky Mountain Natural Meat (the processor) and the retailers who stocked the product (including some well-known ones)seem to want you to believe their bison is a ”natural” product, in fact, what consumers were buying was feedlot meat with the inherent risks that such production has been shown to  generate.

Bison meat has often been promoted as the healthy alternative to beef. It has a far lower fat content than beef – 5 to 7 percent for bison compared with 25 to 30 percent for beef – and higher protein content. Before this recall most people would have thought of bison as a safe, healthy meat from animals roaming the ranges of the West. We can now see all too well that this isn’t the case.

The only reason to force these stately animals into confinement is to try to speed up their growth so a few greedy ranchers can profit. But by their very nature these kings of the prairie need space to roam in order to fulfill their natural behaviors and keep them healthy. Why on earth would we want to change that? Big Ag’s “improvements” in genetics for chicken and pigs have done little but shorten the lives of the animals, weaken their skeletons, remove maternal traits that have led to cages, and breed the flavor out of them.

Knowing what we know now about our failed attempts to force domesticated animals into unnatural industrialized farming systems, do we seriously need to do the same to a wild animal?  Why on earth do we want to put bison in feedlots just to make it more like beef, particularly when one of the attributes of bison is its lean, light meaty flavor? Why would you want your bison burger to taste like a beef burger?

Aside from the inexplicable need to force feed bison to make them more like cattle, feedlot confinement has the same ill-effects on bison as it can have on cattle.  Which means the revolting acid-resistant E Coli O157:H7 has been found in bison meat. At least six people have fallen ill and one person has instigated proceedings against Rocky Mountain Natural Meats, the bison meat processor. As we have highlighted in previous blogs, the cause of this particularly virulent E. Coli is related to the inappropriate grain feeding of ruminants, creating an unnatural environment in their digestive systems that allows E. Coli to flourish. Bison fed on pasture or range and raised slowly produce lean, healthy meat, free from acid-resistant E. Coli.

As consumers we can vote with our dollar and end the bison feedlot industry before it destroys this noble species. We can refuse to buy bison from feedlots which may in fact be bad for our health as well as for the health and well being of the animals. If you want to play Russian roulette with E. Coli, buy feedlot beef.

If you feel as I do, buy bison only from herds that live and forage on pasture or range. Demand that your retailer stops selling meats that can kill.  If there is no market for feedlot bison then bison will stop being subjected to feedlots. Let’s not make another mistake that will imperil this magnificent beast.

Injustice is injustice wherever and whenever it occurs. Righting an injustice can be a long and thorny process, as Dr. Boyd, President of the NBFA, can attest. He has fought for years to get justice for black farmers who were victims of widespread, decades-long discrimination by the USDA. Finally triumphant, in 1999 and again in 2008, he won settlements from the government that will provide legions of now mostly elderly black farmers, victims of the blatant racism formerly displayed by the USDA, with the money they are rightfully owed.

The Senate still won’t fund the 2008 settlement. The injustice continues. Animal Welfare Approved has long supported Dr. Boyd in his quest to see his fight brought to an end, especially since, as he often points out, the farmers for whom the settlement is intended are beginning to die. “I’m frustrated,” Boyd said Thursday in an NPR interview. “I’m frustrated that I’m still begging for votes in the Senate for something that should have been done years ago.”

Dr. Boyd didn’t win settlements based on a few minutes of edited video and some carefully crafted, specious and inflammatory rhetoric. He won his case for black farmers because he had the evidence, the testimonies and the facts to back up his claim.  He took his fight to the halls of Congress and to the courts, where his evidence and testimonies and facts were weighed and considered by those we entrust to make decisions that are honorable and unbiased, and to decide what is owed those who have been wronged. He is still fighting to get the money owed to the farmers he represents.  But how many of you have heard of him?

Animal Welfare Approved is a welcoming home to all farmers who are finding that sustainable, pasture-based farming is providing them with opportunities to improve on-farm income and maintain the integrity of their land and heritage. We’re proud of our farmers and I can tell you from personal experience that they are a community, helping each other out, forming marketing cooperatives, sharing resources and passing on knowledge. Our program hasn’t grown tenfold in a few years because we engage in provocative, groundless rhetoric and shameless publicity stunts. We’ve grown because we’ve proven our worth to farmers and consumers, with humane standards based on published, practical science. But how many people have heard of us?

And yet…a short video and some commentary posted on a website well known for its bias gets not just attention but action at the highest levels within hours.

By all accounts, Shirley Sherrod has been a tireless champion for farmers from all walks of life, without bias. The attack on her was a straw man attack with a motive of petty revenge. The amazingly short-sighted rush to judgment not only up-ended the life of Ms. Sherrod, it has diverted hard-fought-for attention away from issues that truly are of vital importance—the fact that the money from the 2008 settlement for black farmers still has not been paid out by Congress, issues with the nation’s food supply and safety, and the fact that family farmers who choose to farm humanely, sustainably and safely are struggling against industrialized agriculture and the agricultural policy designed to support it.

If I were fond of conspiracy theories, I would begin to wonder…

Witherspoon, who played college ball at the University of Georgia, has been playing in the NFL since 2002, when he was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers. In 2006, he signed with the St. Louis Rams, where he was named Team MVP in 2007. He played the 2009 season for the Philadelphia Eagles before being signed by the Tennessee Titans in March of 2010.

The quiet and somewhat solitary lifestyle of farming can seem at odds with Witherspoon’s day job of being a linebacker, a position where the job description is, basically, put yourself in the path of a really big and powerful player while he tries to run right through you. However, it’s the transition from the thunderous, bone-crushing ferocity of football to the lush green peace of Shire Gate Farm that Witherspoon values.  Shire Gate Farm is not just a business—it’s also a getaway for Witherspoon, his wife Rebecca and daughters Layne, Maya and Shaye. “Shire Gate is a total escape for us. It’s a place where my daughters and I can work with the animals and the land. I use the companionship of the animals and the beauty of the land to refocus myself after the demands of playing football. Shire Gate is our retreat from the world.”

Witherspoon purchased Shire Gate Farm in 2007 as a home for his Shire horses, Rocky and Simon.  As the farm expanded to include more horses, Witherspoon decided to turn Shire Gate into a working farm and added cattle. Intensive research led him to White Park cattle. He chose White Parks because they are docile, thrive in a grassfed environment and provide superior milk and meat. His research also led him to AWA and pasture-based farming. “I wanted Shire Gate Farm to be true to nature and true to the way things should be done,” Witherspoon says. “That means putting the welfare and care of the animals first.”

As a professional athlete in a highly physical and competitive sport, Witherspoon is especially aware of the health benefits of grassfed, high-welfare farming. “I want my kids, and all kids, to grow up in a way that is more in touch with the natural environment. My cattle are raised as nature intended, on grass, and aren’t fed growth hormones, antibiotics or other unnatural additives,” he says. “As a pro football player, I can’t take over-the-counter cold medicine without letting my trainer know about it. Why would I want my kids eating beef from cattle fed hormones or antibiotics?” Shire Gate Farm is duel certified by Animal Welfare Approved and the American Grassfed Association (AGA).

Raising his cattle according to AWA standards is how animal-lover Witherspoon shows his commitment to animal welfare on his farm. “AWA and I see eye-to-eye on how cattle should be raised. The great thing about the program is that it offers a wealth of information and provides access to people who can help me raise my herd and build my farm. There’s no way I can go wrong. We’re planning to expand to poultry, pork, and perhaps even lamb, and AWA has standards for each of these species. I know that AWA and AGA will work alongside me as Shire Gate grows.”

Animal Welfare Approved Program Director Andrew Gunther praises Witherspoon’s dedication to raising his animals with high-welfare standards. “When I visited Shire Gate with [American Grassfed Association President] Patricia Whisnant, it was clear he brings to his farm the same intense attention to detail and preparation he brings to the football field.” In addition to Witherspoon and his wife and daughters, his father, a former military officer, also resides at Shire Gate Farm.  According to Gunther, “It was clear this is not just an infatuation for Will, but a real working family farm that will grow and prosper.”

Ferocious on the field, Witherspoon is equally ferocious about the welfare of his animals. “When I decided to bring cattle and other animals on the farm, I jumped in quite readily and I decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right. AWA and AGA are helping me achieve that goal.”

Photo courtesy Donn Jones, Tennessee Titans