http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org Always ask, "Is Your Food Animal Welfare Approved?" Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:55:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This Sunday, millions of Americans will sit down with friends and family to watch some of the world’s greatest athletes competing in the toughest, most physical sport of all. No one takes health and fitness more seriously than today’s top football players. So isn’t it kind of absurd that as we ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2012/02/02/will-yours-be-a-sustainable-super-bowl-sunday/ Jill Johnson and Mary Wills raise Animal Welfare Approved hogs and laying hens on Crane Dance Farm in Middleville, MI. Named for the Sandhill Cranes that make the farm their home each spring, Crane Dance Farm is nestled among the rolling hills, beautiful woods, and wetlands of Barry County. Jill says ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2012/01/31/crane-dance-farm-middleville-mi/ Ask any farmer to list his or her major challenges and the issue of who will take over the farm when it’s time to retire will no doubt feature in the top 10. According to government statistics about 40% of U.S. farmers are 55 years old and up, raising real ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2012/01/20/twelve-year-old-farmer-is-an-inspiration-to-us-all/ Forgive me if you don’t see me jumping for joy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent announcement that it intends to limit the use of a specific group of antibiotics in livestock production. For while the FDA’s decision to curb the use of cephalosporins in food animal production ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2012/01/06/the-fda-fails-the-public-on-antibiotics-once-again/ Dear Friends, As the year comes to an end, it’s a tradition of mine to write a note of gratitude to our friends, farmers and ranchers, consumers, advocates, donors, and everyone else who has helped give the future of sustainable farming room to grow and flourish. And what a year it has ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2011/12/28/top-11-of-2011/ Kelley and Mark Escobedo of South Texas Heritage Pork raise hogs on 120 acres in South Texas. They began raising pigs in 2008 with the desire to provide better food for their family.  Kelley and Mark purchased a pig that produced some of the best pork they had ever tasted ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2011/12/14/south-texas-heritage-pork-%e2%80%93-floresville-tx/ Jack Ward’s farm has been in his family since the late 1800s. Like his farmer father before him, Jack raises pastured Yorkshire, Hampshire and Berkshire pigs, as well as row crops on 350 acres in Seven Springs, North Carolina. After ten years without hogs on the farm, Jack missed raising pigs ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2011/12/14/jack-ward-farm-seven-springs-nc/ As public interest in ethically produced food continues to flourish even in such difficult economic times, it’s perhaps somewhat inevitable that food businesses jump on the “grassfed” bandwagon. We’ve seen it happen with organic, where some of the rules that farmers and food manufacturers must follow in order to use the ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2011/12/02/grassfed-meat-making-the-right-choices/ We are pleased to announce that the in-depth guide to the benefits of grassfed beef is now available from Animal Welfare Approved. The Grassfed Primer: Your Guide to the Benefits of Grassfed Beef covers the history of U.S. beef production and the rise of modern intensive farming systems, and provides ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2011/11/30/grassfed-primer/ McDonald’s has just discovered bigger isn’t always better. McDonald’s – one of the nation’s largest egg purchasers - has just dropped one of the biggest egg producers in the U.S. after undercover filming showed abuse of chicks and hens at facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado. Sparboe Farms of Litchfield Minnesota ... http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2011/11/22/a-caged-egg-mcmuffin-to-go-please/