No one takes health and fitness more seriously than today’s top football players. So isn’t it kind of absurd that as we watch Sunday’s game we will all be bombarded by advertisements for some of the unhealthiest junk food imaginable? And as we admire the speed, strength and agility of our gridiron heroes, chances are that most of the millions of chicken wings and burgers that will be consumed at Super Bowl parties across the U.S. will have come from industrialized livestock farming systems that are damaging to the environment, to animal welfare, and ultimately to our own health.

As two titans of the football world clash this Sunday, there is one Titan football player who is already leading by example. Will Witherspoon is linebacker for the Tennessee Titans – and a sustainable farmer. Will is passionate about producing healthy and nutritious food on his Animal Welfare Approved Shire Gate Farm near Owensville, Missouri. As a professional athlete involved in one of the world’s most physical sports, Will is particularly aware of the health benefits of grassfed, high-welfare farming.

“My cattle are raised as nature intended, on grass, and aren’t fed growth hormones, antibiotics or other unnatural additives,” says Will. “As a pro football player, I can’t take over-the-counter cold medicine without letting my trainer know about it. So why would I want my kids eating beef from cattle fed hormones or routine antibiotics?”

The truth is that if you knew what goes on behind the closed doors of most industrial farms you probably wouldn’t want to touch the meat – let alone eat it. The only farming images that Big Ag wants you to see are the bucolic, picket-fenced scenes on their food packaging – along with false messages, such as ”naturally raised” or ”free-roaming” (neither of which actually means that animals were raised outdoors).  In the drive to produce ever-cheaper foods, the pursuit of profit comes before all other concerns, including our health. The soaring rates of obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and diet-related cancers stand in stark contrast to the healthfulness and sporting prowess that we will all applaud this coming weekend. In today’s junk food world, where childhood obesity and diet-related ill health is epidemic, Will Witherspoon is just the kind of sporting role model we urgently need.

So when you’re out shopping for your Super Bowl party, why not make sure that at least one of your purchases is a truly sustainable choice. Seek out some high-welfare, pasture-raised chicken wings or grassfed ground beef for your burger patties – I can guarantee you’ll taste the difference. And don’t be fooled by terms like “all natural,” “naturally raised” or “cage-free” – they are used to mask the same old industrialized farming system where confinement, routine antibiotic use, and a horrific, short life are the norm. Make sure you ask for grassfed or pasture-raised meat at your grocery store. Better still, why not make a play for your local farmers market – or use our online directory to find your nearest supplier of Animal Welfare Approved meat and dairy products.

Small changes can make a big difference. As we build up to one of the greatest sporting contests on Earth, let’s use the opportunity to start reducing our consumption of unsustainable, unhealthy, intensively reared meat and dairy – and choose high-welfare, pasture-based meat and dairy products instead. Let’s make this Super Bowl Sunday really count: let’s make it a Sustainable Super Bowl Sunday.

Jill says that she learned to love nature, plants, and animals from her mother. After graduating from Western Michigan University with a degree in agriculture, she purchased Crane Dance Farm in 1996. Getting the farm back into shape took a lot of hard work- from restoring the buildings to rehabilitating the health of the soil. Providing animals with the happiest, healthiest lives possible while maintaining nature’s balance on the farm, is what Jill quotes to be her greatest life’s goal.  Jill’s business partner, Mary Wills, is a retired high school English and music teacher. She first began volunteering at Crane Dance Farm after Jill convinced her she could eat the meat from her farm and not worry about cholesterol. She soon became a resident and owner of the picturesque farm.

Jill and Mary are committed to genetic diversity and try to acquire endangered, heritage breeds whenever possible. On Crane Dance Farm, plentiful pasture, fresh air, and sunshine nurture their heirloom pigs without the use of hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. Jill and Mary believe that this farming philosophy is one that’s not only better for the animals but also benefits the earth and consumer.

To learn more about Crane Dance Farm and its products you can visit the website- www.cranedancefarm.com- or follow Crane Dance on Facebook!

This is why Shelby Grebenc of Broomfield, CO, is such an inspiration. Shelby is founder of “Shelby’s Happy Chapped Chicken Butt Farm,” located about 20 miles outside of Denver. And at just 12 years-old, Shelby is also the youngest Animal Welfare Approved farmer to date. Shelby represents a beacon of hope for the future. Her dedication to high-welfare farming is an inspiration to all of us – regardless of age.

Although she’s only 12, Shelby has a maturity and determination well beyond her years. When she was 10, an age at which most children are asking their parents for allowance money and still assume that eggs come from grocery stores, Shelby approached her grandmother for a $1,000 loan to launch her own pasture-raised egg business. Shelby’s mother Nancy, who has multiple sclerosis, was in a nursing home at the time and Shelby wanted to start selling eggs to expand the family’s income.

Shelby first started learning to raise laying hens when she was just six years old, looking after the family’s small flock of chickens on their four acres. Her father gave her specific chores to carry out, such as watering, feeding, and letting out the hens. She clearly learned a great deal from this experience because now Shelby manages a flock of around 130 pasture-raised hens, which produce between 28–56 dozen eggs a week. It takes her about an hour each day to feed the hens, put out fresh water, and collect and clean the eggs. She sells most of her eggs to neighbors in Broomfield. Customers can call her or look for the big yellow sign she places at the end of the driveway when she is available to make sales, although she and her dad can also deliver eggs within one mile of their home.

Shelby first learned about the Animal Welfare Approved program from a neighbor and decided she would like her hens to have the distinction of being raised with the highest animal welfare standards. Supporting young farmers who aspire to provide us with the healthiest, safest and most sustainable food for future generations is something that I passionately believe in. In fact, we specifically amended our policies to allow Shelby to sign the forms and become the named farmer. As we require an enforceable agreement with our farmers, Shelby’s father had to co-sign the agreement, although we work directly with her. Following the on-farm audit last September, Shelby’s flock was officially certified as Animal Welfare Approved, a certification and food label that lets consumers know that the chickens on Shelby’s farm were raised in accordance with the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S., using sustainable agriculture methods on an independent family farm.

So what do her school friends think about Shelby’s entrepreneurship? She says that some are astonished that she goes to the bank and, using her Colorado state-issued ID, withdraws money to buy chicken feed. But while some friends think it is pretty cool, many just don’t understand farming. “Some kids don’t even realize the leather on their shoes came from a cow somewhere,” she recently explained. “As my dad says, it’s a part of life, but it is our job to make sure animals have the best, most enjoyable life possible while we have them. I love my animals and I make sure they are happy but I also understand the outcome.”

We know that the industrialization of farming has had a devastating impact on the environment and animal welfare. But it has had a devastating impact on our U.S. family farming heritage, too. According to the National Commission on Small Farms, “Independent farm families are being forced out of business to make room for further corporate consolidation. As a consequence, rural communities in agricultural areas have suffered decades of economic and social decline and decay.” Hardly the kind of future career we’d want for our children. However research from the United Kingdom shows that pasture-based sustainable farming systems not only provide more job opportunities on the farm, but they are also attracting more young people into farming. If we can encourage more kids like Shelby to explore sustainable farming as a real career choice we could help regenerate agriculture as a major employer once again, with a major role in the rural economy – and a rightful place in our hearts.

Commenting on the intensive farming of caged hens, Shelby recently said,“I think it is important that chickens get to be chickens. They have to be able to fly, scratch, peck, take dirt baths and react with one another. If chickens don’t get a chance to do these things they are not going to be happy.” Wise words from a 12-year-old – and I couldn’t agree more.

I wish Shelby all the luck in the world for her Shelby’s Happy Chapped Chicken Butt Farm business and I am proud that she chose our program. If Shelby is representative of our farmers of the future then I think we are all in pretty safe hands, wouldn’t you agree? And if you are in Broomfield, CO, and you see the yellow sign outside her drive, please try some of Shelby’s eggs. You won’t find a tastier, more healthful egg in town.

For while the FDA’s decision to curb the use of cephalosporins in food animal production beginning April 2012 has been hailed as positive step in the right direction, I’d say it’s more a shuffle forwards – and a very reluctant one at that.

“We believe this is an imperative step in preserving the effectiveness of this class of important antimicrobials that takes into account the need to protect the health of both humans and animals,” pronounced Michael R. Taylor, the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Foods, in the FDA press release. Now, as regular readers of my post will already know, I am passionate about the urgent need to curb the misuse of antibiotics in intensive farming systems. So what’s my problem with the FDA’s recent actions? After all, surely this is good news?

As various commentators – including Tom Philpott and Mary McKenna – have already pointed out, I am afraid that cephalosporins are nothing but small fry when it comes to overall antibiotic use in intensive farming. During 2009 alone, the FDA revealed that 80% of all antibiotics produced in the U.S. were used for animals – that’s an incredible 28,820,000 pounds out of the 36,080,000 pounds produced. Yet cephalosporins amounted to just over 91,000 pounds of this total – less than half of one percent of all antibiotics used in the U.S. The FDA’s latest figures also reveal that cephalosporin use has decreased even further during 2010 to just over 51,000 pounds. To make matters even worse, the FDA’s announcement is actually a (less strict) rehash of proposals that were first announced in 2008, and which were immediately recalled after the usual uproar from the intensive farming industry lobby.

So what’s the real outcome of the FDA’s recent action? Well, certainly some positive media fluff for the FDA for appearing to take a stand by banning a minor antibiotic that was clearly already losing favor within the industry, yet a minimal impact on the day-to-day workings of the intensive farming industry. A cozy coincidence? I wish it was.

This rather insignificant move forward comes after a pre-emptive giant leap backwards made on December 22, 2011, just as most of us were focusing on the upcoming holiday period. Notably without any accompanying press release or media fanfare in this instance, the FDA quietly announced in the Federal Register that it was withdrawing its long-standing intention to compel intensive farms to limit certain uses of the key antibiotics penicillin and tetracyclines for food-producing animals – an objective originally set in motion more than 30 years ago when government FDA scientists first began to fully appreciate the risks to human health from the laissez-faire non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in industrial farming.

We all know the story since then: over the years, the FDA has time and again cowed down to powerful political and legal pressure from the multi-billion dollar intensive farming industry lobby and its paid-up politicians, as antibiotic use in farming continued to spiral out of control in the pursuit of ever-cheaper protein and ever-increasing profit – not to mention the impact of intensification on animal welfare, our health and the environment. In its recent announcement the FDA warns that while it has not “ruled out” future regulatory action, it will instead “focus its efforts for now on the potential for voluntary reform and the promotion of the judicious use of antimicrobials in the interest of public health.” I bet Big Ag’s CEOs are quaking in their boots.

Voluntary reform? Call me a cynic but the FDA has got to be kidding. Despite decades of mounting evidence and the emergence of a global scientific consensus that the routine non-therapeutic use of medicinally important antibiotics on industrial farms across the world is leading to the development of life-threatening multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the powerful U.S. intensive farming lobby continues to aggressively dismiss the science and deny any possible risks to human health – just as the tobacco industry did in the 1970s.

While the FDA’s announcement of limitations for the use of cephalosporins in food animal production might well be a small step in the right direction, the FDA continues to show that it has no teeth when it comes to ensuring that the intensive farming industry puts human health before profit, so that these vital medicines can remain effective for as long as possible. Even the Government Accountability Office recently concluded that key government agencies – including the FDA – are simply not doing enough to combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria to public health, and that “antibiotic use in food animals contributes to the emergence of resistant bacteria that may affect humans.”  Far from being the proud industry watchdog working on behalf of U.S. citizens, the sad reality is that the FDA is happy to play the role of Big Ag’s lapdog.

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 been! Animal Welfare Approved has yet again experienced a fantastic year of growth and innovation, driven by the ever-increasing demand for healthy, environmentally friendly and high-welfare products. Here are some highlights of significant milestones we have achieved over the last year. None of this could have been achieved without your continued support.

AWA Grows on the West Coast

Farmers and ranchers in the West Coast region can now benefit from even greater AWA support following the appointment of two new Farmer and Market Outreach Coordinators. Beth Spitler (Southwest) and Eve Cohen (Central and Northwest) will work across the West Coast region to support new and existing AWA farmers and to raise consumer awareness about the program. This represents a considerable increase in our ability to provide sustainable farmers in the West Coast region with access to free marketing and technical support.

AWA Invited to Multiple Major Marketing Events

KeHe Distributors is one of the country’s largest wholesale distributors of natural and specialty food products, serving more than 33,000 food retailers across the North America. In recognition of the growing importance of our label in the marketplace, AWA was invited to attend associated retail shows in September to promote the program and benefits of AWA products to countless vendors and retailers across KeHe’s distribution chain. We hope that this is the start of new market opportunities for AWA farmers and ranchers in 2012 – and the wider availability of AWA-certified food to consumers across the U.S.

AWA Welcomes Young Farmers

Perhaps the most significant development in 2011 was the certification of two new farmers to the program – both aged 12. Shelby Grebenc of Happy Chapped Chicken Butt Farm in Broomfield, CO, and Wyatt Schenker of Schenker Family Farms in McCune, KS, are the youngest farmers in the program and both are approved for laying hens. These two remarkable individuals have a maturity and presence beyond their years, and represent the future foundation of sustainable farming.

First AWA Restaurant Opens

Grazin’, in Hudson, NY, is a modern take on the classic 1950s diner, serving locally sourced and sustainably produced meals. All meat, dairy and eggs are Animal Welfare Approved – a truly outstanding achievement for all involved. We were delighted to support the development of this exciting initiative and look forward to welcoming other restaurateurs who are seeking to serve a truly sustainable menu.

State of the Plate DC

More than 200 farmers, restaurateurs and consumers came together in October at the State of the Plate DC conference to discuss ways to strengthen the supply chain for meat, cheese and eggs from sustainably raised animals in the Washington, DC area. Organized by AWA, in cooperation with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and hosted by George Washington University’s Urban Food Task Force, the event was designed to bring individuals from every level of the hospitality supply chain together under one roof. We are looking at opportunities to roll out this event in other areas in 2012 and beyond.

AWA Achieves Increasing Media Attention

In addition to wide circulation of AWA’s blogs, we are now receiving a tremendous amount of local and national media attention. Two particular highlights include AWA’s Emily Lancaster’s appearance on a “My Carolina Today” television segment with Edible Piedmont and AWA being the only independent label recognized in Real Simple magazine’s special consumer guide to buying steak. We look forward to highlighting the work of our farmers and ranchers to the media in 2012.

AWA Egg Cartons

Following discussion with some of our certified farmers, we were proud to launch a new low-cost branded egg carton for poultry farmers. Made with 100 percent reclaimed paper, the new dozen-egg carton enables AWA family farmers to market eggs locally using the trusted AWA brand alongside farm-specific information. We are confident the carton will result in higher levels of sales and are exploring other packaging options.

AWA Publishes New Publications

One of our key objectives is to raise public awareness of the benefits of high-welfare, sustainable farming, and to highlight the inherent problems with industrial farming systems. In 2011, we were proud to launch two new informative publications. Food Labeling for Dummies: A definitive guide to common food label terms and claims is designed to help decipher the most common terms and claims found on today’s food packaging, while The Grassfed Primer: Your guide to the benefits of grassfed beef offers a clear description of the benefits of grassfed and pasture-raised beef. We also redesigned the AWA newsletter to ensure it keeps readers up to date with relevant news, to highlight inspirational models, to address technical issues, and to promote our free services.

New Standards

During 2011 AWA developed new standards for rabbit farming, which join our range of standards for all commonly domesticated farmed animals. The individual standards, which are available online, address every aspect of each species’ lifecycle needs – from birth all the way to slaughter. The strength of our standards is reflected by the fact that AWA program was acclaimed as a “highly meaningful label” by Greener Choices, the food label evaluation arm of Consumer Reports.

Annual Auditor and Staff Training

Finally, for the first time AWA marketing staff joined the auditors in Raleigh, NC, for annual training. As the program grows it is important to ensure effective communication between staff members and teams, who often work some distance apart. Auditors participated in on-farm and classroom standards and auditing training, while marketing staff discussed future strategy.

Looking to the Future

Despite difficult economic times, growing numbers of people across the U.S. are recognizing the inextricable link between the way we farm, the way we raise our animals, the way we treat our environment, and our health and well being. So while I am the first to accept that we face significant challenges ahead, I am also confident that 2012 will bring us a step closer to the goal of changing how we feed ourselves.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy holiday season and a prosperous, healthy, and sustainable New Year.

Andrew Gunther
Program Director
Animal Welfare Approved

They decided that if they were going to raise the best pork possible, they had to start with the best pigs possible. They knew that the cramped, confined corrals of today’s commercial pig farmer was not for them. Kelly and Mark wanted their animals to be happy, healthy, and to have as much freedom as they could provide.

Their research led them to the Large Black and Tamworth hogs. Both are old breeds, well suited to grazing. The Large Black’s docile nature is often attributed to their distinctive, floppy ears that completely cover their eyes. Their black coloring makes them hardy in extreme temperatures and protects them from sunburn. The Tamworth breed is the most direct descendant of the native pig stock of Europe that, in turn, descended from wild boars. They are disease resistant and tolerant of extreme temperatures. Both these breeds are known for their good mothering ability, displayed when they are allowed to farrow, or give birth, on pasture.

Kelley and Mark plant forage crops and use a rotational grazing system.  During drought or freezing conditions where there is no foliage, they mill our own feed using their own custom blend. They never give any of their animals growth hormones or unnecessary antibiotics.  They allow their slower-growing pigs the time to reach maturity outside on pasture.

“We respect the animals we raise,” says Kelley. “Their happiness and comfort is our number one priority.  The quality of our product is a direct result of our efforts in keeping these animals as safe, happy and healthy as we possibly can.”

After ten years without hogs on the farm, Jack missed raising pigs and wanted to add more profitability to the farm. He is proud that he raises his pigs naturally, providing them with high-quality feed and raising them without the use of antibiotics or hormones. His choice to raise Animal Welfare Approved pastured pork was a choice to invest in a future in which his sons, Daniel and Jimmy, could make a living on the family farm and people can make better choices about the food they eat. “It would make me feel better to walk into a store and buy meat with the AWA seal,” says Jack. “It gives some piece of mind.”

Like many farmers, it’s a challenge to meet production costs, but Jack hopes that his sons, who work on the farm with him, will choose the hard work required to keep the family business running.

We’ve seen it happen with organic, where some of the rules that farmers and food manufacturers must follow in order to use the coveted organic label have been watered down or manipulated. This has happened to such an extent that many well-meaning organic consumers would now struggle to differentiate between some larger ‘organic’ operations and their industrial cousins. The same thing is now happening with the term “grassfed.” While the range of products, labels and brands that make grassfed claims grows day by day, the sad reality is that some of the grassfed meat, milk and cheese you can buy probably shouldn’t be labeled grassfed at all.

Fortunately, Animal Welfare Approved has just published an 18-page booklet called The Grassfed Primer to cut through the confusion surrounding the term “grassfed” and to help the public to understand the wide benefits that real grassfed farming systems can have for the environment, for farm animal welfare, and for our health.

The good news is that people across the U.S. are waking up to the hidden costs of cheap, industrialized meat production and damaging impact that intensive farming is having on the environment, on animal welfare, and on our health. Growing numbers of consumers are voting with their wallets and seeking out truly sustainable alternatives – including grassfed meat and dairy products.

And they would be right to do so: Scientists have shown that grass-based farming systems, where livestock eat a diet of 100 percent grass or other forage throughout their lives and have constant access to pasture or range, are far better for animal welfare and are less likely to cause environmental pollution. We know that grassfed farming has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As cattle and other ruminants graze pasture they stimulate the growth of grass, which absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere through its leaves and stores it in a mass of roots under the ground in a far more stable form of carbon – a process called carbon sequestration. Indeed, scientists now think that grazing cattle on pastures and restoring grasslands could play a vital role in slowing the global warming process. We also know that grassfed meat and dairy products offer real human health benefits in terms of higher levels of omega-3s, CLAs and vitamin E, as well as reducing the risk of E. coli food poisoning and the development of other antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases associated with intensive farming systems.

However, the bad news is that despite the apparent assurances that a grassfed label might offer, some of the so-called grassfed systems out there actually fall well short of our expectations because the requirements for keeping animals on pasture can vary significantly among the different grassfed labels.

When you ask most people to explain what “grassfed farming” means, they will almost always describe a pastoral farming scene with animals grazing outdoors on pasture, rather than in intensive feedlots. The truth is that a number of the grassfed labels which have recently sprung up may actually hide farming systems that still allow farmers to confine cattle in feedlots for at least part of the animals’ lives.

For example, some well-known supermarket retailers have set up their own grass-based beef standards which require participating farmers to ensure their animals spend at least two thirds of their lives on pasture. This sounds great. But when you realize that this could mean that the cattle may actually spend a third of their lives in barren confinement on a feedlot system, the bucolic “grassfed” image of this label starts to fade, and you start to wonder if this beef should really be labeled grassfed at all.

What about the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) definition of grassfed, which was introduced in 2007 to protect consumer and farmer interests? Unfortunately, the USDA’s voluntary grassfed standards only require farmers to ensure their animals have access to the outdoors during the grass growing season. This means that farmers in some states could confine animals for as much as six months of the year in what is essentially a feedlot — yet still label products as grassfed — provided animals are fed trucked-in cut grass or forage.

Even more shocking is that the USDA also allows these grassfed farmers to feed a grain supplement to their cattle. In fact, the USDA sets no limit whatsoever on the amount of grain supplementation that is allowed, as long as the percentage of grain fed is stated somewhere on the grassfed label. Of course, this percentage could appear in much smaller print on the back of the packaging. Some of these grassfed labeling programs also permit highly questionable farming practices such as the routine use of antibiotics and do little to address other problem areas, such as environmental pollution.

So how can you be sure that the grassfed beef you are about to spend your hard-earned cash on really does meet your expectations? When you see the Animal Welfare Approved and the American Grassfed Association logos together on a label, you can be absolutely confident that the animal was raised according to the highest welfare standards, and lived its life on pasture eating a natural diet of 100 percent grass and forage. Animal Welfare Approved certifies truly free-range systems. No feedlot or confinement operation may use the AWA logo to sell its products — and that’s a guarantee.

We published The Grassfed Primer to help people to identify and purchase meat and dairy products from real grassfed farms. We hope that it helps to explain the problems with feedlot farming systems, but also the significant solutions that real grassfed farming can offer, and why it is important to choose a “grassfed” label that really means what it says.

Find out more about real grassfed farming and Animal Welfare Approved: download The Grassfed Primer here.

Sparboe Farms of Litchfield Minnesota produces 300 million eggs per year in shell, liquid, frozen and dried form. The company supplies retailers and food service outlets across 26 states. The undercover filming showed disturbing abuse of chicks and older hens at several of the company’s farms.

In addition to this undercover video, Sparboe Farms recently received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that said inspectors found “serious violations” at five Sparboe facilities of federal regulations meant to prevent  Salmonella. The warning said eggs from those facilities had been “prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.”

McDonald’s is finding out that there is a price to be paid for dealing with industrial egg producers like Sparboe. By their very design these industrial systems fail to meet the needs of the hens, fail to protect the consumer from health problems such as Salmonella and fail to provide farm workers with a safe and positive working environment.

Following the horrific recall of over  half a billion eggs in Iowa last year – where significant failings in basic management of the hens and their environment led to serious Salmonella risk – this is another scandal in an industry that seems incapable of regulating itself. As AWA pointed out at the time, recent research has shown a direct correlation between flock size and confinement and the presence of Salmonella – basically the bigger the flock and the more confined, the greater the risk of infection. It is also well documented that caged systems inherently lead to poor animal welfare.  A standard industry cage forces birds to live in an area smaller than a sheet of paper. The natural stress response to such close confinement is pecking and cannibalism, a problem which the industry has “solved” by removing all or parts of the birds’ beaks. This type of band-aid approach is especially disturbing given that science has already shown pasture-based systems to resolve this issue.

As McDonald’s is discovering, part of the problem with the industrial farming model is that big agribusiness puts production in the hands of very small group of producers—leaving consumers and birds vulnerable to disease and abuse with limited options of alternative products. There must be a point at which Mc Donald’s, Target and other retailers of eggs look beyond their corporate bottom line and see the future.

It may surprise you to know that McDonald’s has some experience of better and more sustainable sourcing –McDonald’s Europe that is, not McDonald’s U.S. Over 95% of all eggs used by McDonald’s across 21 European countries are either free range or cage free “barn” eggs. McDonald’s in the U.K. say that in 2009 they used over 91 million free-range (pastured) eggs on their breakfast menu, and that all the eggs for their sauces and the breakfast menu were sourced from British farmers. In addition, the hens are all fed non-GM feed; and the company estimates that the egg farmers have planted nearly half a million trees on pastured laying hen ranging and foraging areas to provide shade and shelter  for the hens, thereby improving the environment on the farms. McDonald’s Europe is committed to reaching a 100% non-caged egg supply by 2012.

McDonald’s Europe is working with companies that see the farmers and their birds and animals as an important and integral part of their business; not just figures on a balance sheet. This model of production is providing 100% pastured eggs in one country and a growing majority of non-caged egg in another 20 countries. This is the result of a committed effort on the part of McDonald’s to learning how to stimulate demand, manage distribution and to set real, monitored and achieved targets for improvement. The success of this model shows that the lessons have been learned. Why then can McDonald’s in the U.S. not learn from its European operation?

There are many farmers in America ready willing and able to step up and provide these pastured eggs for companies like McDonald’s, if only the company were seriously interested. In a joint statement today John Boyd of the National Black Farmers Association and Andrew Gunther of Animal Welfare Approved invited executives of McDonald’s to start the conversation and to make a commitment to move away from unhealthy and abusive caged eggs. The alternative is out there. We challenge McDonald’s to start looking for it.

As the only national nonprofit organization that audits, certifies and supports farmers raising animals on pasture, we are fortunate to have become the most highly regarded food label for sustainability and outdoor farming systems.

With an ever-growing family of certified farms, AWA helps consumers find sustainable, pasture-raised products and connect with the farmers that produce them. We encourage you to seek out AWA farms and purchase their products this holiday season as a way to support pasture-based farms. Please also use this forum and social media to share your thanks.

USE THE COMMENT BOX BELOW TO SHARE YOUR THANKS TO FAMILY FARMERS.  OR… to use Twitter to thank family farmers, use the hash tag #ThankAWAFarmers. On Facebook, use @Animal Welfare Approved to tag your message.  We will share all of these messages with AWA farmers!

Food is a central focus of any holiday, but it has impacts far beyond the table. While the majority of farm animals are raised in extreme confinement, numerous studies have shown that pasture- and range-based farming is better for the environment and brings a wide range of benefits to both animals and consumers.

Our farmers are providing good, healthy food from animals raised according to the highest standards and are moving us all towards a more sustainable future. Every animal we raise outdoors on pasture brings an environmental benefit to us all – in responsible nutrient management, soil conservation and lower environmental impact.

Join us in celebrating these farmers who work so hard to feed us and who are truly stewards of our planet.

Tips for a Sustainable Holiday Season

*    Support family farmers by choosing AWA meat, dairy and eggs for your holiday cooking

*    Use AWA’s online directory to find farms, restaurants and retailers in your area carrying AWA products

*    Ask for Animal Welfare Approved meat, dairy and eggs. If retailers don’t have AWA products this year, your request will encourage them to stock them for the next year!