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Marie Belew Wheatley's Blog

Looking Out for Livestock

Posted August 27, 2009

I finally got around to seeing the film Food, Inc. It certainly serves up a lot of food for thought.

I grew up on a farm, so some of the film’s images of animals being mistreated hit me hard. On the whole, the film seems to suggest that all animal products (meat, eggs, dairy, etc.) are produced on huge farms that resemble factories more than they do the pleasant and often-used image of cows grazing in an open field. This is not entirely true. Many smaller farms still exist. But even so, do “factory farms” purposely treat their animals inhumanely? Even in massive operations, if the animals are healthier, the businesses make more money. It would behoove them to take care of the animals.

Further, if animals are not handled individually, does that necessarily take away from anything? Do the animals have less dignity? If you can’t individually attend to or hand-feed a chicken because you have 10,000 of them, does that mean you can’t treat them humanely?

Food, Inc. points out the bad elements of large-scale food animal production. With the exception of one farm, it does not show the good elements of conscientious producers, large or small, who follow animal welfare standards and treat their animals humanely.

American Humane has been looking out for livestock since its inception. Two of our first undertakings, more than 130 years ago, were to make the transport of livestock more humane and to expose unsanitary and inhumane conditions in slaughterhouses. We have long believed that animals should be treated humanely during the course of their lives, even animals that will be used for human consumption.

Since 2000, we have been certifying food producers who treat their animals humanely. Our third-party certification program, American Humane® Certified, is the first farm animal welfare program in the country to ensure the humane treatment of farm animals. American Humane Certified producers are not all small, family farms. We certify some large-scale producers, like Eggland’s Best. All of our Certified producers follow science-based animal welfare standards. The most basic requirements include clean and sufficient food and water; an environment that limits stress and allows normal behaviors; sufficient space, shelter and a resting area; company of the animals’ own kind; and disease and injury prevention and rapid diagnoses and treatment. And these producers provide safe and affordable food for this country.

There may be food producers who are deliberately hiding “the truth” about how they treat their animals, as the film suggests, but our producers are not. They voluntarily submit to audits throughout the year that assess the treatment of their animals and many have video cameras recording their operations.

The film offers several things you can do as a consumer. One thing they did not mention is to look for, demand and buy products raised and handled by American Humane Certified producers. Look for our Certified logo on product packaging, and go to www.thehumanetouch.org to see a list of our certified producers. If your local stores and restaurants do not carry American Humane Certified products, ask them to. And ask your favorite food producers to become American Humane Certified.

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This is not an open forum, but Marie and American Humane welcome all comments and points of view. We will post selected comments that are considerate and thought-provoking, and we may edit comments for brevity, grammar and/or inflammatory language.

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