With the holidays just around the corner, food temptations abound on dinner tables across the country. Have you ever wondered what life was like for the turkey, or the chicken, that now sits in the center of your holiday dinner table? In most cases, it wasn't very humane. In order to maximize profits, turkeys, chickens (and pigs) have been bred to grow huge and fast.

Inside the crowded barns, bright lights shine 24 hours a day to keep the birds awake and eating. They're pumped full of antibiotics to further hasten growth. They are deprived of roosts, which forces them to rest in unnatural positions. The genetics of the modern Broad Breasted White have been so intensively manipulated (to produce the large breast and abundance of white meat today's consumers demand) that the turkeys are no longer able to mate naturally. Instead, all birds are now artificially inseminated. They can't fly and can barely walk. Weighing between 16 pounds (females) and 32 pounds (males), they are sent to slaughter, many of them lame or unable to stand under the weight of their own bodies.

Alternative forms of production, using more humane methods, do exist. Heritage breed turkeys are one humane option to the traditional holiday turkey. To learn more about heritage breed turkeys, or to find a producer near you, please visit:

• www.heritageturkeyfoundation.org
• www.heritagefoodsusa.com
• http://slowfoodusa.org/ark/turkeys.html

Our most recent success came last month when the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a meaningful standard for grass fed marketing claims that will not only benefit animal welfare but will also allow consumers to make informed purchasing decisions about the meat they buy. This standard didn't come easily.

FACT worked with the USDA, sustainable agriculture groups, and farmers for nearly five years in support of a strict standard for grass fed meat. In 2003, the USDA proposed a standard which required that only 80 percent of the animals' diet come from grass and forages. FACT strongly objected to this proposal, arguing that such a weak standard would allow most animals raised on feedlots to be marketed as grass fed. The recently announced final standard includes a 100 percent grass requirement and is a significant victory for consumers and humane farmers alike! Soon USDA verified grass fed meat will be available on grocery store shelves across the country. For more information on the grass fed label, download FACT's news release.

We recently redesigned the site to better fit the needs of our supporters, the media and the general public. It includes features such as a latest News section where FACT supporters can read about up-to-date news and notes, an Action Alert page giving individuals the opportunity to take action on pressing issues and a secure Donate page to make it easier to support FACT. Please take some time and check out our new site. We welcome any comments and suggestions-please email your feedback to Jacki Rossi at jrossi @foodanimalconcerns.org.

Did you know that, in areas of the country where there are significant cattle and poultry industries, chicken waste is routinely fed to cows? In Virginia alone an estimated 58,000 tons of poultry litter is fed to cows each year. The poultry litter fed to cows is what factory farmers scoop up from the floors of the buildings where broiler chickens, or chickens raised for meat, are raised. Using animal waste as animal feed is a risk not only to human health but also to animal health and welfare. It can spread human and animal diseases; it can also contain drug residues and antibiotic resistant bacteria which can cause serious foodborne illnesses.

FACT believes that this inhumane, unhealthy and disgusting practice needs to stop-and soon. To end the feeding of chicken manure to cows, we will soon be launching our CALF (Consumers Against Litter in Feed) campaign, an effort designed to affect policy change at the federal level. FACT staff are currently researching the regulatory and legal options available to us, as well as the science surrounding the processing of poultry waste. Visit the CALF Campaign page on our website to learn more about this issue and our Donate page to help make farms healthier and more humane places for animals to live.

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FACT's Public Health Program Director Steven Roach presented consumer perspectives on antimicrobial resistance at the 4th International Workshop on Antimicrobial Resistance international conference in Seoul, Korea. Steve also serves on a Codex Alimentarius task force that met in Seoul at the same time to begin drafting international guidelines on antibiotic use with farm animals. Codex Alimentarius sets international food production standards.