Food Animal Concerns Trust opposes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) voluntary standard for "naturally raised" livestock which was issued on January 21st, saying the standard falls short of consumer expectations of what "naturally raised" really means. The standard does not include any welfare husbandry requirements that would allow animals to express their natural behaviors (such as nest building for sows or dust-bathing and pecking for chickens). It also does not preclude the use of intensive confinement production practices (such as gestation and farrowing crates, veal crates, tethers, slatted floors over manure pits, and battery cages for poultry). Check out FACT's news release for more information about the new naturally raised standard.

Now more than ever consumers are concerned about where their food comes from. Fortunately, farmers' markets are a great opportunity to buy directly from local growers during the winter months. The markets provide the critical connection between consumers and the farmers who grow and raise their food, something you can't find in a grocery store.

Although much of the fare sold at winter markets consists of seasonal vegetables such as potatoes, turnips and squash, farmers still offer eggs, fresh meat and poultry. As you shop, here are some suggestions to help you make humane choices:

1. When shopping for poultry (chicken or turkey), ask the farmer how the animals are raised. Do they roam on pasture or are they inside a barn most, or all, of the time? What do the hens eat? Are they ever given antibiotics, and if so, under what conditions? Antibiotic use is only acceptable when used to treat acute illness. Although most pastured poultry are fed grain, they should be raised on grass, free to peck and walk around. Hormones are not permitted in poultry production by law. Therefore, a "no added hormones" claim on chicken and turkey is unnecessary and misleading.

2. Are you looking for beef? Cattle should be raised without growth-promoting antibiotics or hormones. Although most cattle are raised on pasture, factory-farmed beef is "finished" for the last few months on a feedlot diet of corn. FACT does not consider this to be humane. Cattle should be raised and finished on pasture because grass is a more natural diet for cattle and will not upset their rumens (stomachs).

3. Pigs should be pasture-raised or raised in hoop houses with deep bedding. Sows should be free to nest and move about freely. Ask specifically if the farmer uses gestation or farrowing crates. If they do, then move on. Hormones are not permitted in pork production by law. A "no added hormones" claim on pork is also unnecessary and misleading.

4. Is the farmer selling eggs? Ask how the hens are raised. Are they in a cage free environment? Do they have access to the outside and what kind of access is provided? Remember that the color of the eggs depends on the hen, so expect to see eggs in all shades of white and brown. Occasionally, you will see green or blue eggs. These come from Araucana or Americana chickens, breeds well suited to life outdoors.

5. Cheese is becoming more popular at farmers' markets. Some farmers raise the cows that provide the milk for their cheese, others do not. Make sure the cows are free to roam on pasture and do not live in a confinement facility. Some farmers make their cheese entirely from grass fed milk. The cows that produce this milk graze on pasture and are not fed any grain. Like grass fed beef, grass fed cheese is higher in conjugated linoleic acid and lower in saturated fat.

To find a farmers' market near you visit Local Harvest or the USDA Farmers' Market Program. Call, write or visit FACT's website for more information on how to make humane choices.

A pilot study published last week by researchers at the University of Iowa found high prevalence of Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in swine (49%) and swine workers (45%) on a commercial confinement operation with farms scattered in Iowa and Illinois. The strain of MRSA found in Iowa has also been found on farms in Canada and the Netherlands. It has been linked to serious human infections, including skin, wound, breast, and heart infections, as well as pneumonia. This was the first published study to test and find MRSA on U.S. farms

FACT is very concerned by these results. Almost half the pigs and farmer workers sampled were found to carry these dangerous bacteria. MRSA from pigs can infect people through consumption of contaminated food, pollution of water used for irrigation, and exposure to infected farm workers. To better understand the threat posed by on-farm MRSA, we here at FACT are preparing to undertake research of our own. We will compare the levels of MRSA found on dairy farms that use antibiotics with those that don't. For more information, check out MRSA and Animal Agriculture and the recent news release about this groundbreaking study.