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. These 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. They also give consumers a chance to ask farmers how they grow their produce and raise their animals. FACT would like to offer some suggestions to help you make the most humane and sustainable choices when shopping at your farmers' markets. Visit Local Harvest to find farmers' markets and family farms in your area.

• Not all farmers markets allow poultry or other meats to be sold. However, if yours does, chances are the market will require that the meat or poultry be frozen to comply with food safety or public health ordinances. In general, freezing is done immediately after butchering and will not compromise the quality of the meat.
• 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.
• Are you looking for beef? Cattle should be raised without growth-promoting antibiotics or hormones. Although most cattle are raised on pasture, typical 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). Beef labeled as grass-fed should come from cows that do not eat any grain, but consume only pasture grasses and forages. Grass-fed beef is higher in conjugated linoleic acid (a good fatty acid), and lower in saturated fat, calories and cholesterol.
• 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 s/he says yes, then move on. Hormones are not permitted in pork production by law. Therefore, a "no added hormones" claim on pork is again unnecessary and misleading.
• Is the farmer selling eggs? Ask the farmer 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.
• 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 dairy 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.

Resistance to antibiotics is a growing public health crisis, afflicting hospital patients and seemingly healthy individuals alike. Doctors caution that these vital drugs should only be used when absolutely necessary, because resistance emerges when bacteria are constantly exposed to antibiotics. Yet roughly 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are added to the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick. This reckless practice encourages the development of antibiotic-resistant diseases, such as food poisoning and post-operative blood infections, that affect people.

Please write to your members of Congress today and tell them to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act. Help end the dangerous overuse of important human antibiotics in the feed and water of animals that are not sick.

On April 24, FACT hosted an informal gathering of supporters and friends at Mad River Bar & Grille in Chicago. Guests enjoyed complimentary food and bid on exciting silent auction items such as a private yoga session, gift certificates to various Chicago businesses including the Chicago Diner and Goran Coban Salon, and a weekend getaway at Walnut Grove Farm in Knoxville, IL. In the end, FACT raised over $600! Thank you to all who made this event a success!

Later that week, FACT connected with the local Chicago community at Loyola University's North Lake Shore Earth Day. Staff members had an opportunity to educate consumers on how we can all help make farms humane and healthy places to raise food animals. FACT staff passed out information on local humane food choices as well as the many issues we address. One lucky resident won a $25 gift certificate to Chipotle, a restaurant chain that makes an effort to source humanely-raised ingredients. Look for us next at the Andersonville Midsommarfest on June 13 & 14!