The appointment of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as the new Commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a hopeful sign for FACT's agenda. Three critical issues affecting both animal and human health have been languishing at the FDA, waiting for the necessary leadership. Under previous leadership, the FDA has: 1) refused to end the unnecessary routine use of medically important antibiotics in food animals; 2) allowed cattle to be fed poultry manure and litter; and, 3) delayed for years a rule that would require all egg farms to control for Salmonella Enteritidis, a foodborne pathogen causing thousands of human illnesses each year. The FDA has authority over each of these issues.

Dr. Hamburg was confirmed by the Senate last month. FACT is now poised to provide her the opportunity to act. For example, this week Rich Wood, FACT's Executive Director, led a meeting with Commissioner Hamburg that involved members from both the Keep Antibiotics Coalition and Pew Environment Group. They urged her to end routine antibiotic use in food animals. At the meeting, FACT's Public Health Director, Steve Roach, made it clear to the Commissioner that the growing food safety and public health crisis of antibiotic resistance requires immediate action.

Hopeful signs come from her past. In 2003, Dr. Hamburg co-authored a National Academies of Science report that found "the world is facing an imminent crisis in the control of infectious diseases as the result of a gradual but steady increase in...resistance..." The report recommended immediate action including a "ban on the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion in animals if those drugs were also used in human medicine..." When before Congress last week, Commissioner Hamburg spoke to this need for action. This week she is also holding a meeting to improve the transparency in FDA decision- making, a move which FACT supports.

Summertime for many Americans is a time to cook on the backyard barbeque with family and friends. For those who eat meat, remember that the food choices you make in the grocery store can have a significant impact on the welfare of farm animals across the country. Your purchases let retailers and producers know that consumers are interested in humanely- raised food products. Here are some tips to help you make more humane food choices this summer and throughout the year:

Beef

On factory farms, beef cattle are routinely raised with hormones and antibiotics to speed growth and accelerate weight gain during finishing on the feedlot (when animals are readied for market). Dairy cattle are often treated with hormones to increase milk output and then dosed with antibiotics to treat the increased incidence of mastitis (udder infections) that occurs. When antibiotic treatments fail, these dairy cattle end up at the slaughterhouse for use in hamburger and processed meats.

Products with labels that read "raised without hormones and antibiotics" are better choices, although humane treatment is not guaranteed. We recommend you purchase beef that is labeled grass fed, pasture-raised or grass-finished as this implies that the animals were on pasture for their entire lives. Although most beef cattle are raised on pasture, typical factory-farmed beef is finished for the last few months on a feedlot diet of corn. Cattle should be raised and finished on pasture. Some farmers will supplement with grain, but the less grain, the better, as grass is a more natural diet for cattle and will not upset their rumen (stomach).

Poultry

Look for free-range poultry. These birds are allowed some access to the outdoors, although the amount and type of access can vary greatly. Ideally, try to purchase birds that were raised on pasture, as exercise and fresh air provide many health benefits to the birds in terms of reduced lameness and respiratory infections. Although most pastured poultry are fed grain, they should be raised on grass, and free to peck and walk around. FACT suggests visiting your local farmers' market and buying directly from the farmer.

Since the average life of a broiler (or chicken raised for meat) is fairly short, they are not beak-trimmed. Furthermore, birds raised for meat are never caged as cages can cause severe bruising. If poultry meat is labeled as cage-free, you can be sure it is simply a marketing gimmick to mislead the consumer. Note that hormones are not permitted in poultry production by law. Therefore, a "no added hormones" claim on chicken and turkey is misleading.

Pork

Most pigs are raised in small pens on slatted metal or concrete floors. Breeding sows are raised in gestation crates. These crates are actually small, individual stalls on slatted floors which severely restrict freedom of movement, including turning sideways or lying down comfortably. FACT considers these conditions very inhumane because there is inadequate opportunity for exercise; conditions are unsanitary, with pigs often caked in their own feces; and the air is heavily fouled with the fumes from manure pits which lie beneath the slatted floors.

Look for pork that is labeled as free range, pasture- raised or "raised in deep-bedded housing." These systems allow for freedom of movement and the expression of natural behaviors, which is especially important in reducing overall stress. Humanely produced pork is often also labeled as "raised without hormones and antibiotics."

Your food choices can make a difference. For a list of farmers and other humane choices in your area, please contact FACT. You can also visit Eat Well Guide to search for local options. FACT is committed to making farms healthy and humane places for animals to live - and we hope you will join us today!

FACT received such a positive response to the holiday card contest last year, we have decided to reach out to our supporters again. FACT would be honored to display artwork on our holiday card that demonstrates our shared commitment to making farms humane and healthy places for animals. Please read below for more information. We look forward to receiving your entry!

Guidelines

1. Entries must be received by September 28, 2009, but can be submitted at any time up to that date. The winner will be announced by October 5, 2009 and will be recognized on the back of FACT's holiday card, as well as on our website.
2. The contest is open to FACT donors and family members of all ages and talents. Name, address, and telephone number must be submitted with the entry.
3. All valid entries must be original work. Acceptable media are paint, pencil, markers, ink, crayon or photography. All entries must contain name, address and telephone number. We are looking for a winter and/or non-religious holiday theme. The design should feature cows, chickens and pigs, or a combination of all three.
4. The card will be printed in black, white and one other color. While it not necessary that the original artwork be black and white, please consider this constraint in your design.
5. Entries must be done on paper that will allow for duplication and should be no larger than 8 1/2" x 11." Entries should not be framed, matted, laminated or folded. You can mail the hard copy or email the electronic version. Please send electronic entries in jpeg or PDF format. All grayscale and color images should be provided at a minimum resolution of 300dpi.
6. Submissions become property of FACT. Through submission of artwork, contestants grant non-exclusive reproduction and publication rights to the works submitted.
7. Mail entries to: Jacki Rossi, Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), P.O. Box 14599, Chicago, IL 60614

On June 13th and 14th, FACT connected with the local Chicago community by staffing a booth at the popular Andersonville Midsommarfest. Staff members had a wonderful time educating 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 on the many issues we address. Congratulations to our raffle winner Kelly Luchtman who the $40 Chipolte gift card. By the end of the weekend, FACT met with hundreds of people and raised awareness about the struggles faced by farm animals.