FACT and the Keep Antibiotics Working (KAW) coalition applaud Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) for reintroducing the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA).

The legislation, HR 965, requires that antibiotics given in feed or water to farm animals meet current U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety standards related to the spread of dangerous resistant pathogens through food. It is needed because these drugs, which are often fed to healthy animals to speed growth, were approved before the problem of antibiotic resistance was understood and before the Agency created new safety standards in 2003 for drugs given to animals. The FDA has long held concerns about the use of antibiotics in livestock, but has found its own procedures too onerous for timely action. The current legislation is designed to make it easier for the FDA to withdraw from the market drugs they find to be creating a public health problem.

While the legislation has been before previous sessions of Congress, FACT and KAW continue to work for its passage and in doing so have achieved significant victories along the way. For example, a push for PAMTA led to passage of antibiotic sale reporting requirements which has provided helpful data on how antibiotics are used. The FDA published its first report on the data in December and found that 80 percent of all antibiotics are used in raising farm animals! A majority of these antibiotics are used in lieu of healthy and humane living conditions or to cause the animals to grow to market weight a bit faster. FACT wants to take this factory farm crutch away so that animals will have to be raised more humanely.

Please ask your U.S. Representative to become a sponsor of HR 965, preserving antibiotics for when they are needed to treat sick people and sick farm animals!

Since kicking off our humane education project in October 2009, FACT staff members have presented our innovative workshops to hundreds of young people. The interactive workshops raise awareness about the struggles faced by farm animals and cultivate positive character traits in children through animal stories, puppetry, and movement. We currently offer three workshops free of charge to students across the Chicago metro area.

Most recently FACT's staff members Lisa Isenhart and Larissa Mckenna presented at the Association of Professional Humane Educator's Annual Conference in Ft. Meyers, Florida. Both Lisa and Larissa are Certified Humane Education Specialists through the Humane Society University. At the conference they shared information about FACT's humane education project in their presentation titled, "Adventures in Humane Education: Cultivating kindness for farm animals through storytelling, puppetry and yoga"

For more information, please visit our Humane Education page.

FACT is making it easier for restaurant goers to find humane choices when eating out. Look for "The Humane Choice" at Yelp. For each restaurant we review, we research the ingredients used -where they come from, how the farms treat their animals - and rate the restaurants on a scale of one to five, based on their humane purchasing practices. Right now our reviews are limited to Chicago but we hope to branch out to restaurants in other areas in the future. We will continue to add restaurant reviews and update past reviews throughout the year so please be sure to check back often!

Purchase healthy and organic products while helping to support FACT! On Wednesday, April 6th, FACT will partner with Whole Foods Market, Sauganash for a community giving day. FACT will receive five percent of the store's net sales from that day. This is a wonderful opportunity for us, to be active in the local community near our office while promoting humane food choices. If you live in the Chicago area, come stock up and help support FACT! Whole Foods Market, Sauganash is located at 6020 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL 60646.