Brenda Coe, Ph.D., has dedicated her life to studying animal behavior and implementing best practices on behalf of cows, chickens, pigs, goats and lambs around the United States and, lately, around the world.
For more than 30 years, she’s been a professor and researcher in Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. That’s how she began working alongside our founder — right at the beginning of Adele Douglass Jolley’s quest to improve the lives of food animals in the global supply chain.
“I love the farmers that I work with,” she said. “I love talking to people who are really proud and excited to show you what their facilities are like and what they’re doing.”
The decades of experience allow her to comfortably claim the title “Senior Auditor.”
“I’ve been doing it for the longest. And I’m senior to all the other auditors,” she said with a laugh.
As a member of our Scientific Committee, she helps Certified Humane® apply the latest research and best practices to its Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards
“Certified Humane® is a way for the public to see that farmers care,” Brenda said. “It’s a good way to identify farmers who are doing a good job.”
That’s what she loves best: seeing how the farmers and ranchers pour into the animals they care for.
“I love coming to see the improvements they’ve made and just hear their stories: the problems they had and how they fixed them,” Brenda said. “I love the people aspect of what I do just as much as I enjoy being around all the different animals.”
Cows, chickens and… red deer?
Brenda began her career studying cows, and lately she visits a lot of poultry farms on behalf of Certified Humane®.
However, Brenda is one of the few auditors with the scientific background, training and auditing experience in all the species that the Certified Humane® program covers.
Recently, she added another animal to her list of studied species: red deer.
Brenda traveled to New Zealand to study and develop Humane Farm Animal Standards specifically for red deer. There, the red deer have only recently been domesticated. She learned a lot as she toured different red deer facilities.
“It’s very much like elk production here,” Brenda said, explaining that she knows some folks who raise elk near her home in Pennsylvania.
A key tenant of Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards is that they are tailored to each species. That requires scientific study and understanding the animals.
“We couldn’t just plunk red deer into our beef or dairy or sheep or goat standards,” Brenda explained. “This is a different creature.”
Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards are designed to create a universal threshold of care while taking into account the unique natural behaviors and instincts of each species.
For example, all Certified Humane® farm animals must have access to nourishing food and fresh water as well as regular care from trained handlers. Usually, that translates into handlers interacting with the animals on a daily basis.
“However, when red deer are calving, you don’t go near them. You just use your binoculars because if you freak the mom out, then she might abandon her baby,” Brenda said. “So yes, you need to check them every day, but you don’t necessarily need to be as hands-on because that would be detrimental to their welfare.”
After learning the intricacies of red deer, Brenda and her colleagues on the Scientific Committee published Humane Farm Animal Standards for the species in April 2020.
Certified Humane® red deer venison is now available to shoppers through First Light Farms’ online General Store and from Open Farm’s online shop for pet food.
A unique educational path
Brenda grew up in California and always had a love for animals. She was the kid who brought home stray pets or baby birds that fell out of their nests.
“Everybody thought that I was going to be a veterinarian,” she said. “I wanted to grow up on a farm.”
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis, she decided to major in animal science, which gave her a lot of options. She didn’t want to be a veterinarian. At the time, most women were small animal vets, and she wanted to do something more than fix animals when they got sick or broke a limb.
Brenda wanted to learn how to keep the animals healthy.
During her sophomore year at UC Davis, she decided to find out if she even liked living on a farm. She took a planned educational leave for a quarter and worked at a beef cattle ranch associated with the university.
On the ranch, Brenda had her first experience with animal behavior research. She got hooked, particularly on studying cows.
She attended Purdue University in Indiana next, earning a master’s degree in reproductive physiology and behavior in dairy cows in 1985.
Before day 1
In 1994, she moved to Pennsylvania for a job at Penn State leading an agriculture educational program for elementary and high school students.
Her next project was with Stanley Curtis, Ph.D, a faculty member at Penn State at the time who brought her on staff to create and implement a livestock training program for the state of Pennsylvania.
The goal was to teach Humane Society Police Officers the basics of animal husbandry so they could properly investigate accusations of animal abuse. That project evolved into Brenda’s dissertation for a Ph.D. in agricultural education and instructional design.
One day — Brenda doesn’t remember exactly when — Adele Douglass Jolley visited Penn State’s college of agriculture, on her quest for scientific perspectives on the welfare of animals. Adele was working for the American Humane Association as the director of its Washington D.C. office.
Dr. Curtis introduced Brenda to Adele. The two women got talking and kept in touch. Adele would sometimes call Brenda for her scientific insight.
When Adele organized an animal welfare certification program called Free Farms at American Humane Association, she asked Brenda to join as its director of animal science programs.
Brenda agreed. For three years, she developed training programs for auditors, traveling around the country to promote the new program and recruit the auditors.
When Adele left the American Humane Association to launch an independent nonprofit solely focused on farm animal care standards, Brenda was there to lend her help as an inspector and her insight as a member of the Scientific Committee.
“I’ve been with Certified Humane® since day 1,” she said.
Science and the farms
It took time for the Certified Humane® program to gain the reputation it enjoys today as a global leader in animal welfare auditing services with a food labeling program. Now, more shoppers know how to identify products developed to Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards by locating the Certified Humane® logo on packages.
In the early years, ranchers and farmers applying for the certification weren’t always sure what to expect when Brenda and her fellow auditors arrived for the first inspection.
“They thought we were an animal rights organization that was coming out to tell them how to do farming,” Brenda said.
It’s different now that the program is more visible. The Certified Humane® logo is more prolific in stores. Farmers, ranchers, and processors understand that the program is a way for them to showcase the animal welfare practices that went into their products.
They understand that the Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standard are rooted in animal science. They know that auditors are scientists or veterinarians with deep knowledge about what they’re advising.
“People now are a lot more welcoming,” Brenda said. “And once they’ve been through an inspection once, they realize the standards are pretty common sense and not unrealistic.”
Brenda travels frequently across the country to do inspections. As Certified Humane® expanded internationally, she began to travel to Canada and then as far as Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s growing exponentially at this point, which is very exciting,” she said.
Though she doesn’t enjoy the travel itself anymore, Brenda still loves the work she does. In between her trips, Brenda lives near the Penn State campus, teaches college courses on the weekends and cares for her horses.
She’s still looking for a farm to claim as her own. And she still believes strongly in the mission of Certified Humane®.
“It’s a way for the consumer to support improved animal welfare by choosing products with the Certified Humane® logo,” she said. “It’s a way to improve animals’ lives.”
While our focus remains on the welfare of farm animals, Certified Humane® certification is complementary to regenerative systems, including Regenerative Organic Certified, ‘Certified Regenerative’ Beef by Greenham, and other individual programs.
Regenerative agricultural practices actively improve the environment and soil carbon sequestration and are a key tool for the future of agriculture in combatting climate change. Intentionally incorporating animals into a pasture system can enrich the soils, promote plant growth, and increase carbon sequestration bringing damaged pasture back to life. Responsible grazing management, part of the Certified Humane® program requirements, will not damage or deplete natural resources and the environment.
The Certified Humane® program verifies farm animal welfare practices that are a critical piece of a complete regenerative agriculture system. Certified Humane® standards ensure these animals are not overcrowded and they are offered the right grasses for their species and the region. Grazing habits are managed by rotating animals around a pasture to verdant areas with plant life at the right stage of their growth cycle for grazing and maximum nutrient benefit. This is known as Rotational Grazing and done correctly, it will nourish the animals and stimulate long term pasture growth, naturally holding carbon in the soil.
What some Certified Humane® producers are saying about their Regenerative Agricultural and Sustainable practices worldwide:
With more than 160 years in the Australian red meat industry, Greenham is a leader in producing premium-quality beef that is good for our consumers, animals, and the planet.
The Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard provides a practical set of indicators and measures for producers to follow. Consistent with globally recognised definitions of regenerative farming, the standard takes a holistic approach to regenerative beef production, which incorporates four key themes.
CLICK HERE to view the Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard CLICK HERE to read more about ‘Certified Regenerative’ Beef by Greenham
Comments and resources for further study from the Certified Humane® Scientific Committee
Brenda Coe, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, USA
“Livestock production can, and should, be an important part of a sustainable food system. Cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and poultry can be raised on pastures that would otherwise be unsuitable for growing crops, can eat crop residues and other by-products that are often wasted, and produce manure that can be used as fertilizer. Continued efforts to prevent soil and pasture degradation by integrating intensive livestock farming with agricultural crops, controlling animal stocking rates and doing rotational grazing, conducting soil testing and properly fertilizing soil along with pest and weed control will improve soil health, allowing improved pasture recovery and resilience. Advances in animal genetics, veterinary care, feed quality, and grazing systems (rotational and adaptive multi-paddock grazing) are improving soil and pasture quality and also helping shrink the climate footprint of livestock operations. Regenerative livestock production also helps develop more resiliency in the land to climate challenges like droughts, fires, or flooding, benefiting farmers and communities as well as the entire food system.”
Anne Fanatico, PhD Appalachian State University, USA
“Animals are a key part of regenerative agriculture. Grazing animals and livestock help manage the extensive grasslands and rangelands in the Midwest and western states. Forage plants sequester carbon from the atmosphere in living plants and underground in the form of roots and organic matter. In the East, where there is sufficient precipitation for tree cover, agroforestry systems are appropriate for grazing livestock. Trees in particular sequester carbon. Farm animals, such as swine and poultry, are particularly important for nutrient cycling. Animals can eat things that humans do not such as crop residue and by-products. Animals contribute to biodiversity, which is key in resilience. They release the energy and nutrients stored in plants, so it can flow or cycle throughout the farm ecosystem (Gliessman, 2015. Agroecology: The Ecology of Food Systems). Access to the outdoors, pasture, and range is important animal welfare. Perennial pasture and grasslands are ways to grow food without tillage and keeping the carbon in the soil where it belongs.”
Brittany J. Howell, Ph.D., PAS, Fort Hays State University, USA
“Proper grazing and pasture management can reduce unwanted invasive plant species that can greatly impact the water availability in pastures. Invasive trees like red cedars can use up to 42 gallons of water per day depending on tree stem diameter and other factors. Also, grazing animals are part of a natural ecosystem, recycling carbon, adding nutrients to the soil through urine and feces, and removing older plant material which stimulates growth of new material (like nature’s lawnmower). And when it comes to the end of the animal’s life, the animal can be composted to enrich the soil and provide the most environmentally friendly way to utilize those nutrients to regrow plants.”
Photo credits: Example of an untended pasture, not contributing to environmental improvement; courtesy of NCAT (ATTRA.NCAT.org) Example of what a pasture can become, WITH the inclusion of grazing animals and proper management; courtesy of NCAT (ATTRA.NCAT.org)
As we rapidly re-think our shopping habits these days, Humane Farm Animal Care has some good news to facilitate these changes: many Certified Humane® producers have made their products accessible through online shopping portals.
Additionally, there are farms whose family run farm shops remain open and ready to serve their local communities. Buying from these producers is an increasingly appealing option for many and it contributes to longer term sustainability for the farmer and, as always, for the animals.
This Certified Humane farm offers heritage Randall beef and veal; Mulefoot pork; several breeds of chicken, including heritage breeds and turkeys. They ship their meat directly to customers. https://firefly.farm/
The following is a conversation between Adele Douglass, Founder and CEO of Humane Farm Animal Care, and Denver Frederick, Host of The Business of Giving on AM 970 The Answer WNYM in New York City.
Denver: When in the meat or dairy aisle at the grocery store, have you ever seen the label that reads “Certified Humane Raised and Handled®”? Have you wondered when and how the certification process got started? Well, tonight, we’ll find out directly from the person who started it. She is Adele Douglass, the Founder and CEO of Humane Farm Animal Care.
Good evening, Adele, and welcome to The Business of Giving!
Adele: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Denver: Share with us the mission and goals of Humane Farm Animal Care.
Adele: Well, the mission is: we’re a non-profit certification organization, dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals in food production, from birth through slaughter. The goal of the program is to improve the lives of farm animals by driving consumer demand for kinder and more responsible farm animal practices. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label on a product, you can be assured that the food products have come from facilities that meet precise objective standards for farm animal treatment.
Denver: Now, you were raised in New York City, Adele, and not on the farm. So, what got you interested in this subject? Was there a moment when you decided that something had to be done?
Adele: Yes, yes and yes. I worked for a member of Congress, and then I lobbied Congress on behalf of children and animals. I was asked in the late ‘90s to be part of various animal welfare committees, and they figured, “Well, she doesn’t know anything about farm animals, so we can do whatever we want.” Well, it didn’t work out that way. Because I was – when I went and saw how chickens were… how hens were…. in cages and they couldn’t move, they couldn’t stand up, they couldn’t sit down at the same time – I was appalled. I thought, “If consumers knew this, they wouldn’t buy this food.”
So, I asked friends who were scientists to show me the opposite, to show me different ways animals are raised, and that was very inspirational. And I thought, “Well, I’ve got to do something to help farm animals. This helps farmers, and it helps consumers; so therefore, who would object to this?” I needed money to start it, so I cashed in my 401k so I had money, and then I got some funding from HSUS, from ASPCA, and that was for four or five years. We’ve been on our own ever since.
PETA has launched another attack campaign against Humane Farm Animal Care’s Certified Humane® program. We wish they would stop picking on farmers who are trying to do the right thing for farm animals, but we know this is part of their fundraising efforts every year.
In September 2017, PETA went to a farm in Pennsylvania that offered public tours and took selective videos of this farm. Per our records, this farm had an unannounced inspection one month prior, in August 2017. The inspection was conducted by one of our third-party farm animal welfare experts: veterinarians and scientists with expertise in their species of farm animals. According to the inspection report, the farm met all the requirements of the Certified Humane® program.
This farm sells their eggs to Nellie’s Free-Range Eggs, the first egg producer to become Certified Humane®, so their commitment to animal welfare is long-established.
The comments made by PETA-supporting veterinarians, Dr. Holly Cheever, Dr. Lester Castro Freedlander and Dr. Greg Burkett, were based on watching the video, which can be misleading, and not from actual engagement with the hens on the farm.
Here are PETA’s claims and our replies…
The space in the barn of 1.2 sq. f/bird is not adequate space for the birds to perform natural behavior. — Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM
Reply: The Humane Farm Animal Care Scientific Committee comprised of 40 international animal scientists and veterinarians who wrote our standards, concluded that 1.2 sq. ft. of space per bird in a cage-free barn of this type is the minimum space needed for the hens to exhibit natural behaviors. In addition, the outdoor space for free-range laying hens is 2 sq. ft/bird. This farm meets both those standards.
The exits for the birds are closed at night and not opened until 1:00 p.m. and closed throughout the winter. – PETA Video
Reply: HFAC Standards require: “Outdoor access, must be provided for a minimum of 6 hours per day during the daytime, except during inclement weather or for veterinary or emergency reasons.” On this farm, the doors are open to the birds between 1:30 p.m. and nightfall, which meets our requirements. The birds don’t go outside if it is below 54 degrees Fahrenheit, above 94 degrees Fahrenheit, or if it is raining or muddy. The birds must be kept indoors at night to prevent predators from attacking them. Farms often keep hens inside during cold or bad weather.
The hatches to the outside are too small for the birds to have free access to the outdoor. – Dr. Holly Cheever, DVM
Reply: There are very specific requirements for the hatches in our Standards. “Hens must have sufficient exit areas appropriately distributed around the buildings i.e., at least one exit every 50 feet along one side of the house to ensure that all hens have ready-access to the outdoor areas. Each exit must allow the passage of more than one hen at a time. Exits must be at least 18” high and 21” wide.” This farm meets these standards.
…the birds’ sensitive beaks are cut off to prevent the densely-packed chickens from attacking and killing each other. Despite the mutilation, many hens were observed to have missing feathers…” — Dr. Gregg Burkett
Reply: According to our Standards, birds are allowed to be beak-trimmed; there is no “cutting off” beaks. The beak trimming must be done before 10 days of age and in a very specific way to meet our Standards. Our Scientific Committee concluded that if the procedure is done under 10 days of age, there is no lasting effect to the birds and assures the birds will not peck each other to death. The reason we allow beak trimming is that, no matter how much space hens have, they WILL feather peck each other. Studies show birds that are not beak-trimmed have a high mortality rate. Our inspector verified the farm not only followed our Standards but has more than the required number of perches for the birds, which helps minimize pecking behaviors.
The air quality in the barns was also less than 10 ppm of ammonia, which is a major indicator of the farmer’s care since this means their litter, which the birds use for dustbathing is more than adequate and well-managed.
“The children of the farmer touched and carried the hens with bare hands. Does this put the family or hens at risk of contracting or spreading diseases, including avian influenza? – PETA asks the three veterinarians:
“Contracting a disease is initially solely dependent on whether or not a flock has the disease. They cannot spread what they don’t have. Handling healthy bird poses very little risk of disease transmission. Currently, there are no strains of avian influenza in the US.” – Dr. Gregg Burkett
According to our inspection reports, this farm meets all HFAC’s Standards, and then some. If this farm had things to hide, they would not allow public tours on their property.
Our program does not care whether people are vegans, vegetarians or meat eaters. That decision is up to you. Our nonprofit’s mission is to ensure farm animals raised for food are raised in ways that ensure their needs are being met. These needs are not based on our perception of their needs, but their actual needs as determined by our Scientific Committee. It’s unfortunate that PETA is attempting to ruin the reputation of an honorable farmer and egg company whose intentions towards their hens are the most humane.
Every day, people stop and stare at egg displays at the supermarket. They open and close the egg cartons, look at pictures on the carton of hens dancing in the sunshine, and mull over words, like “natural” or “organic,” in an effort to determine if the eggs they are holding were laid by happy hens.
For people who care how hens are raised, the quickest and easiest solution to this egg dilemma is to look for egg cartons with the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label. The Certified Humane® label assures consumers that farmers are adhering to a precise set of Animal Care Standards. These standards are written and continually updated by world-renowned veterinarians and animal welfare scientists. And, in the interest of full transparency, our Standards are displayed on our website for everyone see.
In addition to lighting, air, and food requirements, these standards also require cage-free living, enrichments for the hens, like perches and proper space where they can do what hens do, like flapping their wings or dustbathing their feathers.
The Certified Humane® label also guarantees that third-party inspectors – veterinarians and animal welfare scientists with master’s degrees or Ph.D.’s in their field of farm animal care – routinely inspect farms to ensure these standards are always being met and followed.
Simply put, the Certified Humane® label lets consumers know that Humane Farm Animal Care is on the job setting the standards and verifying the well-being of the laying hens in the program.
This knowledge will make you a rock star on the egg aisle. As you hone in on the Certified Humane® label and grab your eggs and go, people will see your certainty about your purchase and will stop to look at what eggs you just bought.
If you feel compelled to educate others about the Certified Humane® label, we want you to be super savvy about the egg industry’s marketing lingo. After all, your friends may try to convince you their “natural” eggs belong to hens that are humanely-raised too. (They are not).
So, here’s a primer on the terms most commonly seen on egg cartons and what those terms mean (or don’t mean) for the hens on the farm.
ORGANIC
The “Organic” label, regulated by the USDA, addresses environmental issues, and not the well-being of laying hens. The USDA defines “Organic” as a labeling term “that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.”
While a USDA blog refers to organic eggs as coming from hens who have “liberal access to the outdoors,” it does not provide any specific requirements of the space and leaves it up the farmer and certifying agent to decide upon.
NON-GMO
Non-GMO means a hen is fed a diet that is free from genetically-modified organisms. That is good, but that’s all it means when alone on an egg carton. “Non-GMO” doesn’t outline any humane standards of care for laying hens.
VEGETARIAN-FED
Some people think the words “Vegetarian-Fed” means hens are vegetarians. They are not. On pasture, hens eat worms, grubs, and bugs. But vegetarian-fed does mean your hens aren’t being fed animal by-products, like ground chicken. This is a good thing, which is covered in our Animal Care Standards too. But again, these words alone do not offer any humane standards of care for laying hens.
CAGE-FREE
This label is regulated by the USDA, and means, “Hens can move freely within the building/hen house and have unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle.” Under this term, however, the USDA offers no space requirements for the laying hens. The Certified Humane® program requires “1.5 square feet per hen, litter for dust bathing, perches for the birds, and ammonia levels at a maximum of 10ppm, which means the scent is imperceptible,” just to cite a few of our humane standards for hens living cage-free in barns.
FREE-RANGE
The “Free-Range” label is regulated by the USDA and acknowledges “continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle, which may or may not be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material.” It sounds great, but like the word “Organic,” Free-Range doesn’t stipulate what outdoor access really means, or how much space is required for the hens, which means anyone can put “Free-Range” on their label, even if the hens are outside for five minutes. Certified Humane® defines Free-Range as having at least 6 hours of outdoor access and a minimum of two square feet of outdoor space per bird.
PASTURE-RAISED
The term “Pasture-Raised” is not regulated by the USDA and is a marketing term used solely to confuse consumers. Wow, right? This marketing term dupes many consumers into believing that hens are on pasture-all day. Because it’s not a regulated term, anyone can slap “pasture-raised” across their egg carton. Certified Humane® does have a definition for “Pasture-Raised, which requires 6-hours of outdoor space and 2-square-feet per bird. Currently, eight farms are Certified Humane® “Pasture-Raised.”
NATURAL
Under the USDA, “Meat, poultry, and egg products labeled as “natural” must be minimally-processed and contain no artificial ingredients.” In other words, the “natural” label is about how the food is processed and does not include any definitions for how the hens are care for on the farm.
NO ADDED HORMONES
It might surprise you to learn that Federal regulations have banned the use of growth in hormones in poultry since the 1950s.
So, labels that say, “no antibiotics” or “no hormones” on egg cartons are just trying to make you think that other farmers may be using them. It’s a sneaky term that again has nothing to do with the humane treatment of laying hens.
HUMANE
The word “Humane” is not regulated by the USDA, which is why Humane Farm Animal Care launched in 2003 and gathered the world’s top veterinarians and animal welfare scientists to write humane standards of care for farm animals. Just like any other animal, cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys and other farm animals deserve to have their emotional, mental and physical needs met. We believe they should be raised and housed in a way that allows them to express natural behaviors throughout their lives. Backed by science and confirmed by inspectors, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label is the label egg shoppers should look for it they want to buy their eggs from farmers interested in meeting a higher standard of welfare for their hens. We hope shopping on the egg aisle just got easier for you. Check out our Where to Buy page or download our Certified Humane® app to find stores near you with Certified Humane® eggs.
When you purchase food with the Certified Humane® label, you’re supporting farmers who support the humane treatment of farm animals by following our precise Standards of Animal Care. When you purchase food with the Certified Humane® label, you’re supporting farmers who support the humane treatment of farm animals by following our precise Standards of Animal Care.
Take turkeys, for example.
Under our Standards of Animal Care, farmers must provide turkeys with a nutritious diet without antibiotics and fresh drinking water at all times.
They must provide turkeys with appropriate shelter, with shade and protection from inclement weather and predators.
In barns or on pasture, turkeys must have perches so they can roost and engage in natural behaviors.
Caretakers must be able to demonstrate competence in handling animals in a positive and compassionate manner.
And, they also must give turkeys a minimum of eight hours of light and eight hours of darkness each day to maintain the bird’s natural life cycles.
These standards and more are compliant with standards verified annually by independent, specially trained, auditors with expertise in their fields.
To find stores that sell Certified Humane® turkeys and other products, visit our “Where to Buy” page or download our free Certified Humane® App.
And, if you can’t find a Certified Humane® turkey or other food items at your local grocery store, please visit our Take Action page to see how you can encourage grocery stores to carry these products. When consumers demand it, grocery stores will carry it, and it will make a world of difference for farm animals.
It’s tiresome, but every few months we have to write about DXE, an animal liberation organization who is against farming and doesn’t believe farm animals should be raised for any reason, like food or clothing (wool). That’s because every few months, they produce a fundraising video of them breaking into a farm in the middle of the night using dishonest editing to falsify their story.
They don’t attack factory farms. They attack farmers who are working to give farm animals more natural lives. And, they attack us, a nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of farm animals.
Of course, if a farm is questioned in any way, we reassure consumers by conducting unannounced inspections to make sure the farm is in compliance with our Animal Care Standards. You can scroll to the end of this blog to read the surprise inspection of the farm in question. This inspection is in addition to the inspection each farm receives annually.
DXE has produced videos where they claimed they were on a Certified Humane® farm when, in fact, they were not, which is also disingenuous.
Here’s what we know about DXE and their videos.
DXE uses the same “break-in” clips from video to video. They try to make the footage appear as if it’s all from one farm when in fact the video shows different farms and different birds. For example, the bird in the most recent video starts out as a white bird who grows up to be red chicken. You don’t have to be much of an expert on chickens to see these deceptive tactics.
Their videos show a lack of understanding for basic animal husbandry. Each video shows poop on the floor of a barn as if chickens live in constant filth. Anyone who has ever worked at an animal shelter knows if you were to break into a shelter in the middle of the might there would be poop on the floor of the dog kennels and in the puppy cages. Puppies even get poop on their paws and fur because there is no staff around in the middle of the night to clean it up before they step in it. The same holds true for chickens in barns, so pointing to poop during a night raid only proves one thing: chickens poop at night.
They don’t understand basic farm animal behavior. In the most recent video, they rescue a chicken being picked on by other chickens. This is not the result of poor husbandry; this is the result of animal behavior. There is a reason for the phrase “pecking order,” as chickens sometimes will and do pick on each other. Farmers check on their birds every day, since birds, like most animals, tend to gang up on a weaker animal and do harm to another animal almost overnight. The fact that this activist group only finds and rescues “one bird” during their break-ins is a testament to the farmer’s ability monitor his or her flock of birds.
Their break-ins endanger farm animals. Every time DXE breaks into a barn, they put the entire flock at risk. Farmers have protocols in place to ensure their chickens don’t get bird flu or other diseases from the outside world – diseases that could decimate an entire flock or impact consumers by getting into our nation’s food supply. Last year, DXE broke into a barn and found one hen-pecked bird to rescue. Sadly, the exposure from these outsiders resulted in the death of the rest of the chickens in the barn.
If you don’t believe farm animals should be raised for food, there is nothing we can say or do to convince you otherwise. But if you are part of the 95% of the U.S. population that eats meat, we want you to know that as a nonprofit organization, it’s our mission to help farm animals raised for food live more natural lives.
Here is the farm inspection report about the most recent farm in question. Our inspectors are all Ph.D.’s or DVM’s who are experts in their field of farm animal welfare and provide us with third-party reporting on Certified Humane® farms.
Farm Inspection Report
The scope of this inspection was to determine the welfare and living conditions of Certified Humane hens at the Pepper Ranch location of Rainbow Farms. The managers were sure that House #2 had been broken into, but were unsure if the other two houses had also been compromised. Therefore, all three houses were inspected. The inspection was performed on February 17th, 2017.
House 1: This house had 47 week old ISA Brown hens. All birds observed were well-feathered and alert. The litter was in great condition, and hens were observed dust-bathing and forging. Hens were observed utilizing all parts of the housing system. House records indicated low mortality except for a piling incident, which was explained by a thunderstorm. The thunder scared the birds and they panicked, causing a piling scenario.
House 2: This house had 70 week old ISA Brown hens. All birds observed were alert and dust-bathing and foraging. Litter was in good condition. Hens had variable feather cover, ranging from fully feathered to moderate feather loss. No hens observed showed severe feather loss. Most of the hens had evidence of pin feathers, indicating new feather growth and that the birds were molting.
House 3: This house had 82 week old ISA Brown hens, close to being depopulated. Again, litter was in good condition with hens observed dust-bathing and foraging. Hens had variable feather coverage, slightly worse than in House 2, but appropriate for their age. Pin feathers were observed on some of these hens as well, and there were a small number of hens that were fully feathered.
No wounds were observed on any hens from any houses. No sick or lethargic hens were observed at the time of the inspection. When first entering all houses, hens appeared crowded at the front of the pens. When looking down the houses, open space could be observed in the aviary systems as well as the litter areas. When walking the litter areas, hens had great freedom of movement, were inquisitive toward the inspector, and there was plenty of open space for the hens.
Overall, the hens in all three houses at this Ranch were in good condition, with feather coverage appropriate for their ages. Litter was in good condition, and hens had freedom of movement. Mortality in all houses was generally low, based on house records.
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Posted: March 20, 2024 by Certified Humane®
New Standards for Farmed Atlantic Salmon
Select the links below to view the new standards for Farmed Atlantic Salmon in English or Spanish.
Posted: March 7, 2024 by Certified Humane®
Dr. Brenda Coe reviews a career of protecting farm animal welfare
Brenda Coe, Ph.D., has dedicated her life to studying animal behavior and implementing best practices on behalf of cows, chickens, pigs, goats and lambs around the United States and, lately, around the world.
For more than 30 years, she’s been a professor and researcher in Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. That’s how she began working alongside our founder — right at the beginning of Adele Douglass Jolley’s quest to improve the lives of food animals in the global supply chain.
Today, Brenda is still on the front lines of developing and auditing for Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards on farms and ranches worldwide.
“I love the farmers that I work with,” she said. “I love talking to people who are really proud and excited to show you what their facilities are like and what they’re doing.”
The decades of experience allow her to comfortably claim the title “Senior Auditor.”
“I’ve been doing it for the longest. And I’m senior to all the other auditors,” she said with a laugh.
As a member of our Scientific Committee, she helps Certified Humane® apply the latest research and best practices to its Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards
“Certified Humane® is a way for the public to see that farmers care,” Brenda said. “It’s a good way to identify farmers who are doing a good job.”
That’s what she loves best: seeing how the farmers and ranchers pour into the animals they care for.
“I love coming to see the improvements they’ve made and just hear their stories: the problems they had and how they fixed them,” Brenda said. “I love the people aspect of what I do just as much as I enjoy being around all the different animals.”
Cows, chickens and… red deer?
Brenda began her career studying cows, and lately she visits a lot of poultry farms on behalf of Certified Humane®.
However, Brenda is one of the few auditors with the scientific background, training and auditing experience in all the species that the Certified Humane® program covers.
Recently, she added another animal to her list of studied species: red deer.
Brenda traveled to New Zealand to study and develop Humane Farm Animal Standards specifically for red deer. There, the red deer have only recently been domesticated. She learned a lot as she toured different red deer facilities.
“It’s very much like elk production here,” Brenda said, explaining that she knows some folks who raise elk near her home in Pennsylvania.
A key tenant of Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards is that they are tailored to each species. That requires scientific study and understanding the animals.
“We couldn’t just plunk red deer into our beef or dairy or sheep or goat standards,” Brenda explained. “This is a different creature.”
Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards are designed to create a universal threshold of care while taking into account the unique natural behaviors and instincts of each species.
For example, all Certified Humane® farm animals must have access to nourishing food and fresh water as well as regular care from trained handlers. Usually, that translates into handlers interacting with the animals on a daily basis.
“However, when red deer are calving, you don’t go near them. You just use your binoculars because if you freak the mom out, then she might abandon her baby,” Brenda said. “So yes, you need to check them every day, but you don’t necessarily need to be as hands-on because that would be detrimental to their welfare.”
After learning the intricacies of red deer, Brenda and her colleagues on the Scientific Committee published Humane Farm Animal Standards for the species in April 2020.
Certified Humane® red deer venison is now available to shoppers through First Light Farms’ online General Store and from Open Farm’s online shop for pet food.
A unique educational path
Brenda grew up in California and always had a love for animals. She was the kid who brought home stray pets or baby birds that fell out of their nests.
“Everybody thought that I was going to be a veterinarian,” she said. “I wanted to grow up on a farm.”
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis, she decided to major in animal science, which gave her a lot of options. She didn’t want to be a veterinarian. At the time, most women were small animal vets, and she wanted to do something more than fix animals when they got sick or broke a limb.
Brenda wanted to learn how to keep the animals healthy.
During her sophomore year at UC Davis, she decided to find out if she even liked living on a farm. She took a planned educational leave for a quarter and worked at a beef cattle ranch associated with the university.
On the ranch, Brenda had her first experience with animal behavior research. She got hooked, particularly on studying cows.
She attended Purdue University in Indiana next, earning a master’s degree in reproductive physiology and behavior in dairy cows in 1985.
Before day 1
In 1994, she moved to Pennsylvania for a job at Penn State leading an agriculture educational program for elementary and high school students.
Her next project was with Stanley Curtis, Ph.D, a faculty member at Penn State at the time who brought her on staff to create and implement a livestock training program for the state of Pennsylvania.
The goal was to teach Humane Society Police Officers the basics of animal husbandry so they could properly investigate accusations of animal abuse. That project evolved into Brenda’s dissertation for a Ph.D. in agricultural education and instructional design.
One day — Brenda doesn’t remember exactly when — Adele Douglass Jolley visited Penn State’s college of agriculture, on her quest for scientific perspectives on the welfare of animals. Adele was working for the American Humane Association as the director of its Washington D.C. office.
Dr. Curtis introduced Brenda to Adele. The two women got talking and kept in touch. Adele would sometimes call Brenda for her scientific insight.
When Adele organized an animal welfare certification program called Free Farms at American Humane Association, she asked Brenda to join as its director of animal science programs.
Brenda agreed. For three years, she developed training programs for auditors, traveling around the country to promote the new program and recruit the auditors.
When Adele left the American Humane Association to launch an independent nonprofit solely focused on farm animal care standards, Brenda was there to lend her help as an inspector and her insight as a member of the Scientific Committee.
“I’ve been with Certified Humane® since day 1,” she said.
Science and the farms
It took time for the Certified Humane® program to gain the reputation it enjoys today as a global leader in animal welfare auditing services with a food labeling program. Now, more shoppers know how to identify products developed to Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standards by locating the Certified Humane® logo on packages.
In the early years, ranchers and farmers applying for the certification weren’t always sure what to expect when Brenda and her fellow auditors arrived for the first inspection.
“They thought we were an animal rights organization that was coming out to tell them how to do farming,” Brenda said.
It’s different now that the program is more visible. The Certified Humane® logo is more prolific in stores. Farmers, ranchers, and processors understand that the program is a way for them to showcase the animal welfare practices that went into their products.
They understand that the Certified Humane® Farm Animal Standard are rooted in animal science. They know that auditors are scientists or veterinarians with deep knowledge about what they’re advising.
“People now are a lot more welcoming,” Brenda said. “And once they’ve been through an inspection once, they realize the standards are pretty common sense and not unrealistic.”
Brenda travels frequently across the country to do inspections. As Certified Humane® expanded internationally, she began to travel to Canada and then as far as Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s growing exponentially at this point, which is very exciting,” she said.
Though she doesn’t enjoy the travel itself anymore, Brenda still loves the work she does. In between her trips, Brenda lives near the Penn State campus, teaches college courses on the weekends and cares for her horses.
She’s still looking for a farm to claim as her own. And she still believes strongly in the mission of Certified Humane®.
“It’s a way for the consumer to support improved animal welfare by choosing products with the Certified Humane® logo,” she said. “It’s a way to improve animals’ lives.”
Posted: May 17, 2022 by Certified Humane®
Regenerative and Sustainable Agriculture
While our focus remains on the welfare of farm animals, Certified Humane® certification is complementary to regenerative systems, including Regenerative Organic Certified, ‘Certified Regenerative’ Beef by Greenham, and other individual programs.
Regenerative agricultural practices actively improve the environment and soil carbon sequestration and are a key tool for the future of agriculture in combatting climate change. Intentionally incorporating animals into a pasture system can enrich the soils, promote plant growth, and increase carbon sequestration bringing damaged pasture back to life. Responsible grazing management, part of the Certified Humane® program requirements, will not damage or deplete natural resources and the environment.
The Certified Humane® program verifies farm animal welfare practices that are a critical piece of a complete regenerative agriculture system. Certified Humane® standards ensure these animals are not overcrowded and they are offered the right grasses for their species and the region. Grazing habits are managed by rotating animals around a pasture to verdant areas with plant life at the right stage of their growth cycle for grazing and maximum nutrient benefit. This is known as Rotational Grazing and done correctly, it will nourish the animals and stimulate long term pasture growth, naturally holding carbon in the soil.
What some Certified Humane® producers are saying about their Regenerative Agricultural and Sustainable practices worldwide:
(Select map icons or follow links below to read more about Certified Humane® producers: Greenham • Ingleby Farms • Fazenda da Toca • Korin • Apricot Lane Farms • Hart Dairy • New Barn Organics • Niman Ranch • Vital Farms • White Oak Pastures • Farm Fresh Malaysia • Pete and Gerry’s • Teton Waters Ranch • Idyll Farms • Redwood Hill Farm)
‘Certified Regenerative’ Beef by Greenham
With more than 160 years in the Australian red meat industry, Greenham is a leader in producing premium-quality beef that is good for our consumers, animals, and the planet.
The Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard provides a practical set of indicators and measures for producers to follow. Consistent with globally recognised definitions of regenerative farming, the standard takes a holistic approach to regenerative beef production, which incorporates four key themes.
The standard has been endorsed by Certified Humane®, and environmental and agriculture specialists, Integrity Ag & Environment.
CLICK HERE to view the Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard
CLICK HERE to read more about ‘Certified Regenerative’ Beef by Greenham
Comments and resources for further study from the Certified Humane® Scientific Committee
Brenda Coe, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, USA
“Livestock production can, and should, be an important part of a sustainable food system. Cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and poultry can be raised on pastures that would otherwise be unsuitable for growing crops, can eat crop residues and other by-products that are often wasted, and produce manure that can be used as fertilizer. Continued efforts to prevent soil and pasture degradation by integrating intensive livestock farming with agricultural crops, controlling animal stocking rates and doing rotational grazing, conducting soil testing and properly fertilizing soil along with pest and weed control will improve soil health, allowing improved pasture recovery and resilience. Advances in animal genetics, veterinary care, feed quality, and grazing systems (rotational and adaptive multi-paddock grazing) are improving soil and pasture quality and also helping shrink the climate footprint of livestock operations. Regenerative livestock production also helps develop more resiliency in the land to climate challenges like droughts, fires, or flooding, benefiting farmers and communities as well as the entire food system.”
Anne Fanatico, PhD Appalachian State University, USA
“Animals are a key part of regenerative agriculture. Grazing animals and livestock help manage the extensive grasslands and rangelands in the Midwest and western states. Forage plants sequester carbon from the atmosphere in living plants and underground in the form of roots and organic matter. In the East, where there is sufficient precipitation for tree cover, agroforestry systems are appropriate for grazing livestock. Trees in particular sequester carbon. Farm animals, such as swine and poultry, are particularly important for nutrient cycling. Animals can eat things that humans do not such as crop residue and by-products. Animals contribute to biodiversity, which is key in resilience. They release the energy and nutrients stored in plants, so it can flow or cycle throughout the farm ecosystem (Gliessman, 2015. Agroecology: The Ecology of Food Systems). Access to the outdoors, pasture, and range is important animal welfare. Perennial pasture and grasslands are ways to grow food without tillage and keeping the carbon in the soil where it belongs.”
Brittany J. Howell, Ph.D., PAS, Fort Hays State University, USA
“Proper grazing and pasture management can reduce unwanted invasive plant species that can greatly impact the water availability in pastures. Invasive trees like red cedars can use up to 42 gallons of water per day depending on tree stem diameter and other factors. Also, grazing animals are part of a natural ecosystem, recycling carbon, adding nutrients to the soil through urine and feces, and removing older plant material which stimulates growth of new material (like nature’s lawnmower). And when it comes to the end of the animal’s life, the animal can be composted to enrich the soil and provide the most environmentally friendly way to utilize those nutrients to regrow plants.”
Photo credits:
Example of an untended pasture, not contributing to environmental improvement; courtesy of NCAT (ATTRA.NCAT.org)
Example of what a pasture can become, WITH the inclusion of grazing animals and proper management; courtesy of NCAT (ATTRA.NCAT.org)
Posted: March 21, 2020 by Certified Humane®
New! – Farm Brands that Ship
As we rapidly re-think our shopping habits these days, Humane Farm Animal Care has some good news to facilitate these changes: many Certified Humane® producers have made their products accessible through online shopping portals.
Additionally, there are farms whose family run farm shops remain open and ready to serve their local communities. Buying from these producers is an increasingly appealing option for many and it contributes to longer term sustainability for the farmer and, as always, for the animals.
Posted: March 21, 2020 by Certified Humane®
Fire Fly Farms Has It All
Fire Fly Farms – New London County Connecticut Has it All!
Order for pick up at the Connecticut farm shop or nationwide delivery via UPS:
Phone / Text: (860) 912-2553
Email: info@fireflyfarmsllc.com
Farm Shop:
96 Button Road, North Stonington, Connecticut
Hours: Tue.-Sat. 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Farm Shop Phone: (860) 917-7568
This Certified Humane farm offers heritage Randall beef and veal; Mulefoot pork; several breeds of chicken, including heritage breeds and turkeys. They ship their meat directly to customers. https://firefly.farm/
Posted: August 8, 2019 by Certified Humane®
Adele Douglass, Founder and CEO of Humane Farm Animal Care, Joins Denver Frederick
by Denver Frederick | Jul 30, 2019 | Guest Interview
The following is a conversation between Adele Douglass, Founder and CEO of Humane Farm Animal Care, and Denver Frederick, Host of The Business of Giving on AM 970 The Answer WNYM in New York City.
Denver: When in the meat or dairy aisle at the grocery store, have you ever seen the label that reads “Certified Humane Raised and Handled®”? Have you wondered when and how the certification process got started? Well, tonight, we’ll find out directly from the person who started it. She is Adele Douglass, the Founder and CEO of Humane Farm Animal Care.
Good evening, Adele, and welcome to The Business of Giving!
Adele: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Denver: Share with us the mission and goals of Humane Farm Animal Care.
Adele: Well, the mission is: we’re a non-profit certification organization, dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals in food production, from birth through slaughter. The goal of the program is to improve the lives of farm animals by driving consumer demand for kinder and more responsible farm animal practices. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label on a product, you can be assured that the food products have come from facilities that meet precise objective standards for farm animal treatment.
Denver: Now, you were raised in New York City, Adele, and not on the farm. So, what got you interested in this subject? Was there a moment when you decided that something had to be done?
Adele: Yes, yes and yes. I worked for a member of Congress, and then I lobbied Congress on behalf of children and animals. I was asked in the late ‘90s to be part of various animal welfare committees, and they figured, “Well, she doesn’t know anything about farm animals, so we can do whatever we want.” Well, it didn’t work out that way. Because I was – when I went and saw how chickens were… how hens were…. in cages and they couldn’t move, they couldn’t stand up, they couldn’t sit down at the same time – I was appalled. I thought, “If consumers knew this, they wouldn’t buy this food.”
So, I asked friends who were scientists to show me the opposite, to show me different ways animals are raised, and that was very inspirational. And I thought, “Well, I’ve got to do something to help farm animals. This helps farmers, and it helps consumers; so therefore, who would object to this?” I needed money to start it, so I cashed in my 401k so I had money, and then I got some funding from HSUS, from ASPCA, and that was for four or five years. We’ve been on our own ever since.
Click here to read more and listen to the interview.
Posted: February 28, 2018 by Certified Humane®
PETA’s latest…
PETA has launched another attack campaign against Humane Farm Animal Care’s Certified Humane® program. We wish they would stop picking on farmers who are trying to do the right thing for farm animals, but we know this is part of their fundraising efforts every year.
In September 2017, PETA went to a farm in Pennsylvania that offered public tours and took selective videos of this farm. Per our records, this farm had an unannounced inspection one month prior, in August 2017. The inspection was conducted by one of our third-party farm animal welfare experts: veterinarians and scientists with expertise in their species of farm animals. According to the inspection report, the farm met all the requirements of the Certified Humane® program.
This farm sells their eggs to Nellie’s Free-Range Eggs, the first egg producer to become Certified Humane®, so their commitment to animal welfare is long-established.
The comments made by PETA-supporting veterinarians, Dr. Holly Cheever, Dr. Lester Castro Freedlander and Dr. Greg Burkett, were based on watching the video, which can be misleading, and not from actual engagement with the hens on the farm.
Here are PETA’s claims and our replies…
Reply: The Humane Farm Animal Care Scientific Committee comprised of 40 international animal scientists and veterinarians who wrote our standards, concluded that 1.2 sq. ft. of space per bird in a cage-free barn of this type is the minimum space needed for the hens to exhibit natural behaviors. In addition, the outdoor space for free-range laying hens is 2 sq. ft/bird. This farm meets both those standards.
Reply: HFAC Standards require: “Outdoor access, must be provided for a minimum of 6 hours per day during the daytime, except during inclement weather or for veterinary or emergency reasons.” On this farm, the doors are open to the birds between 1:30 p.m. and nightfall, which meets our requirements. The birds don’t go outside if it is below 54 degrees Fahrenheit, above 94 degrees Fahrenheit, or if it is raining or muddy. The birds must be kept indoors at night to prevent predators from attacking them. Farms often keep hens inside during cold or bad weather.
Reply: There are very specific requirements for the hatches in our Standards. “Hens must have sufficient exit areas appropriately distributed around the buildings i.e., at least one exit every 50 feet along one side of the house to ensure that all hens have ready-access to the outdoor areas. Each exit must allow the passage of more than one hen at a time. Exits must be at least 18” high and 21” wide.” This farm meets these standards.
Reply: According to our Standards, birds are allowed to be beak-trimmed; there is no “cutting off” beaks. The beak trimming must be done before 10 days of age and in a very specific way to meet our Standards. Our Scientific Committee concluded that if the procedure is done under 10 days of age, there is no lasting effect to the birds and assures the birds will not peck each other to death. The reason we allow beak trimming is that, no matter how much space hens have, they WILL feather peck each other. Studies show birds that are not beak-trimmed have a high mortality rate. Our inspector verified the farm not only followed our Standards but has more than the required number of perches for the birds, which helps minimize pecking behaviors.
The air quality in the barns was also less than 10 ppm of ammonia, which is a major indicator of the farmer’s care since this means their litter, which the birds use for dustbathing is more than adequate and well-managed.
“Contracting a disease is initially solely dependent on whether or not a flock has the disease. They cannot spread what they don’t have. Handling healthy bird poses very little risk of disease transmission. Currently, there are no strains of avian influenza in the US.” – Dr. Gregg Burkett
According to our inspection reports, this farm meets all HFAC’s Standards, and then some. If this farm had things to hide, they would not allow public tours on their property.
The Certified Humane program strives to be fully-transparent. Our Standards are on our website for all to see. https://certifiedhumane.org/how-we-work/our-standards/
Our Scientific Committee is made up of the best farm animal scientists and veterinarians in the world. https://certifiedhumane.org/how-we-work/scientific-committee/
PETA’s agenda is to convert people to veganism. See “Does PETA have the right to determine what’s humane considering their view on animals, January 13, 2016)
Our program does not care whether people are vegans, vegetarians or meat eaters. That decision is up to you. Our nonprofit’s mission is to ensure farm animals raised for food are raised in ways that ensure their needs are being met. These needs are not based on our perception of their needs, but their actual needs as determined by our Scientific Committee. It’s unfortunate that PETA is attempting to ruin the reputation of an honorable farmer and egg company whose intentions towards their hens are the most humane.
Posted: February 20, 2018 by Certified Humane®
How to decode egg labels
Every day, people stop and stare at egg displays at the supermarket. They open and close the egg cartons, look at pictures on the carton of hens dancing in the sunshine, and mull over words, like “natural” or “organic,” in an effort to determine if the eggs they are holding were laid by happy hens.
For people who care how hens are raised, the quickest and easiest solution to this egg dilemma is to look for egg cartons with the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label. The Certified Humane® label assures consumers that farmers are adhering to a precise set of Animal Care Standards. These standards are written and continually updated by world-renowned veterinarians and animal welfare scientists. And, in the interest of full transparency, our Standards are displayed on our website for everyone see.
In addition to lighting, air, and food requirements, these standards also require cage-free living, enrichments for the hens, like perches and proper space where they can do what hens do, like flapping their wings or dustbathing their feathers.
The Certified Humane® label also guarantees that third-party inspectors – veterinarians and animal welfare scientists with master’s degrees or Ph.D.’s in their field of farm animal care – routinely inspect farms to ensure these standards are always being met and followed.
Simply put, the Certified Humane® label lets consumers know that Humane Farm Animal Care is on the job setting the standards and verifying the well-being of the laying hens in the program.
This knowledge will make you a rock star on the egg aisle. As you hone in on the Certified Humane® label and grab your eggs and go, people will see your certainty about your purchase and will stop to look at what eggs you just bought.
If you feel compelled to educate others about the Certified Humane® label, we want you to be super savvy about the egg industry’s marketing lingo. After all, your friends may try to convince you their “natural” eggs belong to hens that are humanely-raised too. (They are not).
So, here’s a primer on the terms most commonly seen on egg cartons and what those terms mean (or don’t mean) for the hens on the farm.
ORGANIC
The “Organic” label, regulated by the USDA, addresses environmental issues, and not the well-being of laying hens. The USDA defines “Organic” as a labeling term “that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.”
While a USDA blog refers to organic eggs as coming from hens who have “liberal access to the outdoors,” it does not provide any specific requirements of the space and leaves it up the farmer and certifying agent to decide upon.
NON-GMO
Non-GMO means a hen is fed a diet that is free from genetically-modified organisms. That is good, but that’s all it means when alone on an egg carton. “Non-GMO” doesn’t outline any humane standards of care for laying hens.
VEGETARIAN-FED
Some people think the words “Vegetarian-Fed” means hens are vegetarians. They are not. On pasture, hens eat worms, grubs, and bugs. But vegetarian-fed does mean your hens aren’t being fed animal by-products, like ground chicken. This is a good thing, which is covered in our Animal Care Standards too. But again, these words alone do not offer any humane standards of care for laying hens.
CAGE-FREE
This label is regulated by the USDA, and means, “Hens can move freely within the building/hen house and have unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle.” Under this term, however, the USDA offers no space requirements for the laying hens. The Certified Humane® program requires “1.5 square feet per hen, litter for dust bathing, perches for the birds, and ammonia levels at a maximum of 10ppm, which means the scent is imperceptible,” just to cite a few of our humane standards for hens living cage-free in barns.
FREE-RANGE
The “Free-Range” label is regulated by the USDA and acknowledges “continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle, which may or may not be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material.” It sounds great, but like the word “Organic,” Free-Range doesn’t stipulate what outdoor access really means, or how much space is required for the hens, which means anyone can put “Free-Range” on their label, even if the hens are outside for five minutes. Certified Humane® defines Free-Range as having at least 6 hours of outdoor access and a minimum of two square feet of outdoor space per bird.
PASTURE-RAISED
The term “Pasture-Raised” is not regulated by the USDA and is a marketing term used solely to confuse consumers. Wow, right? This marketing term dupes many consumers into believing that hens are on pasture-all day. Because it’s not a regulated term, anyone can slap “pasture-raised” across their egg carton. Certified Humane® does have a definition for “Pasture-Raised, which requires 6-hours of outdoor space and 2-square-feet per bird. Currently, eight farms are Certified Humane® “Pasture-Raised.”
NATURAL
Under the USDA, “Meat, poultry, and egg products labeled as “natural” must be minimally-processed and contain no artificial ingredients.” In other words, the “natural” label is about how the food is processed and does not include any definitions for how the hens are care for on the farm.
NO ADDED HORMONES
It might surprise you to learn that Federal regulations have banned the use of growth in hormones in poultry since the 1950s.
So, labels that say, “no antibiotics” or “no hormones” on egg cartons are just trying to make you think that other farmers may be using them. It’s a sneaky term that again has nothing to do with the humane treatment of laying hens.
HUMANE
The word “Humane” is not regulated by the USDA, which is why Humane Farm Animal Care launched in 2003 and gathered the world’s top veterinarians and animal welfare scientists to write humane standards of care for farm animals. Just like any other animal, cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys and other farm animals deserve to have their emotional, mental and physical needs met. We believe they should be raised and housed in a way that allows them to express natural behaviors throughout their lives. Backed by science and confirmed by inspectors, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label is the label egg shoppers should look for it they want to buy their eggs from farmers interested in meeting a higher standard of welfare for their hens. We hope shopping on the egg aisle just got easier for you. Check out our Where to Buy page or download our Certified Humane® app to find stores near you with Certified Humane® eggs.
Posted: November 10, 2017 by Certified Humane®
What makes a turkey a Certified Humane® turkey?
When you purchase food with the Certified Humane® label, you’re supporting farmers who support the humane treatment of farm animals by following our precise Standards of Animal Care. When you purchase food with the Certified Humane® label, you’re supporting farmers who support the humane treatment of farm animals by following our precise Standards of Animal Care.
Take turkeys, for example.
These standards and more are compliant with standards verified annually by independent, specially trained, auditors with expertise in their fields.
To find stores that sell Certified Humane® turkeys and other products, visit our “Where to Buy” page or download our free Certified Humane® App.
And, if you can’t find a Certified Humane® turkey or other food items at your local grocery store, please visit our Take Action page to see how you can encourage grocery stores to carry these products. When consumers demand it, grocery stores will carry it, and it will make a world of difference for farm animals.
Posted: February 24, 2017 by HFAC
DXE, Again!
It’s tiresome, but every few months we have to write about DXE, an animal liberation organization who is against farming and doesn’t believe farm animals should be raised for any reason, like food or clothing (wool). That’s because every few months, they produce a fundraising video of them breaking into a farm in the middle of the night using dishonest editing to falsify their story.
They don’t attack factory farms. They attack farmers who are working to give farm animals more natural lives. And, they attack us, a nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of farm animals.
Of course, if a farm is questioned in any way, we reassure consumers by conducting unannounced inspections to make sure the farm is in compliance with our Animal Care Standards. You can scroll to the end of this blog to read the surprise inspection of the farm in question. This inspection is in addition to the inspection each farm receives annually.
DXE has produced videos where they claimed they were on a Certified Humane® farm when, in fact, they were not, which is also disingenuous.
Here’s what we know about DXE and their videos.
If you don’t believe farm animals should be raised for food, there is nothing we can say or do to convince you otherwise. But if you are part of the 95% of the U.S. population that eats meat, we want you to know that as a nonprofit organization, it’s our mission to help farm animals raised for food live more natural lives.
Here is the farm inspection report about the most recent farm in question. Our inspectors are all Ph.D.’s or DVM’s who are experts in their field of farm animal welfare and provide us with third-party reporting on Certified Humane® farms.
Farm Inspection Report
The scope of this inspection was to determine the welfare and living conditions of Certified Humane hens at the Pepper Ranch location of Rainbow Farms. The managers were sure that House #2 had been broken into, but were unsure if the other two houses had also been compromised. Therefore, all three houses were inspected. The inspection was performed on February 17th, 2017.
House 1: This house had 47 week old ISA Brown hens. All birds observed were well-feathered and alert. The litter was in great condition, and hens were observed dust-bathing and forging. Hens were observed utilizing all parts of the housing system. House records indicated low mortality except for a piling incident, which was explained by a thunderstorm. The thunder scared the birds and they panicked, causing a piling scenario.
House 2: This house had 70 week old ISA Brown hens. All birds observed were alert and dust-bathing and foraging. Litter was in good condition. Hens had variable feather cover, ranging from fully feathered to moderate feather loss. No hens observed showed severe feather loss. Most of the hens had evidence of pin feathers, indicating new feather growth and that the birds were molting.
House 3: This house had 82 week old ISA Brown hens, close to being depopulated. Again, litter was in good condition with hens observed dust-bathing and foraging. Hens had variable feather coverage, slightly worse than in House 2, but appropriate for their age. Pin feathers were observed on some of these hens as well, and there were a small number of hens that were fully feathered.
No wounds were observed on any hens from any houses. No sick or lethargic hens were observed at the time of the inspection. When first entering all houses, hens appeared crowded at the front of the pens. When looking down the houses, open space could be observed in the aviary systems as well as the litter areas. When walking the litter areas, hens had great freedom of movement, were inquisitive toward the inspector, and there was plenty of open space for the hens.
Overall, the hens in all three houses at this Ranch were in good condition, with feather coverage appropriate for their ages. Litter was in good condition, and hens had freedom of movement. Mortality in all houses was generally low, based on house records.