During the International Poultry Expo I met Adele Douglass, CEO, Humane Farm Animal Care. This is the organization that has created the Certified Humane program. To display their logo a farm has to: “Meet the Humane Farm Animal Care program standards, which includes nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.”
I learned that there are several organizations attempting to create a type of a label or brand to achieve similar results and that they don’t all see eye to eye. HFAC has created a chart comparing the five main organizations which you can download here (pdf). Personally, I really don’t see the need for an organization like this at all, much less competing ones. Most farmers I know take very good care of their animals. I’d rather see efforts like this aimed at the humane treatment of human beings instead! There are lots of educational resources for farmers that teach them how to take good care of their livestock and if they are or want to be successful then they do.
Adele says she got started on this after visiting farms and seeing conditions she didn’t like. She doesn’t understand why farmers use cages and gestation stalls for example. So she decided to create a certification program after studying one in the UK. She sees a distinction between meeting an animal’s behavioral needs and whether or not they’re producing well. In the first year of the program there were 143,000 animals enrolled in the program. In 2010 that number was 26.5 million.
Learn more about Humane Farm Animal Care in this week’s program: ZimmCast 290 - Humane Farm Animal Care
What do you think? Do we need these types of programs? Adele says the farms enrolled with them make more money. What is your experience if you’ve tried this type of program?
Interestingly, this week’s AgChat topic is animal welfare! It will feature a guest from a different organization, Tim Amlaw, American Humane Certified. So from 8-10pm Tuesday, join in the online conversation.
Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, Growmark, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.
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Interesting that you’d feature a group that is so closely tied with the Humane Society of the United States, a lobbying organization bent on eliminating all animal agriculture. Certified Humane proudly proclaims that affiliation on their website. Unfortunately, exposure for groups like this do more damage to agriculture and further drives a wedge between farmers who may chose to use different management styles.
How many farmers in the program realize the group’s affiliation with HSUS?
Thanks for the comment John.
In my conversation with Adele after our interview she told me that although HSUS says they support her organization the exact opposite is true. I’m guessing she’ll be taking that affiliation off her website shortly. She claims that HSUS is working very hard to put her out of business.
I did the interview mainly because I thought it would be interesting to hear why they’re doing what they are doing. I don’t think that exposure on my website “damages” agriculture. I made my thoughts known and encourage comments like yours.
I don’t know the answer to your question. Judging from many of the names of the farms signed on I’m guessing they wouldn’t care but that’s a personal judgment.