Free Farmed Program

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Free Farmed Program

• American Humane Association and Farm Animal
  Services
• A Bold Step Forward in Improving the Lives of
  Farm Animals

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American Humane Association (AHA)

• Oldest national humane organization in the US.
• Founded in 1877.
• AHA is the only national charity dedicated to
  protecting both children and animals.

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Free Farmed Program

• Established in September, 2000

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Free Farmed Program Mission

• Improve animal welfare
• through the market place, not regulation or
  legislation.

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Free Farmed Certification Program

• FFCP is a voluntary, user-fee based service
  available to producers and processors of animals
  raised for food.
• FFCP is designed to provide independent
  verification that the care and handling of
  livestock and poultry on enrolled farms meets the
  welfare standards set forth by the American
  Humane Association.

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What Does Free Farmed Mean?

• Based on a highly successful program in Great
  Britain called Freedom Foods (sponsored by the
  Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
  Animals).
• For a product to carry the Free Farmed logo, it
  must meet all of the farm animal welfare
  standards developed by AHA.

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Free Farmed Program Administrators

• The program is administered by Farm Animal
  Services (FAS), a non-profit organization created
  by the American Humane Association to administer,
  certify and monitor the program.

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Free Farmed Program Administrators

• Verification of the FAS compliance procedure is
  provided by the United States Department of
  Agriculture Agriculture Marketing Service
  Livestock and Seed Program.

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Animal Welfare Standards

• Standards Available
• Dairy Cattle
• Beef Cattle
• Laying Hens
• Chickens
• Pigs
• A Scientific Committee consisting of
  veterinarians, animal scientists and producers
  create and revise standards.

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Animal Welfare Standards Goals

• Providing farm animals with lives that are
• Free from fear and distress
• Free from pain and injury and disease
• Free from hunger and thirst
• Free from discomfort
• Free to express normal behavior.

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Free Farmed Certification Process

• Producers Requesting Service
• On-Site Audits
• Approval
• Participants that meet all requirements will be
  issued a certificate of approval valid for 1
  year.

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Certification

• Certification takes the form of a Free Farmed
  logo that program participants may use on their
  farm animal products.
• Information about each approved supplier will be
  posted on the Free Farmed Internet Website at
  www.FreeFarmed.org

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Free Farmed Inaugural Producers

• Clover Stornetta Farms
• Egg Innovations

• Meyer Natural Angus Beef
• Phils Fresh Eggs

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Producer and Processors

• Humanely produced farm animal products are the
  next significant market niche in the food
  industry.
• Consumers want to be assured that meat, dairy,
  eggs, and poultry theyre consuming was produced
  under humane conditions.
• 1999 survey found that 44 of consumers would pay
  5 more for meat/poultry products labeled as
  humanely raised.

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Consumers

• Now theres a way to feel even better about the
  meals you provide - Free Farmed foods.
• You are assured that the products bearing the
  logo come from farm animals that were treated in
  accordance with AHA humane standards.
• You are making a differencetaking a stand for
  the humane treatment of farm animals.

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Consumers

• Gives consumers the power to improve the lives of
  farm animals.

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Free Farmed Program

• Farm Animal Services
• Adele Douglass, Executive Director
• 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE 203
• Washington, DC 20002
• [phone] Telephone
• [phone] Fax
• www.FreeFarmed.org