Food Labels Decoded, American Humane Certified

American Humane Certified or Free Farmed

American Humane Label

Have you seen this label on your food?

What this label tells you is that the producer must be 100 percent in compliance to be certified. However, a violation or two when the first inspection is done will not automatically disqualify the producer. Depending on the issues, the producer or farmer will be allowed to correct all violations to comply.

What you need to know is what does the label stand for as far as "being in" compliance.
A summary of the answer is: Farm animals with this label are raised free from stress and have facilities that allow the animals to live life normally.

So you may depend on the fact that all these animals have access to adequate food and water. They will have non-crowded spaces and the freedom to move about. Cages, crates, tethers or any other form of confinement are not allowed. Also no hormones or therapeutic antibiotics can be used and the animals are allowed to behave naturally.
However, freedom to move about and not be in crowded spaces, does not mean the producer or farmer has to provide the animals with outdoor spaces.

The following can be allowed with this label:

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Sow in farrowing crate

Sow crates or gestation crates that are made of metal wire and used with intensive pig farming. A female pig may be kept in a gestation crate during pregnancy. Outgrowing the crate causes the sows to sleep on their chests because there is no room to turn around. Only a few days before birth will the sow be moved to a farrowing crate that provides space to lie down and nurse the piglets. The big debate about the crates has the producers stating they are necessary because sows who occupy the same living space will fight and animal advocates claiming this to be the most inhumane feature to intensive animal agriculture.

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Tail-docking

Tail-docking may be done to make the animal's tail short and reduce the build up of feces. This also prevents the tossing of feces when a full tail is used to swat flies. However, when not done correctly, problems such as rectal prolapse and ill thrift may occur.

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Debeaking may be done and this is when one half of the beak is removed or trimmed. This is seen by some as a preventive measure to avoid injury when feather pecking occurs. Feather pecking is a behavior problem seen frequently among domestic egg producing hens. This is also seen as a preventive measure to vent pecking that frequently occurs immediately after an egg has been laid. The cloaca often remains partly everted and this will expose the mucosa red from the physical trauma of bleeding if the tissue is torn by the hen laying an oversized egg. Vent pecking causes pain to the bird being pecked and torn skin will only increase the chance of disease or cannibalistic actions leading to death.

Hen debeaked

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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