#ShopWithYourHeart for a
More Humane and Healthy Menu
Your secret weapon to keep your family eating healthy and humane foods this season is the knowledge to #ShopWithYourHeart.
Animals make our lives better in so many ways—let’s return the love. A few simple changes to how we shop can improve life for billions of farm animals suffering on inhumane factory farms.
Farms that are not properly maintained can be breeding grounds for Salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens that can be passed to humans through meat, dairy, and eggs, as well as through person-to-person contact. To combat unsanitary conditions, animals are fed large doses of antibiotics—but bacteria is constantly adapting and evolving.
Animals are not the only ones suffering because of these unnatural, inhumane conditions. Human health, the environment, and farmers are being hurt by the intensive farming systems employed on factory farms.
Do you check your food labels? Even those who do might be in for a surprise!
Some of the most commonly misunderstood “labels”
- Natural: Does not impact animal welfare in any way.
- Free-Range: No legal definition for use on eggs, pork, beef or dairy.
- Humanely Raised/Humanely Handled: Undefined and subjective terms without codified standards.
- Hormone-Free/No Hormones Added: Hormones are not approved by law for use on pigs or poultry, so the term is meaningless on those products.
- Cage-Free: On eggs, this label indicates that hens were not raised in battery cages. However, it is an empty claim on poultry meat as meat birds are very rarely raised in cages, and are instead crowded into large, open sheds.
It’s important to understand the true meanings of food labels so you can make informed decisions and help animals by buying products that match your values. Learn more in this comprehensive guide from the ASPCA Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Label Guide.
Here are more resources to help you get started:
- Shop with Your Heart Brand List – Plant-based and welfare-certified brands available at supermarkets across the country.
- Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Label Guide – Download or print this handy guide to make the most informed decisions every time you shop.
- Certified Farms by State – Locate a nearby farm that’s certified by Animal Welfare Approved (AWA), Certified Humane (CH), or Global Animal Partnership (GAP) Steps 2 and above.
- How to Shop at the Farmer’s Market – Check out this video and list of questions to ask farmers so you can make the most humane choices at your local farmers market.
- Welfare Conscious Dining – Learn about REAL Certified, which integrates comprehensive farm animal welfare standards into its restaurant and foodservice certification program.
- Good Grocery Resources – Farm animal cruelty, foodborne illness, worker abuse, and pollution are interconnected problems, but you can help make our food supply healthier for people, animals, and the planet.
As consumers, we have the power to change how food companies treat farm animals. Take the first step today: Take the pledge to #ShopWithYourHeart at the ASPCA Shop With Your Heart website!
And don’t forget to enter to win some fun items from the ASPCA to show off your dedication to #ShopWithYourHeart for humane and healthy food choices!
