Animals on factory farms are treated like food producing machines that are immune to suffering. They are pumped full of antibiotics to compensate for their squalid, crowded living conditions and to make them grow faster. They are deprived of the opportunity to live according to their natural behaviors, cramped into small spaces and often fed an unnatural diet.
FACT believes there is a better, more humane way to raise pigs, chickens and cows. At minimum, these animals deserve adequate space, access to the outdoors, clean water and air, the opportunity to express their natural behaviors, and safe, healthful feed. Living conditions should allow food animals to live and feed without aggression from other animals, including predators and members of their species. Animals should receive antibiotics only for treatment of disease or illness, as prescribed by a veterinarian. Antibiotics, hormones, or other substances should not be used to promote faster animal growth. All animals should be fed a natural diet free of animal by-products and should have continuous access to clean and well-ventilated housing or shelter that protects them from weather extremes.
Since 1982 FACT has addressed the welfare of farm animals. First, FACT developed its Rambling Rose Project supporting humanely raised veal. Then FACT launched its Nest Eggs Project that developed markets for eggs from uncaged hens. Nest Eggs freed millions of hens from battery cages. FACT’s Humane and Sustainable Dairy Research Project focused on indentifying steps that dairies can take to improve the welfare of calves and cows. Through these years of work with veal calves, hens and cattle, a set of humane principles has evolved that guides FACT in its work. Click on the photos below for an expression of these principles expressed in terms of the "Factory Way versus the FACT Way."