Pick up a pack of beef or a carton of eggs in any supermarket and the chances are the label will proudly display a bucolic farm scene and one of a range of positive sounding claims -- usually implying that the food is produced with animal welfare or the environment in mind.

If you aren't able to make regular visits to every farm your food dollar touches, and if you really want to have confidence in the farms you are supporting, you need to look for a credible third-party certification.

Even the fast food companies McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell stopped using meat that was treated with ammonia last year.

At a time when consumers are turning their backs on industrialized farming systems -- and genetically modified (GM) farming in particular -- the new report raises real questions about exactly what people are paying for when they buy organic milk.

The "Ag Gag" bill was promoted on the basis that it would help to improve animal welfare and protect family farms. But the stark reality is that this law has absolutely nothing to do with animal welfare.

No one takes health and fitness more seriously than today's top football players. So isn't it kind of absurd that as we watch Sunday's game we will all be bombarded by advertisements for some of the unhealthiest junk food imaginable?

We hope to explain the problems with feedlot farming systems, but also the significant solutions that real grassfed farming can offer, and why it is important to choose a "grassfed" label that really means what it says.

Without clear definition and effective regulation, the farmers' market might become yet another victim of the cynical "big retailers." It's time to get behind it.

Industrialized animal agriculture has a lot to answer for when it comes to its impact on animal welfare, the environment, and the livelihood of family farms.