Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 12/14/11

Luke Knowles, former special assistant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an expert on the link between sustainable agriculture and rural development, has been named senior adviser to the American Humane Association’s Farm Animal Welfare Program. He will be advising the 135-year-old nonprofit organization on agricultural policy and the expansion of American Humane Association’s array of programs addressing issues of health and well-being in rural America – especially as they impact the lives of animals, children, families and rural communities.

“Luke is the right person at the right time for this important role,” Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane Association, said in a press release. “As the global population soars and people rightly become more concerned about how their food is raised there are additional opportunities for America’s farmers not only to feed the world’s children and families, but to do it in a humane and sustainable way.”

The association’s newest initiative – Rural America Landscape: Healthy Children and Healthy Animals in our Nation’s Heartland – is designed to address the core challenges facing rural communities under a banner of sustainable, smart, healthy and humane food systems.

As special assistant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Knowles developed and coordinated Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, a USDA initiative to support local and regional food systems. He managed a department-wide task force of USDA employees and engaged audiences in the USDA’s work through a range of platforms.

The association’s American Humane Certified certification program is the nation’s first animal welfare program dedicated to the humane treatment of farm animals and is the fastest-growing independent animal welfare label program in the U.S. with certified producers representing more than 135 million farm animals through American Humane Association’s science-based program.

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