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47. The public has the right to make informed decisions about their product purchases. Indeed, that is the very essence of the "deceptive practices" laws. The CMAB ads induce consumers to make decisions based not on information, but on misinformation. It is not simply that the ads do not accurately represent the conditions under which California dairy cows are kept, it is that they so grossly misrepresent such conditions that they mislead reasonable consumers into buying a product that they otherwise would not have bought. 48. Certainly, the CMAB could lawfully create an accurate portrayal of the dairy industry by depicting large herds of cows in dirty, barren dry lots next to large manure lagoons. But, of course, the likelihood of it ever producing such an advertisement is about equal to the likelihood of a dairy cow dying peacefully of old age—none. And that’s exactly the point; real depictions of California’s large dairy operations would not be an attractive selling point, but creating a fictional dairy Utopia and presenting that as reality is an unacceptable, and unlawful, solution. 49. This is a different situation than, say, elves baking cookies in trees. Unlike that sort of situation, consumers have no way of knowing that the conditions portrayed in the CMAB ads are far better than the actual conditions under which the majority of dairy cows are kept. And at a time when manufacturing assurances, such as "Made in the USA" and "Dolphin-Safe Tuna," mean so much to consumers, material misrepresentations as to the treatment of dairy cows cannot be overlooked, either by the CMAB or by the Commission. 50. Consumers have the right to be informed; advertisers do not have the right to misinform. While PETA would prefer the conditions of the dairy industry change to meet the depictions of the ads, it has no way of forcing the CMAB to make this happen. What it can do, however, is ensure that the CMAB cannot continue to represent that such are the typical conditions of the industry, when they are not. 51. The CMAB is disseminating deceptive advertisements that injure compassionate consumers, and PETA formally requests that the Commission take all appropriate action to ensure such advertisements are not permitted to continue. _________________________________________
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