Breaking! PETA Sues Whole Foods-Backed Program Over Deceptive ‘Animal Welfare’ Labels

If you’ve ever shopped at Whole Foods, you may have seen meat with an “animal welfare certified” label on the packaging. These labels are designed to make shoppers believe that the animals whose parts are in them were treated better than animals on other factory farms, but a just-filed PETA lawsuit alleges these “animal welfare” claims are a misleading scam. Whole Foods profits from this scheme by misleading kind shoppers by enticing them to buy factory-farmed meat.

According to the lawsuit, the Global Animal Partnership (GAP), a humane-washing scheme and Whole Foods 365 brand affiliate, puts “animal welfare certified” labels on products that come from animals who have been kicked, slammed, and endured many other egregious cruelties. The misleadingly labeled flesh is then sold to well-meaning shoppers at Whole Foods and other grocers.

What Does PETA’s Lawsuit Aim to Do?

PETA’s lawsuit exposes one of the food industry’s biggest cons—“humane” and “welfare” certifiers mask animal suffering—and seeks to put pressure on companies to stop lying to shoppers and profiting from severe acts of cruelty to animals.

In the suit, PETA alleges that GAP makes false assurances to consumers that its “animal welfare” standards are enforced by “independent” auditors—and that GAP has gone to great lengths to hide the damning truth. What’s the dirty secret? Per the lawsuit, a glaring conflict of interest—the CEO of the company that manages GAP and the owner of the company that performs its “animal welfare audits” are the same person: William Jay Friedman.

That means the organization responsible for certifying “animal welfare” on farms would seem to have a financial interest in keeping farms certified, even when animals suffer.

PETA’s lawsuit also alleges that GAP’s claim of “independence” has always been false, as it has always been deeply connected to Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods:

• Initiated what eventually became the GAP program.
• Had a Whole Foods executive remain involved as GAP’s “Executive Director” from 2014 to 2022, despite spinning off GAP as an “independent” organization in 2008.
• Has continuously held a seat on GAP’s board, and with the departure of four board members in October 2025, Whole Foods’s stake in and influence on the board only grows.

This Whole Foods executive remained involved as GAP’s Executive Director from 2014 until Organic Plus Trust, founded by William Jay Friedman, took over in 2022. PETA’s complaint details that Friedman is not only the founder and sole owner of GAP’s auditor, EarthClaims LLC, but has longstanding ties with Whole Foods, having previously been an attorney for Whole Foods while in private practice.

What You Can Do to Buck ‘Humane-Washing’ Schemes

Every animal is someone, and they all deserve better than the deceptive labels humane and welfare certifiers slap on the packaging of their broken bodies. None deserves the extreme cruelty from birth to slaughter that comes with being seen as a future piece of meat. Never buy the lie: Don’t be fooled by certification programs that promise that animals are afforded some higher level of “welfare” than on other factory farms, or are treated “humanely.” Misleading “humane” and “welfare” labels mean nothing to the suffering animals exploited for their flesh, eggs, and milk, as our video exposés show. Their treatment is sickening. Help prevent their suffering by signing PETA’s petition and by ditching all animal-derived products in favor of animal-friendly vegan upgrades.